Guide Rankings Geography Updated May 28, 2026

Wild West States

Desert buttes and open frontier landscape in the American West

Wild West States

Ranking - Geography

The Wild West is tied as much to open desert, frontier travel routes, and remote western terrain as to famous boomtowns. Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and the surrounding states preserve many of the landscapes most associated with the Old West era.

Quick Answer

Wild West States

  1. 1

    17 states are considered Wild West states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The Wild West era ran roughly from 1865 to 1900, covering the frontier territories west of the Missouri River.

  2. 2

    The three most iconic Wild West states are Arizona (Tombstone, the Gunfight at the OK Corral in 1881), South Dakota (Deadwood, Wild Bill Hickok), and Kansas (Dodge City, Wyatt Earp). All three were active frontier territories during the height of the Wild West era.

  3. 3

    The 33 states east of the Missouri River are not part of the Wild West. Those states were already settled before the Civil War and do not share the frontier lawmen, cattle drive, and mining boomtown history that defines the Wild West.

Map

Wild West States Map

Wild West State
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The 17 Wild West states form a continuous block from Texas in the south to Washington and Montana in the north. All 17 lie west of the Missouri River. The 33 states east of the Missouri River are not part of the Wild West.
Wild West States Map
State Wild West State
Arizona 1
California 1
Colorado 1
Idaho 1
Kansas 1
Montana 1
Nebraska 1
Nevada 1
New Mexico 1
North Dakota 1
Oklahoma 1
Oregon 1
South Dakota 1
Texas 1
Utah 1
Washington 1
Wyoming 1
Alabama 0
Alaska 0
Arkansas 0
Connecticut 0
Delaware 0
Florida 0
Georgia 0
Hawaii 0
Illinois 0
Indiana 0
Iowa 0
Kentucky 0
Louisiana 0
Maine 0
Maryland 0
Massachusetts 0
Michigan 0
Minnesota 0
Mississippi 0
Missouri 0
New Hampshire 0
New Jersey 0
New York 0
North Carolina 0
Ohio 0
Pennsylvania 0
Rhode Island 0
South Carolina 0
Tennessee 0
Vermont 0
Virginia 0
West Virginia 0
Wisconsin 0

The 17 Wild West states form a continuous block from Texas in the south to Washington and Montana in the north. All 17 lie west of the Missouri River. The 33 states east of the Missouri River are not part of the Wild West.

Wild West States Table

Wild West State

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Print-ready table — Wild West States

What Are the Wild West States?

Railroad tracks and the golden spike monument at Promontory Summit in Utah
Promontory Summit became a national symbol of western expansion on May 10, 1869, when the first transcontinental railroad was completed there.

The Wild West states are the 17 U.S. states that were frontier territories during the core Wild West era of approximately 1865 to 1900. All 17 lie west of the Missouri River: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. These states share a common history of cattle drives, gold and silver mining booms, frontier justice, Indian Wars, and the push of the railroad across unsettled land.

The Wild West era began at the end of the Civil War in 1865, when the U.S. government accelerated westward expansion through the Homestead Act, the transcontinental railroad, and military campaigns against Native American nations. It is generally considered to have ended around 1900, when the U.S. Census Bureau declared the frontier officially closed. Historian Frederick Jackson Turner had argued this point in his landmark 1893 Frontier Thesis, stating that the frontier had shaped American democracy and that its closing marked a turning point in national identity.

Most Famous Wild West States

The O.K. Corral site in Tombstone, Arizona, with weathered frontier-style wooden buildings
Tombstone's O.K. Corral preserves the site of the 1881 gunfight that fixed Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and Tombstone in Wild West legend.

Three states stand out as the most iconic in Wild West history. Arizona's Tombstone hosted the Gunfight at the OK Corral on October 26, 1881 — the most famous 30 seconds in Wild West history, involving Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and Doc Holliday against the Clanton-McLaury faction. South Dakota's Deadwood was the site where Wild Bill Hickok was shot dead at a poker table on August 2, 1876, holding what became known as the Dead Man's Hand. Kansas's Dodge City and Abilene were the endpoints of the Chisholm Trail cattle drives, where Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and Wild Bill Hickok all served as lawmen at different times.

New Mexico holds a strong claim as the most lawless Wild West state. Billy the Kid (William H. Bonney) killed his first man in Clifton, Arizona, but became notorious during the Lincoln County War (1878) in New Mexico, where he killed at least eight men before Sheriff Pat Garrett shot him dead in Fort Sumner in 1881. Oklahoma's Indian Territory was the primary refuge for outlaws fleeing justice in neighboring states throughout the 1870s and 1880s, leading to the legendary court of Judge Isaac Parker — the Hanging Judge — in Fort Smith, Arkansas, whose jurisdiction covered the territory.

Why Aren't Eastern States Part of the Wild West?

The 33 states east of the Missouri River are not Wild West states because they were already settled before the Wild West era began. The original 13 colonies had been states for nearly a century by 1865. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan became states between 1803 and 1837. Even states like Iowa (1846) and Wisconsin (1848) were organized, populated, and functioning states before the Civil War ended. The Wild West was defined by the absence of established law and order — a condition that applied only to the far western territories and recent states where settlers arrived faster than government institutions.

Missouri is the most common source of confusion. Missouri was called the Gateway to the West because St. Louis and Independence were the starting points of the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, and the California Trail. Jesse James was born in Missouri and operated there. But Missouri was a settled slave state before the Civil War, not frontier territory. The Wild West happened at the destination of those trails — not at the starting point.

Quick Answers

What states are considered Wild West states?
17 states are considered Wild West states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. All 17 were frontier territories during the core Wild West era of 1865 to 1900.
What is the most famous Wild West state?
Arizona is often considered the most iconic Wild West state because of Tombstone and the Gunfight at the OK Corral (1881), the most famous event in Wild West history. South Dakota (Deadwood, Wild Bill Hickok) and Kansas (Dodge City, Wyatt Earp) are also among the most famous.
Is Texas a Wild West state?
Yes. Texas is one of the 17 Wild West states. The Chisholm Trail cattle drives ran from Texas to Kansas railheads; the Texas Rangers policed the frontier; and battles with the Comanche and Apache Nations defined the western Texas frontier throughout the 1870s and 1880s.
Is Missouri a Wild West state?
No. Missouri was the Gateway to the West — the starting point of the Oregon, Santa Fe, and California Trails — but was itself a settled state, not frontier territory. Jesse James operated in Missouri, but Missouri was a functioning state, not the unsettled frontier territory that defines the Wild West.
When did the Wild West era end?
The Wild West era is generally considered to have ended around 1900. Historian Frederick Jackson Turner declared the American frontier officially closed in his 1893 Frontier Thesis, noting that the 1890 Census found no continuous frontier line remaining. Oklahoma was one of the last territories, achieving statehood in 1907 — the last contiguous U.S. state to do so.
Is California a Wild West state?
Yes. California's Wild West history begins with the Gold Rush of 1849, which brought 300,000 settlers to the territory in two years and created a chaotic frontier society before institutions of law could be established. The Pony Express ran from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento. Frontier boomtowns throughout the Sierra Nevada were among the wildest in the West.

Methodology

Wild West classification is based on historical geography: states that were frontier territories or recently admitted states during the core Wild West era of approximately 1865 to 1900. States included were the site of cattle drives, mining boomtowns, Indian Wars, frontier justice, or Pony Express and railroad expansion during this period. Eastern states settled before the Civil War are excluded.

Sources

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.
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