U.S. States by Water Area (Full List)

What Water Area Means

The Top 20 States:

1. Alaska — 91,316 sq mi

• Alaska contains more than three million lakes larger than five acres. No other U.S. state even comes close.
• It has over 12,000 rivers. Thousands of additional stream systems spread across a massive landscape.
• Roughly 100,000 glaciers fill the state. They span tens of thousands of square miles.
• Alaska contains over 40 percent of America’s entire surface water resources.
• Glacier ice alone stores about three-quarters of the state’s total fresh water supply.
• Wetlands and permafrost marsh systems cover about 188,320 square miles in northern and western Alaska.
• The Yukon River drains a watershed of about 204,000 square miles. This makes it one of North America’s most powerful river systems.
• Alaska boasts a coastline longer than all other U.S. states combined and faces both the Pacific and Arctic Oceans.

2. Michigan — 40,175 sq mi

• Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes: Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie.
• No other state boasts about 3,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline.
• Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake located entirely within the United States.
• The Great Lakes together provide about one-fifth of the world’s total surface freshwater supply.
• Michigan ranks first among the 50 states in the percentage of its total area covered by water, at approximately 41.5 percent.
• About 34 million people in the U.S. and Canada live in the Great Lakes basin.
• Great Lakes shippers and commercial fishers have supported Michigan’s economy for over a century.
• More than 3,500 species of plants and animals inhabit the Great Lakes basin. The basin supports over 170 fish species.

3. Florida — 12,133 sq mi

• Florida contains approximately 31,978 natural lakes with a surface area of at least one acre.
• About 10,000 miles of rivers and streams flow through Florida.
• Florida has more first-magnitude springs than any other state — 33 of the 84 documented in the entire U.S.
• The Everglades covers approximately 1.5 million acres and is one of the largest subtropical wetland systems in the world.
• Florida claims the longest coastline of any state in the contiguous United States.
• Coastal wetlands and estuaries make up much of Florida’s total water footprint.
• Water sustains Florida’s tourism economy, fisheries, boating, and wildlife biodiversity.
• Drainage and development have reduced Florida’s original wetlands by about 45 percent.

4. Wisconsin — 11,339 sq mi

• Wisconsin boasts more than 15,000 documented lakes. About 40 percent bear names.
• It borders both Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, two of the five Great Lakes.
• More than 13,500 miles of navigable rivers and streams traverse Wisconsin.
• Inland lakes cover nearly 1 million acres in Wisconsin.
• About 6.4 million acres of Lakes Michigan and Superior fall within Wisconsin’s jurisdiction. Great Lakes water provides the main drinking source for more than 1.6 million Wisconsin residents. source.
• Wisconsin has 19 harbor towns along its Great Lakes shorelines.
• Wisconsin’s underground groundwater reserves total about 1.2 billion gallons.

5. Louisiana — 9,174 sq mi

• Louisiana’s coastal wetlands represent approximately 40 percent of all coastal wetlands in the contiguous 48 states.
• The Mississippi River Delta is one of the seven largest river deltas on Earth.
• The Mississippi River accounts for roughly 90 percent of all freshwater inflow into the Gulf of Mexico.
• The delta region contains more than 2.7 million acres of coastal wetlands.
• Louisiana’s coastal economy includes commercial fisheries that generate over $1 billion annually.
• The state contains 37 percent of the estuarine marsh in the entire contiguous United States.
• Bayous, swamps, and tidal channels support a unique cultural identity tied to Cajun and Creole traditions.
• Louisiana faces some of the world’s fastest rates of coastal land loss due to subsidence, erosion, and sea-level rise.

6. California — 7,916 sq mi

• California has a Pacific coastline stretching more than 840 miles, adding a substantial measured coastal water area.
• The San Francisco Bay–Delta Estuary is the largest estuary on the West Coast of North America, covering over 738,000 acres.
• The Sacramento River drains a 27,000-square-mile watershed and carries about 31 percent of the state’s total surface water runoff.
• California’s water system serves almost 40 million people and irrigates over 5.6 million acres of farmland.
• Lake Tahoe, one of the deepest alpine lakes in North America, lies partly within California’s borders.
• California has more than 1,300 reservoirs built for water storage, flood control, and agricultural supply.
• The state ranks high in water-area per capita despite significant parts of its territory being classified as arid or semi-arid.
• The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta alone spans more than 700,000 acres across five counties.

7. New York — 7,429 sq mi

• New York has over 7,600 freshwater lakes, ponds, and reservoirs within its borders.
• The state borders both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, two of the five Great Lakes.
• The Finger Lakes system — 11 glacier-carved lakes — covers approximately 133,480 acres.
• New York City’s water supply system delivers more than 1.1 billion gallons of drinking water daily to nine million people.
• The city’s watershed covers nearly 1,972 square miles and includes 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes.
• The Hudson River watershed drains 14,000 square miles and has shaped commerce and settlement for centuries.
• Lake Champlain, shared by Vermont and Canada, covers approximately 490 square miles.
• New York’s coastal waters along the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound add a significant marine water area to its total.

8. Texas — 7,365 sq mi

• Texas has approximately 191,000 miles of streams and 15 major river basins within its territory.
• The state has 196 major reservoirs and approximately 9,933 total lakes and reservoirs covering 10 or more surface acres.
• Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Texas–Louisiana border is the largest reservoir in the southern United States at 185,000 acres.
• Texas has very few large natural lakes — most of its inland water area is the result of human-built dams and reservoirs.
• Eight coastal basins along the Gulf of Mexico contribute significantly to the state’s total water area.
• Texas reservoirs collectively cover approximately 1,994,600 acres of surface water.
• Gulf Coast waters along Texas include both marine and estuarine areas in the official total.
• Despite ranking eighth in water area, water covers only about 2.7 percent of Texas’s enormous total territory.

• Minnesota has 11,842 officially documented lakes larger than 10 acres — far more than its famous “10,000 Lakes” nickname suggests.
• The combined surface area of Minnesota’s lakes is approximately 2,912,542 acres, or roughly 4,600 square miles.
• Minnesota includes part of Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes by surface area.
• Lake Superior’s Minnesota portion alone covers 962,700 acres and reaches 1,290 feet at its deepest point.
• The Mississippi River begins at Lake Itasca in Minnesota and flows approximately 2,350 miles south to the Gulf of Mexico.
• The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness contains 1,100 lakes across roughly 296 square miles of land.
• Minnesota’s lake density in some areas reaches approximately one lake every two square miles.
• Water is tied to seasonal life, recreation, and cultural identity across virtually every region of the state.

10. North Carolina — 5,201 sq mi

• The Albemarle Sound is the largest major freshwater sound in North America, stretching 60 miles long and up to 15 miles wide.
• The Pamlico Sound is the largest lagoon on the East Coast of the United States.
• The Outer Banks barrier island chain protects a massive inland water system from direct exposure to the Atlantic.
• North Carolina has approximately 12,009 miles of estuarine coastline, including bays, sounds, and tidal wetlands.
• The state’s coastal economy is valued at approximately 46 billion dollars in gross domestic product.
• North Carolina’s estuarine systems support major fisheries for shrimp, crab, oysters, and finfish.
• Water shapes weather patterns along the coast, with the sounds influencing storm surge and flooding dynamics.

11. Washington — 4,842 sq mi

• Puget Sound extends approximately 100 miles from Deception Pass in the north to Olympia in the south.
• The Sound covers approximately 1,020 square miles of marine water surface.
• Puget Sound reaches a maximum depth of 930 feet and has an average depth of about 450 feet.
• It is fed by an average annual river discharge of 41,000 cubic feet per second from the Olympic and Cascade Mountain watersheds.
• The Salish Sea — which includes Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Strait of Georgia — forms one of the most ecologically important marine environments on the continent.
• The Columbia River, which flows through Oregon, is one of the most powerful river systems in North America.
• Washington’s ferry system, which relies on Puget Sound, is the largest in the United States.
• Mountain snowpack from the Cascades is the primary driver of freshwater flow into rivers and streams across the state.

12. Maine — 4,537 sq mi

• Maine has thousands of lakes and ponds, many in remote areas without official names.
• Sebago Lake reaches 316 feet in depth, making it one of the deepest lakes in New England.
• The Portland Water District serves approximately 200,000 people and uses roughly 8.5 billion gallons of water annually from Sebago Lake alone.
• Maine’s average annual rainfall is approximately 42 inches, producing enormous river runoff.
• The Kennebec River alone discharged about 13 trillion gallons of water in a single year.
• Maine’s coastline is extraordinarily jagged, with hundreds of bays, coves, inlets, and islands, creating a complex waterway.
• The Gulf of Maine is one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the Atlantic, supporting fisheries for lobster, groundfish, and shellfish.
• Maine’s water resources also include significant tidal zones that support marine aquaculture and commercial fishing industries.

13. Hawaii — 4,509 sq mi

• Hawaii’s total measured area includes approximately 6,423 square miles of land and 4,508 square miles of water.
• Water makes up roughly 41.2 percent of Hawaii’s total measured area, placing it second only to Michigan by that metric.
• Hawaii is the longest island chain in the world, stretching approximately 1,523 miles across the Central Pacific Ocean.
• The archipelago includes 132 islands, of which eight are inhabited.
• Hawaii’s water area is almost entirely the Pacific Ocean surrounding the island chain.
• The Pacific Ocean, which surrounds Hawaii, is the largest ocean on Earth.
• Hawaii’s marine environment supports some of the most biologically diverse coral reef ecosystems in the United States.
• Ocean resources are central to Hawaii’s tourism economy, cultural identity, and traditional way of life.

14. Ohio — 3,965 sq mi

• Ohio’s northern shore along Lake Erie stretches approximately 316 miles.
• Lake Erie is the fourth-largest of the five Great Lakes by surface area, at 9,910 square miles.
• It is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, with an average depth of just 62 feet.
• The lake contains approximately 127.7 trillion gallons of fresh water, about 3 percent of the total volume of the Great Lakes.
• Despite being the smallest Great Lake by volume, Lake Erie is the warmest and most biologically productive.
• Lake Erie supports major commercial and recreational fisheries for walleye, perch, and bass.
• It serves as a primary drinking water source for several major Ohio cities, including Cleveland and Toledo.
• Lake Erie has faced major environmental challenges, including large-scale harmful algal blooms that threaten drinking water safety.

15. Virginia — 3,285 sq mi

• Virginia holds the southern portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States.
• The Chesapeake Bay stretches approximately 200 miles from northern Maryland to Virginia Beach.
• The bay’s total shoreline, including tributaries, exceeds 11,684 miles — more than the entire U.S. West Coast.
• More than 150 major rivers and streams feed into the bay’s 64,299-square-mile drainage basin.
• Virginia’s major rivers — James, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac — are tidal in their lower reaches.
• The Hampton Roads area is one of the five largest North Atlantic ports in the United States.
• The Chesapeake Bay supports important commercial fisheries for crabs, oysters, clams, and striped bass.
• Virginia’s coastal waterways have shaped the state’s settlement history since the earliest colonial era.

16. Massachusetts — 2,754 sq mi

• Massachusetts Bay extends from Cape Ann in the north to Plymouth Harbor in the south along the North Atlantic coast.
• Boston Harbor is one of the most historically significant ports in American history.
• Cape Cod Bay adds a substantial southern coastal water area to the state’s total.
• The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Massachusetts Bay is one of the most biologically important marine areas on the East Coast.
• Massachusetts has hundreds of inland lakes, ponds, and reservoirs distributed across its territory.
• The state’s water area is approximately 26.1 percent of its total measured territory, ranking it among the top states by this measure.
• Massachusetts shares the Gulf of Maine ecosystem with Maine and New Hampshire, supporting major fisheries and marine biodiversity.
• The Charles and Connecticut Rivers, along with many smaller rivers, add inland water area and support regional water supply systems.

17. Utah — 2,727 sq mi

• The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere.
• It is one of the largest terminal lakes in the world — water flows in from rivers but has no outlet to the sea.
• The lake’s salinity ranges from about 5 to 27 percent, far saltier than the ocean.
• Wetlands surrounding the Great Salt Lake provide critical habitat for millions of migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway.
• The lake has been shrinking significantly over the past few decades due to water diversions and drought.
• Utah also contains freshwater lakes and reservoirs in the Wasatch Range that contribute to the state’s total water area.
• Utah’s overall water area stands in stark contrast to its broader desert and canyon landscape.
• The state is one of the driest in the nation by annual rainfall, yet it ranks seventeenth in total water area nationwide.

18. Maryland — 2,699 sq mi

• Maryland holds the northern portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States.
• The Chesapeake Bay contains approximately 18 trillion gallons of water.
• Maryland’s Chesapeake shoreline extends approximately 4,600 miles, including all tidal tributaries.
• Water makes up approximately 21.8 percent of Maryland’s total measured area, ranking it among the top states by this metric.
• The bay supports iconic fisheries for Maryland blue crabs, oysters, and striped bass.
• More than 18.6 million people live within the Chesapeake Bay watershed as of the mid-2020s.
• Baltimore and Annapolis, two of Maryland’s most iconic cities, are defined by their position on the bay and its tributaries.
• Scientists project the Chesapeake watershed population will reach 22.3 million by 2050, increasing pressure on the bay ecosystem.

19. Illinois — 2,395 sq mi

• Illinois borders Lake Michigan along its northeastern edge, giving Chicago direct access to the Great Lakes.
• The city of Chicago draws its primary drinking water supply directly from Lake Michigan.
• The Mississippi River forms the western boundary of Illinois for virtually the entire length of the state.
• The Illinois River flows diagonally across the state, connecting the Great Lakes watershed to the Mississippi system.
• Illinois is one of the few states in the nation that sits at a hydrological crossroads between two major water systems.
• The Illinois and Michigan Canal, now a historic site, once directly linked Great Lakes shipping to the Mississippi River.
• Illinois has approximately 87,000 miles of streams and rivers within its territory.
• The state’s riverine water systems have supported commerce, agriculture, and urban growth for over two centuries.

20. Oregon — 2,391 sq mi

• Oregon has a Pacific coastline of approximately 363 miles, with bays, estuaries, and tidal marshes adding coastal water area.
• Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at 1,943 feet — formed inside the caldera of an ancient volcano.
• Crater Lake has no rivers flowing in or out; it is filled and maintained entirely by rain and snow.
• The Columbia River, which flows through Washington, is one of the most powerful and ecologically significant river systems in North America.
• The Willamette River runs through the heart of Oregon’s agricultural and population center, flowing north to meet the Columbia.
• Oregon has significant estuarine systems at Coos Bay and the Columbia River Estuary, supporting fisheries and wildlife.
• Mountain snowpack from the Cascades and Coast Range is the primary driver of seasonal river flow across the state.
• Oregon’s water geography spans nearly every major ecosystem type in the western United States, from volcanic lakes to Pacific tidal zones.

Patterns in the Ranking

Why This Matters

Closing Reflection

Here is the full list of U.S. States by Water Area: