Guide Rankings Geography Updated June 3, 2026

Sun Belt States

Phoenix skyline at dusk with the Sonoran Desert and saguaro cactus in the foreground

Sun Belt States

Ranking - Geography

Arizona grew 11.9 percent between 2010 and 2020. Phoenix is the fifth-largest city in the United States and the largest state capital — both products of the Sun Belt growth that has reshaped American demographics since the 1970s.

Quick Answer

Sun Belt States

  1. 1

    Britannica defines 15 states as the Sun Belt: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Texas gained the most residents of any state 2010–2020: nearly 4 million people.

  2. 2

    Texas (+15.9%), Nevada (+14.9%), Florida (+14.6%), and Arizona (+11.9%) are the fastest-growing Sun Belt states by percentage of population gain from 2010 to 2020. All four grew more than twice as fast as the U.S. national average of 7.4 percent over the same decade.

  3. 3

    Mississippi is the most contested Sun Belt state by growth data. It lost approximately 6,000 residents between 2010 and 2020 — the only Sun Belt state to shrink — while Texas and Florida each gained more than 2.8 million. Britannica includes Mississippi based on climate and geography, not growth.

Map

Sun Belt States Map: Population Growth 2010–2020

Population growth 2010–2020 (%)
No data
Texas and Nevada (darkest orange) led the Sun Belt with nearly 15–16 percent growth 2010–2020. Mississippi (lightest) lost population over the same decade — the only Sun Belt state to shrink. Colorado (+14.8 percent) is shown separately as a sometimes-included state.
Sun Belt States Map: Population Growth 2010–2020
Rank State Population growth 2010–2020 (%)
1 Texas 15.9
2 Nevada 14.9
3 Florida 14.6
4 Arizona 11.9
5 South Carolina 10.7
6 Georgia 10.6
7 North Carolina 9.5
8 Tennessee 8.8
9 California 6.1
10 Oklahoma 5.5
11 Alabama 5.1
12 Arkansas 3.1
13 New Mexico 2.8
14 Louisiana 2.7
15 Mississippi -0.2
16 Colorado 14.8
17 Virginia 7.9

Texas and Nevada (darkest orange) led the Sun Belt with nearly 15–16 percent growth 2010–2020. Mississippi (lightest) lost population over the same decade — the only Sun Belt state to shrink. Colorado (+14.8 percent) is shown separately as a sometimes-included state.

Sun Belt States Table

Sun Belt

Download as PDF

Print-ready table — Sun Belt States

What States Are in the Sun Belt?

Phoenix skyline at dusk with Sonoran Desert saguaro cactus in the foreground
Phoenix grew from approximately 330,000 residents in 1960 to over 1.6 million in 2020. Arizona's 11.9 percent growth rate 2010–2020 makes it one of the four fastest-growing Sun Belt states.

Britannica's definition — the most cited authoritative source — lists 15 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Narrower definitions used by some academic and economic sources include 11–12 states, typically excluding Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. All definitions agree on a core of roughly 7 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas.

The Sun Belt has no statutory or Census boundary. The U.S. Census groups southern states differently — its South region includes states like Delaware and Maryland that no one considers Sun Belt, while its West region splits Arizona and Nevada into a separate Pacific grouping. The 15-state Britannica list is the closest thing to a consensus definition and is used by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University.

Core vs Extended Sun Belt States

The 6 core states — Texas, Nevada, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, and California — are defined by both climate and growth. All 6 grew faster than the national average of 7.4 percent between 2010 and 2020; Texas and Nevada grew at more than twice the national rate. These states anchor every Sun Belt definition from the narrowest (11 states) to the broadest (15 states).

Mississippi is the clearest case of definition-by-climate rather than definition-by-growth. It lost approximately 6,000 residents between 2010 and 2020 — the only Sun Belt state to shrink — while its Sun Belt neighbors Texas and Florida each gained more than 2.8 million. Arkansas (+3.1 percent) and Louisiana (+2.7 percent) also grew far below the Sun Belt average. These three states are included based on their Deep South geography and warm climate, not on the demographic growth dynamics that first gave the Sun Belt its economic significance.

Sun Belt vs Snow Belt

Aerial view of a Florida retirement community with pools, golf courses, and suburban housing in a warm, green landscape
Florida gained 2.8 million residents 2010–2020. Its growth is driven by retirees migrating from the Northeast and Midwest — the demographic core of the Sun Belt vs Snow Belt migration pattern.

The Snow Belt — also called the Rust Belt in its industrial core — is the population-losing counterpart to the Sun Belt. It covers the Great Lakes and northeastern states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York (upstate), Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Illinois lost population between 2010 and 2020. Ohio grew only 2.3 percent, Pennsylvania 2.4 percent, and Michigan 2.0 percent — all far below the Sun Belt states they were losing residents to.

The Sun Belt vs Snow Belt dynamic began in earnest after World War II, when air conditioning made southern summers tolerable for year-round living, and interstate highways and cheap air travel made migration practical. Florida's population was 2.7 million in 1950; it surpassed 21 million by 2020. Michigan's population peaked in 2000 and has not recovered. The migration pattern runs from the Great Lakes and Northeast toward Texas, Florida, Arizona, and the Carolinas — and has shifted political maps, congressional apportionment, and economic output southward for 70 years.

Quick Answers

What states are in the Sun Belt?
Britannica's definition — the most cited — lists 15 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Narrower definitions (11–12 states) typically exclude Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. All definitions agree on Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas.
How many states are in the Sun Belt?
15 states per Britannica's definition, or 11–12 states per narrower academic and economic definitions. The difference is primarily four states — Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee — which are included based on climate and geography but grew more slowly than typical Sun Belt states.
What is the fastest-growing Sun Belt state?
Texas grew the most in absolute terms, adding nearly 4 million residents from 2010 to 2020. Nevada grew the fastest by percentage at 14.9 percent, followed closely by Florida (14.6 percent) and Arizona (11.9 percent). All four grew more than twice the U.S. national average of 7.4 percent for the decade.
Is Mississippi in the Sun Belt?
Yes, per Britannica's definition, based on Mississippi's climate and Deep South geography. However, Mississippi is the only Sun Belt state that lost population between 2010 and 2020, declining by approximately 6,000 residents. Its inclusion illustrates the difference between a climate-based and a growth-based definition of the Sun Belt.
What is the difference between the Sun Belt and the Snow Belt?
The Sun Belt is the southern and southwestern tier of states that has grown rapidly since World War II, driven by warm climate, retiree migration, and economic expansion. The Snow Belt is the Great Lakes and northeastern tier — Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and others — that has lost population or grown slowly as residents migrate south. Illinois lost population 2010–2020; Texas gained nearly 4 million.
Is Colorado in the Sun Belt?
Colorado is not in standard Sun Belt definitions, including Britannica's 15-state list. It grew 14.8 percent from 2010 to 2020 — faster than Florida — but its high elevation, cold winters, and mountain climate exclude it from the warm-climate definition of the Sun Belt. Colorado's growth is driven by different factors than the retiree and warm-weather migration that defines the Sun Belt.

Methodology

Sun Belt definition follows Kinder Institute for Urban Research / Britannica's 15-state list, which is the most cited authoritative definition. Narrower definitions (11–12 states) exclude Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Population growth data from U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census, comparing 2010 and 2020 state populations.

Sources

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.
Found an error? Report it here.

You Might Also Like