U.S. States with the Highest Forest Cover (Full List)

Maine: The Nation’s Leading State in Forest Cover

• Maine is the most forested state in the United States, with approximately 17.5 million acres under tree cover.
• Over 23 billion live trees grow across Maine’s forest land today.
• Maple, beech, and birch make up about 41 percent of Maine’s forest type groups.
• Spruce and fir together account for another 34 percent of the state’s forest composition.
• Balsam fir is Maine’s most numerous tree species by individual stem count.
• Approximately 90 to 92 percent of Maine’s forest land is privately owned.
• Maine contains the largest contiguous block of undeveloped forest east of the Mississippi River.
• Sawtimber volume on Maine’s timberland has risen 75 percent since 1959.
• Maine’s forests contain more than 50 documented tree species.
• Red spruce, red maple, and eastern white pine are Maine’s leading species by wood volume.

New Hampshire: The Granite State’s Hidden Green Side

• New Hampshire ranks second nationally despite its rocky, mountainous “Granite State” nickname.
• The White Mountain National Forest spans over 800,000 acres across New Hampshire and Maine.
• Much of the state’s forest regrew naturally after farmland abandonment in the 1800s and 1900s.
• New Hampshire ranks among the top maple syrup-producing states in the country.
• Fall foliage tourism drives a major share of the state’s rural economy each autumn.
• Hardwood species like maple, oak, and birch dominate much of the state’s forest canopy.
• The state has no major heavy industry competing for large-scale forest land use.
• Small-scale timber and maple operations remain common in rural New Hampshire towns.
• Land conservation trusts actively protect forest fragments from suburban sprawl.
• New Hampshire’s forest cover has remained relatively stable for decades.

West Virginia: Appalachian Woodlands at Their Finest

• West Virginia ranks third nationally, with almost four-fifths of the state under forest.
• The Monongahela National Forest alone protects nearly a million acres of mountain woodland.
• Oak, hickory, and maple dominate West Virginia’s Appalachian hardwood forests.
• Despite a century of coal mining, the state’s forest canopy has largely remained intact.
• Steep, rugged terrain has naturally discouraged large-scale farming or urban sprawl.
• Hunting and fishing remain deeply woven into West Virginia’s rural forest culture.
• Many towns sit in narrow valleys, leaving surrounding slopes essentially undeveloped.
• Appalachian forests here regenerated significantly after heavy logging in the early 1900s.
• West Virginia’s forest ecosystems support notable biodiversity for a landlocked state.
• The state is entirely within the Appalachian Mountain forest region.

Vermont: Small State, Massive Green Footprint

• Vermont ranks fourth, with the “Green Mountains” name reflecting its heavy forest cover.
• Vermont produces more maple syrup than any other U.S. state.
• The state balances active dairy farming with extensive surrounding woodland.
• Vermont enforces some of the strictest land-use planning laws in the country.
• Ski resorts like Stowe and Killington sit directly within forested mountain terrain.
• Sugar maple trees are both an ecological staple and an economic driver here.
• Much of Vermont’s forest regrew after farmland was abandoned in the last century.
• A strong culture of local environmental stewardship runs statewide.
• Vermont’s forest cover has stayed remarkably stable despite agricultural activity.
• The state’s small size hides an outsized environmental and ecological identity.

Alabama: The South’s Surprising Forest Giant

• Alabama ranks fifth, with over 70 percent of the state covered in forest.
• Loblolly and longleaf pine plantations dominate much of Alabama’s landscape.
• The state’s timber and paper industry generates billions of dollars annually.
• Alabama’s warm, humid climate allows pine trees to grow unusually fast.
• Much of Alabama’s forest is actively farmed and replanted like a rotating crop.
• Rural communities across the state depend heavily on logging and mill jobs.
• Deer and turkey populations thrive in Alabama’s managed pine forests.
• Alabama’s forest economy is among the most underrated in the South.
• The state contains the Talladega and Conecuh National Forests.
• Fast-growing softwood species outcompete hardwoods across most managed stands.

South Carolina: Pine Country Meets Coastal Wetlands

• South Carolina ranks sixth, blending upland pine with coastal wetland forest.
• The Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests cover roughly 608,000 combined acres.
• Pine forest occupies more than half of the state’s national forest land base.
• Ancient cypress and tupelo swamps line much of South Carolina’s coastal region.
• Hurricanes regularly damage timber stands, forcing recurring replanting cycles.
• Piedmont forests in the northwest look strikingly different from coastal low-country woods.
• Timber companies have planted vast pine monocultures across the state’s interior.
• South Carolina’s national forests support about 4,900 miles of streams and rivers.
• Aboveground biomass in the state’s national forests averages 92 tons per acre.
• Conservation groups actively protect the state’s remaining old-growth wetland forest.

Georgia: America’s Timber Capital

• Georgia ranks seventh and produces more timber than almost any other U.S. state.
• The state contains roughly 24.7 million acres of forest land.
• Georgia’s forest products industry supports well over 100,000 rural jobs.
• Hardwood forests make up 53 percent of Georgia’s forested area, and softwood makes up 45 percent.
• The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest spans nearly 867,000 acres.
• Georgia’s highest point, Brasstown Bald, sits inside this national forest.
• The southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail begins within Georgia’s forest land.
• Pine plantations are managed on harvest cycles to ensure a continuous paper mill supply.
• Georgia had roughly 15.2 billion trees at least one inch in diameter as of 2014.
• The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker relies on Georgia’s managed pine habitat.

Mississippi: Delta Farms Meet Deep Pine Woods

• Mississippi ranks eighth, with forests covering about 19.3 to 19.5 million acres.
• Eighty-one to eighty-four percent of Mississippi’s forest land is privately owned.
• The state’s live-tree volume totals over 32 billion cubic feet.
• Mississippi grows more than twice as much timber as it removes each year.
• The Delta agricultural region remains the state’s least forested area.
• National forests in Mississippi cover about 1.2 million acres statewide.
• Pine plantations dominate central and southern Mississippi’s commercial forest land.
• Hardwood bottomland forests along the Mississippi River support major wildlife habitat.
• Forestry ranks among Mississippi’s largest economic sectors alongside agriculture.
• Statewide forest cover dipped as low as 16 to 17 million acres between the 1930s and 1980s.

Virginia: Historic Land, Modern Forest Economy

• Virginia ranks ninth, with forests steadily reclaiming land once cleared for farming.
• The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests protect more than a million acres combined.
• Virginia’s forests play a critical role in filtering runoff before it enters the Chesapeake Bay.
• The state’s timber industry ranges from small family sawmills to large coastal paper plants.
• Blue Ridge Mountain trails draw major hiking traffic from the nearby D.C. metro area.
• Much of Virginia’s forest rebound mirrors the pattern seen across New England.
• Colonial-era farmland has slowly reverted to woodland over the past two centuries.
• Virginia blends historic battlefield sites directly alongside dense mountain forest.
• The state supports tens of thousands of forestry-related jobs.
• Outdoor recreation tied to forest land has grown significantly in recent decades.

New York: The Empire State’s Forgotten Wilderness

• New York ranks tenth, and the Adirondack Forest Preserve alone spans 2.6 million acres.
• The Adirondack Park is larger than several U.S. national parks combined.
• New York declared Adirondack lands “forever wild” by law as early as 1885.
• Nearly 2,000 miles of trails run through the Adirondack Forest Preserve.
• The preserve was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
• Nineteenth-century deforestation prompted some of America’s earliest conservation laws.
• New York ranks second nationally in maple syrup production, behind only Vermont.
• The Catskills and Adirondacks together protect vast stretches of old hardwood forest.
• Fall foliage tourism generates significant revenue for upstate New York towns.
• Entire rural counties in the state remain dominated by forest rather than farmland or suburb.

Massachusetts: Small State, Big Forest Surprise

• Massachusetts ranks eleventh, defying its urban, Boston-centric reputation.
• Western Massachusetts and the Berkshire Mountains hold most of the state’s forest cover.
• Farmland abandonment over the past century allowed forests to reclaim large areas naturally.
• Land trusts across the state actively fight suburban development pressure from Boston.
• The state still maintains majority forest cover despite dense overall population.
• Small-scale maple syrup production continues in pockets of rural Massachusetts.
• Massachusetts shows dramatic regional variation between its urban core and forested west.
• Hikers and leaf-peepers regularly travel to the Berkshires for fall foliage season.
• Second-home ownership in wooded western towns has grown steadily over recent decades.
• The state’s economy has shifted toward tech and finance while rural forestry persists quietly.

North Carolina: Mountains to Coast Forest Diversity

• North Carolina ranks twelfth and has four national forests.
• The Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests protect well over a million acres combined.
• North Carolina spans ecosystems from Appalachian spruce-fir forest to coastal pine.
• The state’s furniture industry historically depended on its abundant hardwood supply.
• Elk have been successfully reintroduced to North Carolina’s mountain forest regions.
• Hurricane damage regularly tests the state’s coastal plain forest, prompting active replanting.
• The Great Smoky Mountains region hosts some of the most biodiverse forests in the eastern U.S.
• North Carolina’s forests help protect water quality for major river systems flowing to the coast.
• The Croatan National Forest is the only coastal national forest in the eastern U.S.
• Black bear populations remain healthy across the state’s mountain forest habitat.

Pennsylvania: Penn’s Woods Living Up to Its Name

• Pennsylvania ranks thirteenth, and its name literally translates to “Penn’s Woods.”
• The Allegheny National Forest spans over 513,000 acres in the northwest.
• Pennsylvania’s cherry and oak stands are among the nation’s highest-quality timber.
• The state has more licensed hunters than almost any other U.S. state.
• Fall foliage tourism brings steady revenue to towns across the Pocono Mountains.
• Heavy industry historically concentrated in cities, leaving rural mountain forest untouched.
• Pennsylvania’s forests provide crucial watershed protection for the Chesapeake Bay region.
• The Allegheny National Forest includes the Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir.
• Deer populations across the state remain closely tied to its extensive hardwood forest.
• Industrial coal and steel history coexists with centuries of deep woodland heritage.

Arkansas: The Natural State Lives Up to Its Nickname

• Arkansas ranks fourteenth, officially nicknamed “The Natural State” for good reason.
• The Ouachita National Forest covers over 905,000 acres, one of the South’s largest.
• The Ozark National Forest adds another roughly 444,000 protected acres.
• Southern Arkansas is dominated by pine plantations, while the north favors hardwood forest.
• Forestry ranks among Arkansas’s largest economic contributors alongside poultry farming.
• Black bear, deer, and turkey all thrive across the state’s mountain forest regions.
• Arkansas’s relatively low population density has helped keep large forest tracts intact.
• Kayaking, fishing, and camping fuel a strong statewide outdoor recreation economy.
• The state contains two distinct forest ecosystems within its own borders.
• Rivers running through Arkansas’s forests support extensive wildlife habitat.

Michigan: Great Lakes Timber Country

• Michigan ranks fifteenth, with its Upper Peninsula feeling worlds apart from its industrial south.
• The state was a major center of the nineteenth-century American logging boom.
• Billions of board feet of white pine were harvested here to help build Midwest cities.
• The Huron-Manistee and Ottawa National Forests support both timber and tourism today.
• Michigan’s forest cover has actually grown as former farmland reverted to woodland.
• Hunting season draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Michigan’s forests each fall.
• Lake Superior’s shoreline has become a genuine rival to eastern fall-foliage destinations.
• Great Lakes geography moderates climate and supports diverse hardwood and mixed forests.
• Upper Peninsula logging towns still anchor several rural local economies.
• Michigan transitioned from resource extraction to more sustainable forest management within decades.

Connecticut: New England’s Suburban Forest Surprise

• Connecticut ranks sixteenth despite being one of the most densely populated U.S. states.
• The Litchfield Hills region holds much of the state’s remaining hardwood forest.
• Farmland abandonment over the past two centuries has allowed forests to return naturally.
• Land trusts remain especially active here due to intense New York metro development pressure.
• Small-scale sugar maple production continues in Connecticut’s northern towns.
• The Appalachian Trail’s Connecticut section draws steady year-round hiking traffic.
• Black bear and wild turkey populations have expanded as the state’s forests matured.
• Connecticut has kept forest cover above the fifty percent mark statewide.
• The state proves trees can hold ground even in one of America’s most crowded corridors.
• Suburban sprawl pressure remains an ongoing threat to interior forest fragments.

Rhode Island: America’s Smallest State, Still Mostly Green

• Rhode Island ranks seventeenth despite being the smallest state in the country by land area.
• Most of the state’s forest sits in its western and southern regions, away from Providence.
• Historic farmland abandonment has allowed woodland to return naturally over the past century.
• The Arcadia Management Area offers residents genuine hiking access despite the state’s tiny size.
• Coastal development pressure remains an ongoing threat to the state’s forest tracts.
• Inland conservation efforts have helped preserve meaningful forest acreage statewide.
• Rhode Island’s modest forest size still supports real wildlife habitat and recreation.
• The state proves land size doesn’t determine a place’s connection to nature.
• More than half of America’s smallest state remains covered in trees.
• State conservation programs heavily manage Rhode Island’s forest fragments.

Louisiana: Bayou Forests and Cypress Swamps

• Louisiana ranks eighteenth on this list, with forest ecosystems unlike almost anywhere else.
• Vast cypress swamps and bottomland hardwoods define much of the state’s forest character.
• Northern and central Louisiana pine plantations feed major paper mill operations.
• Southern wetland forests buffer coastal communities from hurricane storm surge.
• Louisiana has lost significant wetland forest acreage due to coastal erosion and subsidence.
• Alligator and waterfowl populations thrive throughout the state’s swamp forest habitat.
• Cajun and Creole communities have historically depended on these wetlands for fishing and trapping.
• Boat tours through the Atchafalaya Basin showcase Louisiana’s unique cypress swamp ecosystem.
• The state’s forest character contrasts sharply with the mountain hardwoods seen further north.
• Conservation efforts here are especially urgent because of ongoing wetland loss.

Ten Quick Facts About the World’s Most Forested Countries

• Suriname holds the highest forest cover percentage of any country in the world, with roughly 94 percent of its land blanketed in tropical rainforest.
• Guyana ranks second globally, with an estimated 87 to 94 percent forest cover, depending on the data source.
• The Federated States of Micronesia comes in third worldwide, with about 92 percent of its scattered Pacific islands covered by forest.
• Gabon in Central Africa boasts roughly 91 percent forest cover, making it one of the most heavily forested nations in Africa.
• Palau, a small Pacific island nation, reaches approximately 90 percent forest cover across its tropical terrain.
• The Solomon Islands sit at around 90 percent forest cover, driven largely by dense tropical rainforest ecosystems.
• Equatorial Guinea has roughly 86 to 88 percent forest cover, ranking among the world’s most forested nations.
• American Samoa records about 85 percent forest cover, reflecting its lush, mountainous Pacific island geography.
• Papua New Guinea has close to 79 percent forest cover and is home to some of the most biodiverse rainforests on Earth.
• Liberia rounds out the global top ten with roughly 78 to 80 percent forest cover across its West African rainforest terrain.

Here is a full list of U.S. States with the Highest Forest Cover: