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Mapped: How Much of Each U.S. State’s Population Lives in Cities

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Mapped: The Share of Each State’s Population That Lives in Cities

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Since the Industrial Revolution, the U.S. (along with much of the rest of the world) has urbanized. Currently almost 80% of the entire country’s population lives in cities.

However country-wide statistics can mask variations between regions. This graphic maps the share of urban population by state, per latest estimates from the Census Bureau. According to them, an urban area must “encompass at least 2,000 housing units or have a population of at least 5,000 people.”

The States with the Highest Share of Urban Populations

For seven U.S. states, (California, Nevada, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Utah), 90% or more of the population lives in cities. They also tend to have large urban centers, with 250,000 or more residents.

Rank State Urban Population Rural Population
1 Washington D.C.* 100% 0%
2 California 94% 6%
3 Nevada 94% 6%
4 New Jersey 94% 6%
5 Puerto Rico** 92% 8%
6 Florida 92% 8%
7 Massachusetts 91% 9%
8 Rhode Island 91% 9%
9 Utah 90% 10%
10 Arizona 89% 11%
11 New York 87% 13%
12 Illinois 87% 13%
13 Connecticut 86% 14%
14 Hawaii 86% 14%
15 Colorado 86% 14%
16 Maryland 86% 14%
17 Texas 84% 16%
18 Washington 83% 17%
19 Delaware 83% 17%
20 Oregon 80% 20%
21 Pennsylvania 76% 24%
22 Ohio 76% 24%
23 Virginia 76% 24%
24 New Mexico 75% 25%
25 Georgia 74% 26%
26 Michigan 73% 27%
27 Nebraska 73% 27%
28 Kansas 72% 28%
29 Minnesota 72% 28%
30 Louisiana 72% 28%
31 Indiana 71% 29%
32 Missouri 69% 31%
33 Idaho 69% 31%
34 South Carolina 68% 32%
35 Wisconsin 67% 33%
36 North Carolina 67% 33%
37 Tennessee 66% 34%
38 Alaska 65% 35%
39 Oklahoma 65% 35%
40 Iowa 63% 37%
41 Wyoming 62% 38%
42 North Dakota 61% 39%
43 Kentucky 59% 41%
44 New Hampshire 58% 42%
45 Alabama 58% 42%
46 South Dakota 57% 43%
47 Arkansas 55% 45%
48 Montana 53% 47%
49 Mississippi 46% 54%
50 West Virginia 45% 55%
51 Maine 39% 61%
52 Vermont 35% 65%

*Federal district. **U.S. territory. Figures rounded.

Puerto Rico’s populace is also 92% urban, and of course Washington D.C. has the rare distinction of being entirely (100%) urban.

Looking at the map, it’s possible to see some patterns in urban populations. The West Coast, for example, is all uniformly a darker blue, indicating a higher population share living in cities. The same can be said for most of the East Coast.

The less-populated Mountain and Midwest states (Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas) are more balanced with a 60-40 urban-rural split. In Midwestern states like Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio, the urban share begins to grow.

Only four states, Vermont, Maine, West Virginia, and Mississippi have majority rural populations in the entire country.

The latter two, along with other states with a higher share of rural residents (including Arkansas, Kentucky, and Alabama) tend to have higher poverty rates as well.

Importantly, these are all percentage shares of a state population. So the more populous states (California, Texas, New York) still have rural residents who’d outnumber entire parts of the country.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

The Census Bureau collects a wealth of information about Americans. Check out Obesity Rates by State for a look at other regional patterns in the country.

The post Mapped: How Much of Each U.S. State’s Population Lives in Cities appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

Source
Social Issues
Bureau of the Census