RANKING · 2020 CENSUS · 51 SHOWN OF 51

Most population lost, US states · 2020

US states that lost the most residents from the 2010 census to 2020, by raw count of people rather than percentage. West Virginia leads at -59,278. 51 states qualify in total.

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SAME RANKING BYCities Counties Metros

YEAR2000 2010 2020 2024

RANKPLACESTATEPOPPOPULATION CHANGEVS 2000

USUnited States331,449,281+1,121,309–

01West Virginia, WVWV1,778,373-59,278−499%

02Illinois, ILIL12,694,798-18,124−102%

03Mississippi, MSMS2,946,779-6,018−102%

04Wyoming, WYWY582,397+13,225−67%

05Vermont, VTVT647,106+17,336−62%

06Alaska, AKAK735,706+23,160−70%

07Connecticut, CTCT3,624,508+31,847−73%

08Maine, MEME1,387,817+33,998−28%

09Rhode Island, RIRI1,101,801+44,812−0%

10New Mexico, NMNM2,120,246+58,343−81%

11New Hampshire, NHNH1,394,868+61,059−52%

12South Dakota, SDSD907,428+72,487+23%

13Kansas, KSKS2,947,197+84,762−60%

14District of Columbia, DCDC681,294+87,822−352%

15Delaware, DEDE1,021,191+92,014−22%

16Montana, MTMT1,116,875+94,810−8%

17Hawaii, HIHI1,445,235+94,970−8%

18Arkansas, ARAR3,049,391+95,606−70%

19North Dakota, NDND784,841+106,503+3032%

20Louisiana, LALA4,611,961+124,385−50%

21Nebraska, NENE1,978,707+135,163+2%

22Iowa, IAIA3,210,507+144,014−4%

23Missouri, MOMO6,191,814+165,986−65%

24Kentucky, KYKY4,534,824+166,469−53%

25Michigan, MIMI10,077,761+193,691−70%

26Wisconsin, WIWI5,914,872+206,732−56%

27Oklahoma, OKOK4,028,634+208,002−32%

28Alabama, ALAL5,086,768+244,543−40%

29Ohio, OHOH11,810,293+262,944−48%

30Idaho, IDID1,934,262+271,524−5%

31Pennsylvania, PAPA13,018,639+300,321−25%

32Indiana, ININ6,851,073+301,726−44%

33Minnesota, MNMN5,739,445+402,569−26%

34Maryland, MDMD6,206,011+403,672−22%

35Nevada, NVNV3,184,612+404,063−49%

36Oregon, OROR4,254,293+406,182−30%

37Massachusetts, MAMA7,044,056+482,288+45%

38South Carolina, SCSC5,296,225+493,061−6%

39New Jersey, NJNJ9,343,809+497,100−27%

40Utah, UTUT3,392,331+507,731−1%

41Tennessee, TNTN7,066,383+564,735−30%

42Virginia, VAVA8,705,170+630,369−29%

43Colorado, COCO5,862,189+744,518−26%

44Arizona, AZAZ7,378,838+759,485−48%

45New York, NYNY19,852,366+823,147−17%

46North Carolina, NCNC10,730,404+903,905−36%

47Washington, WAWA7,816,116+980,741−5%

48Georgia, GAGA10,940,407+1,024,255−40%

49California, CACA39,287,377+2,284,267−44%

50Florida, FLFL22,416,077+2,736,877−10%

51Texas, TXTX30,188,424+3,999,944+3%

SHOWING 1–51 OF 51

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UPDATED 2026-07-15 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS

Frequently asked

Which state has the lowest population change?

West Virginia ranks #1 with -59,278 (2020 Decennial Census).

What are the top 5 states by population change?

West Virginia, Illinois, Mississippi, Wyoming, Vermont.

How many states are in this ranking?

51 states qualify after filtering for population minimums and data availability. The ranking covers 2020 Decennial Census data.

How is population change measured?

Change in the number of residents from the prior decennial census (raw count, not a percentage). Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census.