Guide Rankings Geography Updated May 16, 2026

How Many Rhode Islands Could Fit Inside Each U.S. State

Choropleth map of the United States shaded by how many Rhode Islands fit inside each state

How Many Rhode Islands Could Fit Inside Each U.S. State

Ranking - Geography

Quick Answer

How Many Rhode Islands Could Fit Inside Each U.S. State

  1. 1

    Rhode Island (1,034 sq mi) is the smallest U.S. state. Alaska fits 551.9 Rhode Islands within its borders; Texas fits 253.3, and California fits 150.8.

  2. 2

    Eight states each fit 100 or more Rhode Islands — Alaska, Texas, California, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado — all west of the Mississippi. Delaware, the second-smallest state, fits just 1.9.

Map

Rhode Islands per State Map

Rhode Islands
No data
Alaska can fit 551.9 Rhode Islands — more than twice as many as Texas (253.3). All eight states that fit 100 or more Rhode Islands are west of the Mississippi River.
Rhode Islands per State Map
Rank State Rhode Islands
1 Alaska 551.9
2 Texas 253.3
3 California 150.8
4 Montana 140.8
5 New Mexico 117.3
6 Arizona 109.9
7 Nevada 106.2
8 Colorado 100.2
9 Wyoming 93.9
10 Oregon 92.8
11 Idaho 79.9
12 Utah 79.5
13 Kansas 79.1
14 Minnesota 77
15 Nebraska 74.3
16 South Dakota 73.3
17 North Dakota 66.7
18 Missouri 66.5
19 Oklahoma 66.3
20 Washington 64.3
21 Georgia 55.6
22 Michigan 54.7
23 Iowa 54
24 Illinois 53.7
25 Wisconsin 52.4
26 Florida 51.9
27 Arkansas 50.3
28 Alabama 49
29 North Carolina 47
30 New York 45.6
31 Mississippi 45.4
32 Pennsylvania 43.3
33 Louisiana 41.8
34 Tennessee 39.9
35 Ohio 39.5
36 Virginia 38.2
37 Kentucky 38.2
38 Indiana 34.6
39 Maine 29.8
40 South Carolina 29.1
41 West Virginia 23.2
42 Maryland 9.4
43 Vermont 8.9
44 New Hampshire 8.7
45 Massachusetts 7.5
46 New Jersey 7.1
47 Hawaii 6.2
48 Connecticut 4.7
49 Delaware 1.9

Alaska can fit 551.9 Rhode Islands — more than twice as many as Texas (253.3). All eight states that fit 100 or more Rhode Islands are west of the Mississippi River.

How Many Rhode Islands Could Fit Inside Each U.S. State Table

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Print-ready table — How Many Rhode Islands Could Fit Inside Each U.S. State

States Where the Most Rhode Islands Fit

Highest

551.9
Alaska flag
Alaska #1

Top 10 — Rhode Islands that fit

#1 Alaska flag Alaska
551.9
#2 Texas flag Texas
253.3
#3 California flag California
150.8
#4 Montana flag Montana
140.8
#5 New Mexico flag New Mexico
117.3
#6 Arizona flag Arizona
109.9
#7 Nevada flag Nevada
106.2
#8 Colorado flag Colorado
100.2
#9 Wyoming flag Wyoming
93.9
#10 Oregon flag Oregon
92.8

States Where the Most Rhode Islands Fit

Alaska (570,641 sq mi) fits 551.9 Rhode Islands — more than twice the 253.3 that fit in Texas. The gap between Alaska and every other state is wider here than in any other geographic comparison: Alaska is 2.18 times larger than Texas, yet most people picture the two as roughly comparable. Colorado is the only state that crosses exactly 100 Rhode Islands, fitting 100.2.

California (150.8 RI) edges out Montana (140.8 RI) despite being more than twice as populous and far more associated with cities than open land. Montana's 145,552 square miles are almost entirely undeveloped, yet California's vast interior — the Central Valley, the Mojave, the eastern Sierra Nevada foothills — outpaces it. The full U.S. states by land area ranking shows how this comparison extends across all 50 states.

Rank
1
State
Alaska
Rhode Islands that fit
551.9
Land area (sq mi)
570641
Rank
2
State
Texas
Rhode Islands that fit
253.3
Land area (sq mi)
261914
Rank
3
State
California
Rhode Islands that fit
150.8
Land area (sq mi)
155959
Rank
4
State
Montana
Rhode Islands that fit
140.8
Land area (sq mi)
145552
Rank
5
State
New Mexico
Rhode Islands that fit
117.3
Land area (sq mi)
121298
Rank
6
State
Arizona
Rhode Islands that fit
109.9
Land area (sq mi)
113594
Rank
7
State
Nevada
Rhode Islands that fit
106.2
Land area (sq mi)
109781
Rank
8
State
Colorado
Rhode Islands that fit
100.2
Land area (sq mi)
103642
Rank
9
State
Wyoming
Rhode Islands that fit
93.9
Land area (sq mi)
97093
Rank
10
State
Oregon
Rhode Islands that fit
92.8
Land area (sq mi)
95988

States Closest in Size to Rhode Island

Satellite view of the Hawaiian Islands spread across the Pacific Ocean
Hawaii's land is split across a long island chain, so its 6.2 Rhode Islands are scattered over hundreds of miles of Pacific rather than gathered in one compact block.

Delaware is the only other state with a ratio below 2.0 — it fits 1.9 Rhode Islands. Connecticut (4.7 RI) and Hawaii (6.2 RI) are the next closest. Hawaii's 6,423 square miles are spread across eight main islands, which makes the ratio feel smaller than the total distance across the archipelago suggests.

The five smallest states combined — Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New Hampshire — fit 23.4 Rhode Islands total. That is almost exactly the same as West Virginia (23.2 RI) alone. Rhode Island itself has a population density higher than all but two other states, fitting more than 1 million residents into its 1,034 square miles.

Rank
41
State
West Virginia
Rhode Islands that fit
23.2
Land area (sq mi)
24038
Rank
42
State
Maryland
Rhode Islands that fit
9.4
Land area (sq mi)
9707
Rank
43
State
Vermont
Rhode Islands that fit
8.9
Land area (sq mi)
9217
Rank
44
State
New Hampshire
Rhode Islands that fit
8.7
Land area (sq mi)
8953
Rank
45
State
Massachusetts
Rhode Islands that fit
7.5
Land area (sq mi)
7800
Rank
46
State
New Jersey
Rhode Islands that fit
7.1
Land area (sq mi)
7354
Rank
47
State
Hawaii
Rhode Islands that fit
6.2
Land area (sq mi)
6423
Rank
48
State
Connecticut
Rhode Islands that fit
4.7
Land area (sq mi)
4842
Rank
49
State
Delaware
Rhode Islands that fit
1.9
Land area (sq mi)
1949

How the Rhode Island Comparison Works

Oblique aerial view of Narragansett Bay with peninsulas and islands in Rhode Island
Narragansett Bay cuts deep into Rhode Island's center, helping give the smallest state its distinctive mix of compact land area, islands, and shoreline.

The ratio divides each state's land area (in square miles, as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau) by Rhode Island's land area of 1,034 square miles. Land area counts only solid ground and excludes rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and coastal waters. The same source and exclusion rule applies to all 50 states, so the ratios are directly comparable. Using total area instead of land area would change results slightly for water-heavy states like Michigan and Florida.

Rhode Island is frequently used as a size reference in U.S. geography because it is the smallest and most widely recognized benchmark. The states-by-land-area ranking shows all 50 states ranked by raw land area, and the compare-states tool lets you set any two states side by side with population and density context.

Quick Answers

How many Rhode Islands fit in Alaska?
Alaska fits 551.9 Rhode Islands by land area. Alaska covers 570,641 square miles; Rhode Island covers 1,034 square miles. Alaska is the largest U.S. state and more than twice the size of Texas.
How many Rhode Islands fit in Texas?
Texas fits 253.3 Rhode Islands. Texas covers 261,914 square miles and is the largest state in the contiguous United States. Alaska fits more than twice as many Rhode Islands as Texas does.
How many Rhode Islands fit in California?
California fits 150.8 Rhode Islands. California covers 155,959 square miles, making it the third-largest U.S. state by land area. It fits more Rhode Islands than Montana (140.8), despite Montana being better known for open land.
What state fits the fewest Rhode Islands besides Rhode Island itself?
Delaware fits the fewest Rhode Islands of any state besides Rhode Island: 1.9. Connecticut is next at 4.7, followed by Hawaii at 6.2. Delaware's 1,949 square miles make it the second-smallest U.S. state.
How many Rhode Islands fit in the entire United States?
The combined land area of all 50 states is approximately 3,532,714 square miles, which fits about 3,417 Rhode Islands. That figure uses land area only and excludes water bodies throughout.
How big is Rhode Island compared to other states?
Rhode Island (1,034 sq mi) is the smallest U.S. state by land area. It is about half the size of Delaware (1,949 sq mi), the next smallest. Rhode Island is ranked 50th in land area but has a population density higher than 48 other states.

Methodology

Rhode Islands per state = state land area (sq mi) divided by Rhode Island land area (1,034 sq mi). Land area from U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer Files; water excluded throughout.

Sources

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.
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