How Many States in USA

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic, spread over an area of 3,537,438.44 square miles, in North America. Washington DC is the capital district of the nation, while New York City is the largest city. United States is the 3rd largest country in terms of land area and population. As far as administration is concerned, US is divided in several federated states, each of which shares sovereignty with the federal government. In order to understand how many states USA has, you will have to get a brief idea about the political divisions of US.

Political Division of United States of America
The United States of America consists of 50 federal states, 48 of which are located in the North American continent. The two exceptions are Alaska and Hawaii, which lie to the north west of the continent and in the mid-pacific respectively. Alaska is the largest state in terms of area, while California has the distinction of being the most populous state in US. The table given below will make it easier for you to understand how many states are there in the United States.

The 50 States of America
The first thirteen states of the United States of America were constituted following the rebellion of the thirteen colonies in 1776. Since then, many new states have been added to the list. As of now the number of states in USA is 50.

50 States and Capitals List

State	Capital	Joined the Union
Alabama AL	Montgomery	December 14, 1819
Alaska AK	Juneau	January 3, 1959
Arizona AZ	Phoenix	February 14, 1912
Arkansas AR	Little Rock	June 15, 1836
California CA	Sacramento	September 9, 1850
Colorado CO	Denver	August 1, 1876
Connecticut CT	Hartford	January 9, 1788
Delaware DE	Dover	December 7, 1787
Florida FL	Tallahassee	March 3, 1845
Georgia GA	Atlanta	January 2, 1788
Hawaii HI	Honolulu	August 21, 1959
Idaho ID	Boise	July 3, 1890
Illinois IL	Springfield	December 3, 1818
Indiana IN	Indianapolis	December 11, 1816
Iowa IA	Des Moines	December 28, 1846
Kansas KS	Topeka	January 29, 1861
Kentucky KY	Frankfort	June 1, 1792
Louisiana LA	Baton Rouge	April 30, 1812
Maine ME	Augusta	March 15, 1820
Maryland MD	Annapolis	April 28, 1788
Massachusetts MA	Boston	February 6, 1788
Michigan MI	Lansing	January 26, 1837
Minnesota MN	Saint Paul	May 11, 1858
Mississippi MS	Jackson	December 10, 1817
Missouri MO	Jefferson City	August 10, 1821
Montana MT	Helena	November 8, 1889
Nebraska NE	Lincoln	March 1, 1867
Nevada NV	Carson City	October 31, 1864
New Hampshire NH	Concord	June 21, 1788
New Jersey NJ	Trenton	December 18, 1787
New Mexico NM	Santa Fe	January 6, 1912
New York NY	Albany	July 26, 1788
North Carolina NC	Raleigh	November 21, 1789
North Dakota ND	Bismarck	November 2, 1889
Ohio OH	Columbus	March 1, 1803
Oklahoma OK	Oklahoma City	November 16, 1907
Oregon OR	Salem	February 14, 1859
Pennsylvania PA	Harrisburg	December 12, 1787
Rhode Island RI	Providence	May 29, 1790
South Carolina SC	Columbia	May 23, 1788
South Dakota SD	Pierre	November 2, 1889
Tennessee TN	Nashville	June 1, 1796
Texas TX	Austin	December 29, 1845
Utah UT	Salt Lake City	January 4, 1896
Vermont VT	Montpelier	March 4, 1791
Virginia VA	Richmond	June 25, 1788
Washington WA	Olympia	November 11, 1889
West Virginia WV	Charleston	June 20, 1863
Wisconsin WI	Madison	May 29, 1848
Wyoming WY	Cheyenne	July 10, 1890

Alaska and Hawaii were the last two states to join the Union, thus bringing the number of states in USA to 50. Other than these, there are some areas which are dependent on United States for administration. Some of these include prominent names such as the American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Navassa Island and Northern Mariana Islands.

This was in brief about how many states USA has, along with the capital of each of these states and the day on which they were ratified or admitted to the Union. One of the most fascinating facts about United States is that even though the number of states in USA is 50, only the nine most populous states in the country house more than half of the total population.