Guide Rankings Geography Updated June 3, 2026

Southern States

Broadway Street in Nashville, Tennessee, lit up at night with neon signs on honky-tonks and live music venues

Southern States

Ranking - Geography

Nashville, Tennessee is one of the fastest-growing cities in the South, adding more than 100 people per day to its metro population as of 2023. Tennessee is one of 16 states in the Census South, the largest of the four Census regions.

Quick Answer

Southern States

  1. 1

    Sixteen states make up the Census South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Texas has the largest South population at approximately 29.1 million.

  2. 2

    Texas (268,596 sq mi) is by far the largest Southern state by area — more than four times the size of Florida (65,758 sq mi), the second-largest. Delaware (2,489 sq mi) is the smallest Southern state and is sometimes considered a Mid-Atlantic state culturally, despite its Census South classification.

  3. 3

    The South is the largest of the four Census regions by both population and number of states. West Virginia and Delaware are the two most commonly disputed Census South states — both are geographically and culturally closer to the Mid-Atlantic than to the Deep South core.

Map

Southern States Map

South Status
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2.25
2.5
2.75
3
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Texas (268,596 sq mi) is the largest Southern state, more than four times the size of the next largest (Florida at 65,758 sq mi). Delaware (2,489 sq mi) and West Virginia (24,230 sq mi) are the two states most commonly associated with Mid-Atlantic or Appalachian traditions rather than the core South.
Southern States Map
Rank State South Status
1 Texas 3
2 Florida 3
3 Georgia 3
4 North Carolina 3
5 Virginia 3
6 Tennessee 3
7 Maryland 3
8 South Carolina 3
9 Alabama 3
10 Louisiana 3
11 Kentucky 3
12 Oklahoma 3
13 Arkansas 3
14 Mississippi 3
15 West Virginia 2
16 Delaware 2

Texas (268,596 sq mi) is the largest Southern state, more than four times the size of the next largest (Florida at 65,758 sq mi). Delaware (2,489 sq mi) and West Virginia (24,230 sq mi) are the two states most commonly associated with Mid-Atlantic or Appalachian traditions rather than the core South.

Southern States Table

Status

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States in the South

Neon-lit Broadway Street in Nashville at night with live music venues and crowds on the sidewalk
Nashville is among the fastest-growing cities in the South. Tennessee is one of four East South Central division states within the Census South.

Sixteen states make up the Census South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Census divides these into three sub-regions: the South Atlantic division (Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia), the East South Central division (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee), and the West South Central division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas).

Texas leads the South in both population (approximately 29.1 million) and area (268,596 square miles). Texas is more than four times the size of Florida (65,758 square miles), the second-largest Southern state by area. Delaware, at 2,489 square miles and approximately 990,000 residents, is the smallest Southern state on both measures.

Borderline South States

The historic town of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, surrounded by Appalachian hills
Harpers Ferry sits at the junction of West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland. West Virginia formed in 1863 when its western counties refused to secede — making it the only state created by breaking away from a Confederate state.

Delaware and West Virginia are the two Census South states most often placed outside the South culturally. Delaware (2,489 sq mi) remained in the Union during the Civil War, has no shared border with any Deep South state, and is economically integrated with Philadelphia and the Mid-Atlantic corridor. West Virginia (24,230 sq mi) formed by separating from Virginia in 1863 specifically to avoid Confederate secession; its Appalachian culture, terrain, and economy differ sharply from the plantation South.

Maryland is also a border state — it did not secede during the Civil War despite permitting slavery at the time. With approximately 6.2 million residents and its location between Virginia and Pennsylvania, Maryland is Census South Atlantic but is frequently grouped with the Mid-Atlantic in non-Census contexts. Kentucky, while Census East South Central, maintained official neutrality during the Civil War.

Largest South States

Texas (268,596 sq mi) is the largest Southern state by area — larger than all other Southern states combined except Florida (65,758 sq mi) and Oklahoma (69,899 sq mi). Oklahoma (69,899 sq mi) is actually larger than Florida despite being less populous (approximately 4 million vs approximately 21.5 million). Texas also leads by population at approximately 29.1 million, followed by Florida at approximately 21.5 million and Georgia at approximately 10.7 million.

Quick Answers

What states are in the South?
Sixteen states make up the Census South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Census divides these into three divisions: South Atlantic, East South Central, and West South Central.
How many Southern states are there?
There are 16 states in the Census South, making it the largest of the four Census regions by number of states. The 16 states also make the South the most populous Census region, led by Texas at approximately 29.1 million residents and Florida at approximately 21.5 million.
Is Delaware a Southern state?
By Census definition, yes — Delaware is in the South Atlantic division of the Census South. However, Delaware did not secede during the Civil War, maintained slavery but remained in the Union, and is economically and culturally integrated with Philadelphia and the Mid-Atlantic corridor. Most non-Census geographic sources consider Delaware a Mid-Atlantic state.
Is West Virginia a Southern state?
By Census definition, yes — West Virginia is in the South Atlantic division. However, West Virginia formed specifically by refusing to secede from the Union in 1863, separating from Virginia at the start of the Civil War. Its Appalachian culture, terrain, and economy differ significantly from the core South. Many geographic references group West Virginia with Appalachian or Mid-Atlantic states.
What is the largest Southern state?
Texas is the largest Southern state by both area (268,596 sq mi) and population (approximately 29.1 million). Texas is the second-largest state in the United States after Alaska, and is more than four times the area of Florida (65,758 sq mi), the second-largest Southern state.
What is the smallest Southern state?
Delaware is the smallest Southern state by area at 2,489 square miles, and also the least populous Southern state at approximately 990,000 residents. Delaware is one of the two most contested Census South states alongside West Virginia.

Methodology

How we researched this list

Follows the Census Bureau's fixed 16-state South region; the south_score reflects how consistently sources agree.

Sources

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.
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