States by Number of Borders

Alaska and Hawaii stand alone with zero bordering U.S. states. Alaska shares a 1,538-mile land border with Canada (the longest U.S. international border) but touches no other state. Hawaii sits 2,400 miles from the mainland in the Pacific Ocean — the most isolated population center on Earth.

Maine holds the record for fewest neighbors among continental states: just New Hampshire to the west. Canada wraps around Maine's other three sides. This isolation earned Maine the nickname 'the tail of the dog' on the U.S. map. Interestingly, Maine is closer to Europe than any other U.S. state.

Florida, South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Washington each border only two states. Florida's peninsula geography limits it to Alabama and Georgia. Washington sits in the Pacific Northwest corner, bordered only by Oregon and Idaho. Rhode Island, the smallest state, fits snugly between Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The Four Corners monument marks the only place in America where four states meet at a single point: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. You can stand in four states simultaneously — a geographic quirk that draws over 250,000 visitors annually to this remote desert location. These four states are also among the highest-elevation states in the nation; see the highest point in each state list for how their peaks compare.

This quadripoint exists because of how western territories were divided along straight lines of latitude and longitude. The 37th parallel north and 109° 3' west longitude intersect here. The monument (a bronze disk surrounded by state seals) was placed in 1912, though surveys later found it sits about 1,800 feet east of the true intersection.

The Four Corners region is entirely within the Navajo Nation, the largest Native American reservation in the United States. The Navajo operate the monument and surrounding vendor market. Despite its remoteness — the nearest town is over 30 miles away — it remains one of the most photographed spots in the Southwest.

Michigan's border situation is uniquely complex. The state is split into two peninsulas that don't physically connect — the Upper Peninsula borders Wisconsin, while the Lower Peninsula borders Indiana and Ohio. The two halves are joined only by the five-mile Mackinac Bridge. Michigan also shares water borders with Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin across the Great Lakes.

Kentucky's 7-border count seems odd given its modest size, but geography explains it. The Ohio River creates Kentucky's entire northern border, curving to touch Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia in sequence. The state's southern border with Tennessee runs straight for 350 miles. River curves plus surveyor's lines is an unusually effective combination.

Texas, despite being the second-largest state in the U.S. states by land area ranking, borders only 4 states (New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana). Its massive size is mostly coastline and international border with Mexico — 1,254 miles along the Rio Grande. Meanwhile, Kentucky borders 7 states while being one-fifth the size of Texas.

Thirteen states have straight-line borders that follow lines of latitude or longitude. Colorado and Wyoming are the only two states with borders made entirely of straight lines. This 'rectangular' shape reflects their creation from western territories, where surveyors used coordinates rather than rivers or mountains.

The shortest state border is between New York and Connecticut along Long Island Sound — just 0.8 miles of water at the Connecticut-New York boundary near Rye. The longest state border is between Texas and Oklahoma at 870 miles, mostly following the Red River and the 100th meridian west.