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Most Populous US States Quiz

How well do you know the most populous US states? Floored turns the ranking into a building: floor 1 is the top of the list. We name a floor, you guess what's on it, and the lift rides to whatever you picked so you know to go higher or lower.

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How it works

You get a few guesses per floor. Land it on your first guess for 10 points; a near miss still scores. After the state pop. round, four more lists from the same topic keep the ride going.

Show the full ranking (50)
  1. California 39,355,309 people
    More than a quarter of its residents were born outside the US, the highest share of any state.
  2. Texas 31,709,821 people
    Was an independent country from 1836 to 1845.
  3. Florida 23,462,518 people
    More than one in five Floridians is 65 or older.
  4. New York 20,002,427 people
    More than 40% of its residents live in New York City.
  5. Pennsylvania 13,059,432 people
    Has the largest Amish population of any state.
  6. Illinois 12,719,141 people
    Has nearly 7,000 units of local government, more than any other state.
  7. Ohio 11,900,510 people
    Seven US presidents were born there.
  8. Georgia 11,302,748 people
    Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson is the world's busiest airport by passengers.
  9. North Carolina 11,197,968 people
    Pepsi was invented in New Bern in 1893, originally called Brad's Drink.
  10. Michigan 10,127,884 people
    Dearborn has the highest concentration of Arab Americans of any US city.
  11. New Jersey 9,548,215 people
    Is the most densely populated state.
  12. Virginia 8,880,107 people
    Eight US presidents were born there, more than any other state.
  13. Washington 8,001,020 people
    Amazon, Starbucks, Costco and Boeing were all founded there.
  14. Arizona 7,623,818 people
    Most of its residents never change their clocks, since the state skips daylight saving time.
  15. Tennessee 7,315,076 people
    Mountain Dew was created in Knoxville in the 1940s as a whiskey mixer.
  16. Massachusetts 7,154,084 people
    Harvard is the oldest university in the US.
  17. Indiana 6,973,333 people
    The Indy 500 is the largest single-day sporting event in the world.
  18. Missouri 6,270,541 people
    The Gateway Arch is the tallest human-made monument in the US.
  19. Maryland 6,265,347 people
    Annapolis was briefly the capital of the United States.
  20. Colorado 6,012,561 people
    Leadville, at 10,152 feet, is the highest incorporated city in the US.
  21. Wisconsin 5,972,787 people
    Makes more cheese than any other state.
  22. Minnesota 5,830,405 people
    Is home to the largest Somali community in the United States.
  23. South Carolina 5,570,274 people
    The first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter.
  24. Alabama 5,193,088 people
    Huntsville is nicknamed Rocket City for its NASA work.
  25. Louisiana 4,618,189 people
    Has parishes instead of counties.
  26. Kentucky 4,606,864 people
    About 95% of the world's bourbon is made there.
  27. Oregon 4,273,586 people
    In 1998 it became the first state to run all of its elections by mail.
  28. Oklahoma 4,123,288 people
    Is home to 39 federally recognized tribal nations.
  29. Connecticut 3,688,496 people
    The Hartford Courant is the oldest continuously published US newspaper.
  30. Utah 3,538,904 people
    Has the youngest median age of any state.
  31. Nevada 3,282,188 people
    More than 70% of its residents live in Clark County, home to Las Vegas.
  32. Iowa 3,238,387 people
    For decades its caucuses have kicked off the presidential nominating race.
  33. Arkansas 3,114,791 people
    Walmart was founded there in 1962 and is still headquartered in Bentonville.
  34. Kansas 2,977,220 people
    Wichita builds so many planes that it calls itself the Air Capital of the World.
  35. Mississippi 2,954,160 people
    The Mississippi Delta is known as the birthplace of the blues.
  36. New Mexico 2,125,498 people
    Has the highest share of Hispanic residents of any state, about half its population.
  37. Idaho 2,029,733 people
    Grows about a third of America's potatoes.
  38. Nebraska 2,018,006 people
    Is the only state with a one-house legislature.
  39. West Virginia 1,766,147 people
    Was formed by splitting off from Virginia during the Civil War.
  40. Hawaii 1,432,820 people
    Has the highest life expectancy of any US state.
  41. New Hampshire 1,415,342 people
    Its state motto is "Live Free or Die."
  42. Maine 1,414,874 people
    Has the oldest median age of any state.
  43. Montana 1,144,694 people
    Has more cattle than people.
  44. Rhode Island 1,114,521 people
    Was the first colony to renounce allegiance to Britain, on May 4, 1776.
  45. Delaware 1,059,952 people
    Was the first state to ratify the Constitution.
  46. South Dakota 935,094 people
    The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally draws hundreds of thousands of riders to a town of about 7,000.
  47. North Dakota 799,358 people
    An oil boom made Williston one of the fastest-growing small cities in the US in the 2010s.
  48. Alaska 737,270 people
    Has the highest share of Alaska Native and American Indian residents of any state.
  49. Vermont 644,663 people
    Its capital, Montpelier, is the only state capital without a McDonald's.
  50. Wyoming 588,753 people
    As a territory in 1869, it was the first place in the US to give women the right to vote.

Source: US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates · as of 2025-07

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