The United States has 264,837 sq mi or 685,924 square kilometres of area covered by water. By this, the U.S. is the third largest country by water area in the world. It falls behind Russia and Canada, the no. 1 and no. 2 largest water area respectively.
What is a water area?
By water area, the Census Bureau of the United States says it is an area that is covered by perennial waters. They flow through the year situated within an area. This article shows you what per cent of your state is covered by water. You will see which state has the highest percentage of water area.
Largest U.S. State by Water Area
I would have been surprised to see the State of Alaska has the largest area in the U.S. with 665,384 square miles without being the largest by water area.
But the state which is spectacularly unique for its wide open spaces doesn’t disappoint. It remains in the no. 1 spot as the U.S. largest state by water area and land area. The water area of Alaska is 94,743 square miles (sq mi) or 245,383 square kilometer (sq.km).
Alaska’s water area is 54,568 sq mi more than the water of the State of Michigan. Michigan comes second covering 40,175 sq mi or 104,052 sq.km of water.
Surprisingly, Michigan is the 11th largest by total area while Texas which has the second-largest area is the eighth by water area. This means 41.54 per cent of Michigan’s total area is covered by water.
Michigan’s water area is three times more than the water area of Florida, standing at 12,133 sq mi or 31,424 sq.km. Wisconsin and Louisiana are fourth and fifth with 11,339 sq mi and 9,174 sq mi respectively.
Smallest U.S. States by Water Area
West Virginia (192 sq mi), New Mexico (292 sq mi), Arizona (396 sq mi), New Hampshire (397 sq mi), and Vermont (400 sq mi) are the five smallest U.S. states by water area.
- Less than 1% of the area of West Virginia is covered by water.
- 0.2% of New Mexico has perennial waters.
- 0.35% of Arizona area is covered by water
- 4.25% of New Hampshire is covered by perennial waters
- 4.16% of Vermont’s area is covered by water.
The table below shows the water area of the 50 U.S. states including the District of Columbia and its territories:
| Rank | State | Water Area |
| 1 | Alaska | 94,743 sq mi 245,383 sq.km |
| 2 | Michigan | 40,175 sq mi 104,052 sq.km |
| 3 | Florida | 12,133 sq mi 31,424 sq.km |
| 4 | Wisconsin | 11,339 sq mi 29,367 sq.km |
| 5 | Louisiana | 9,174 sq mi 23,761 sq.km |
| 6 | California | 7,916 sq mi 20,501 sq.km |
| 7 | New York | 7,429 sq mi 19,240 sq.km |
| 8 | Texas | 7,365 sq 19,075 sq.km |
| 9 | Minnesota | 7,309 sq mi 18,930 sq.km |
| 10 | North Carolina | 5,201 sq mi 13,471 sq.km |
| 11 | Washington | 4,842 sq mi 12,542 sq.km |
| 12 | Maine | 4,537 sq mi 11,750 sq.km |
| 13 | Hawaii | 4,509 sq mi 11,678 sq.km |
| 14 | Ohio | 3,965 sq mi 10,269 sq.km |
| 15 | Virginia | 3,285 sq mi 8,508 sq.km |
| 16 | Massachusetts | 2,754 sq mi 7,134 sq.km |
| 17 | Utah | 2,727 sq mi 7,064 sq.km |
| 18 | Maryland | 2,699 sq mi 6,990 sq.km |
| 19 | Illinois | 2,395 sq mi 6,202 sq.km |
| 20 | Oregon | 2,391 sq mi 6,191 sq.km |
| 21 | South Carolina | 1,960 sq mi 5,076 sq.km |
| 22 | Georgia | 1,912 sq mi 4,951 sq.km |
| 23 | Alabama | 1,775 sq mi 4,597 sq.km |
| 24 | North Dakota | 1,698 sq mi 4,397 sq.km |
| 25 | Mississippi | 1,509 sq mi 3,907 sq.km |
| 26 | Montana | 1,494 sq mi 3,869 sq.km |
| 27 | New Jersey | 1,368 sq mi 3,544 sq.km |
| 28 | Pennsylvania | 1,312 sq mi 3,397 sq.km |
| 29 | South Dakota | 1,305 sq mi 3,379 sq.km |
| 30 | Oklahoma | 1,304 sq mi 3,377 sq.km |
| 31 | Arkansas | 1,143 sq mi 1,143 sq.km |
| 32 | Missouri | 965 sq mi 2,501 sq.km |
| 33 | Idaho | 926 sq mi 2,398 sq.km |
| 34 | Kentucky | 921 sq mi 2,387 sq.km |
| 35 | Tennessee | 909 sq mi 2,355 sq.km |
| 36 | Nevada | 791 sq mi 2,048 sq.km |
| 37 | Wyoming | 720 sq mi 1,864 sq.km |
| 38 | Connecticut | 701 sq mi 1,816 sq.km |
| 39 | Indiana | 593 sq mi 1,537 sq.km |
| 40 | Delaware | 540 sq mi 1,399 sq.km |
| 41 | Nebraska | 524 sq mi 1,356 sq.km |
| 42 | Kansas | 520 sq mi 1,346 sq.km |
| 43 | Rhode Island | 511 sq mi 1,324 sq.km |
| 44 | Colorado | 452 sq mi 1,170 sq.km |
| 45 | Iowa | 416 sq mi 1,077 sq.km |
| 46 | Vermont | 400 sq mi 1,035 sq.km |
| 47 | New Hampshire | 397 sq mi 1,027 sq.km |
| 48 | Arizona | 396 sq mi 1,026 sq.km |
| 49 | New Mexico | 292 sq mi 757 sq.km |
| 50 | West Virginia | 192 sq mi 497 sq.km |
| Territories | ||
| Island Areas | 3257 sq mi 8,436 sq.km | |
| Puerto Rico | 1,901 sq mi 4,924 sq.km | |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 1,793 sq mi 4,644 sq.km | |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 599 sq mi 1550 sq.km | |
| American Samoa | 505 sq mi 1,307 sq.km | |
| Guam | 361 sq mi 935 sq.km | |
| District of Columbia | 7 sq mi 19 sq.km |
Which U.S. state has the largest water area?
The State of Alaska has the highest water area in the United States which is 245,383 square kilometers (or 94,743 square miles).
Alaska also has 26,119 sq mi coastal area or 67,647 square kilometers. Some of its popular rivers include Kuskokwim River, Koyukuk River, and Yukon River among others.
What percentage of Alaska is covered by water?
With many rivers across Alaska, the water area of Alaska accounts for 14.23% of the state’s total area. In land area, water area, and total area, Alaska is the largest.
How many U.S. states have no water area?
All the 50. U.S. States have water areas including its territories and the District of Columbia. However, West Virginia has the smallest water area among the states. It has 192 sq mi or 497 sq.km of water area.
What is the area of the United States covered by water?
264,837 square miles or 685,924 square kilometers, 42,337 sq mi coastal and 60,094 sq mi great lakes, according to the United States Census Bureau.
What percentage of Florida is water?
Florida’s total area is 65,758 sq mi, and its water area is 12,133 sq mi, which means 18.45% of Florida is covered by water.
Conclusion:
If the total area of the U.S. is 3,796,742 sq mi and 264,837 sq mi part of the area is covered by water, it means 6.97% of the U.S. is covered by perennial waters.
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