The graph below ranks each state by total population according to the 2012 census estimates.
total US population by state - 2012 estimate
| State | Population |
| California |  37,999,878 |
| Texas | 26,060,796 |
| New York | 19,576,125 |
| Florida | 19,320,749 |
| Illinois | 12,868,192 |
| Pennsylvania | 12,764,475 |
| Ohio | 11,553,031 |
| Georgia | 9,915,646 |
| Michigan | 9,882,519 |
| North Carolina | 9,748,364 |
| New Jersey | 8,867,749 |
| Virginia | 8,186,628 |
| Washington | 6,895,318 |
| Massachusetts | 6,645,303 |
| Arizona | 6,551,149 |
| Indiana | 6,537,782 |
| Tennessee | 6,454,914 |
| Missouri | 6,024,522 |
| Maryland | 5,884,868 |
| Wisconsin | 5,724,554 |
| Minnesota | 5,379,646 |
| Colorado | 5,189,458 |
| Alabama | 4,817,528 |
| South Carolina | 4,723,417 |
| Louisiana | 4,602,134 |
| Kentucky | 4,379,730 |
| Oregon | 3,899,801 |
| Oklahoma | 3,815,780 |
| Connecticut | 3,591,765 |
| Iowa | 3,075,039 |
| Mississippi | 2,986,450 |
| Arkansas | 2,949,828 |
| Kansas | 2,885,398 |
| Utah | 2,854,871 |
| Nevada | 2,754,354 |
| New Mexico | 2,083,540 |
| West Virginia | 1,856,680 |
| Nebraska | 1,855,350 |
| Idaho | 1,595,590 |
| Hawaii | 1,390,090 |
| Maine | 1,328,501 |
| New Hampshire | 1,321,617 |
| Rhode Island | 1,050,304 |
| Montana | 1,005,494 |
| Delaware | 917,053 |
| South Dakota | 834,047 |
| Alaska | 730,307 |
| North Dakota | 701,345 |
| District of Columbia | 633,427 |
| Vermont | 625,953 |
| Wyoming | 576,626 |