Waterfall Density by State: Per Square Mile and Per Resident

A tall waterfall and footbridge in a green gorge
By David F.
Published · 8 min read

We ranked every U.S. state by named waterfalls per 1,000 square miles and per 1,000 residents using USGS GNIS counts plus Census land area and 2020 population.

Raw waterfall counts answer which states have the most named falls. They do not tell you which states are packed with them, or which ones give each resident the most named falls to chase. For this Friday data study we took every named waterfall in our USGS-based directory, divided by Census land area and by 2020 Census population, and ranked all 50 states plus the District of Columbia both ways.

This is the companion to our earlier count ranking, states with the most waterfalls. Same source data, different lens.

Methodology

  • Waterfall counts: Named features classified as Falls in the USGS Geographic Names Information System, as currently loaded on WaterfallsNearYou.com (2,644 listings across the 50 states and D.C. in this build).
  • Land area: U.S. Census Bureau land area in square miles (excludes inland water).
  • Population: 2020 Decennial Census resident population.
  • Density metrics: falls per 1,000 sq mi = named_falls / land_area_sq_mi × 1,000 and falls per 1,000 residents = named_falls / (population / 1,000).
  • Scope: 50 states and the District of Columbia. Territories are omitted here so area and population denominators match.
  • What this is not: A ranking of beauty, height, flow or public access. It only measures how named Falls features are distributed relative to land and people.

National baseline for context: 2,644 named falls across 3,529,958 square miles of land and 330,459,333 residents works out to about 0.75 falls per 1,000 square miles and 0.0080 falls per 1,000 residents.

States Ranked by Waterfalls per 1,000 Square Miles

Compact, wet or mountainous places rise on this list even when their raw counts are mid-pack. Hawaii's volcanic terrain and short distances put it far ahead of every state. New Hampshire and Rhode Island punch above their size. Oregon, which leads the country on raw count, sits lower once you account for its large land area.

Rank State Named falls Land area (sq mi) Falls per 1,000 sq mi
1 Hawaii 112 6,423 17.44
2 District of Columbia 1 61 16.39
3 New Hampshire 51 8,953 5.70
4 Rhode Island 5 1,034 4.84
5 New York 221 47,126 4.69
6 Maine 119 30,843 3.86
7 Michigan 200 56,539 3.54
8 Massachusetts 27 7,800 3.46
9 Washington 212 66,456 3.19
10 Vermont 29 9,217 3.15
11 Oregon 249 95,988 2.59
12 Connecticut 11 4,842 2.27
13 North Carolina 109 48,618 2.24
14 Tennessee 88 41,235 2.13
15 Pennsylvania 95 44,743 2.12
16 Maryland 15 9,707 1.55
17 Virginia 48 39,490 1.22
18 California 189 155,779 1.21
19 New Jersey 7 7,354 0.95
20 Wisconsin 50 54,158 0.92
21 Wyoming 89 97,093 0.92
22 South Carolina 27 30,061 0.90
23 Montana 120 145,546 0.82
24 Idaho 66 82,643 0.80
25 Colorado 82 103,642 0.79
26 Alabama 37 50,645 0.73
27 West Virginia 16 24,038 0.67
28 Georgia 36 57,513 0.63
29 Indiana 21 35,826 0.59
30 Minnesota 42 79,627 0.53
31 Ohio 19 40,861 0.46
32 Kentucky 18 39,486 0.46
33 Oklahoma 26 68,595 0.38
34 Utah 22 82,170 0.27
35 Arizona 30 113,594 0.26
36 Arkansas 12 52,035 0.23
37 Texas 31 261,232 0.12
38 New Mexico 14 121,298 0.12
39 Illinois 6 55,519 0.11
40 Nebraska 8 76,824 0.10
41 South Dakota 7 75,811 0.09
42 Missouri 6 68,742 0.09
43 Mississippi 4 46,923 0.09
44 Alaska 48 570,641 0.08
45 Nevada 8 109,781 0.07
46 Louisiana 3 43,204 0.07
47 Kansas 4 81,759 0.05
48 Florida 2 53,625 0.04
49 Iowa 1 55,857 0.02
50 North Dakota 1 69,001 0.01

What the area ranking shows

  • Hawaii is in a class by itself at 17.44 named falls per 1,000 square miles, several times the next state.
  • Small northeastern states cluster near the top. New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont all clear 3 falls per 1,000 square miles.
  • Pacific Northwest leaders stay strong after adjusting for area. Washington and Oregon both remain well above the national baseline.
  • Large arid or plains states drop. Texas, Nevada and the Dakotas have vast land area relative to named Falls features, so their density ranks near the bottom even when absolute counts are not zero.

States Ranked by Waterfalls per 1,000 Residents

Divide by people instead of acres and the Mountain West takes over. Wyoming and Montana do not top the raw-count list, but few residents share the named falls they do have.

Rank State Named falls 2020 population Falls per 1,000 residents
1 Wyoming 89 576,851 0.1543
2 Montana 120 1,084,225 0.1107
3 Maine 119 1,362,359 0.0873
4 Hawaii 112 1,455,271 0.0770
5 Alaska 48 733,391 0.0654
6 Oregon 249 4,237,256 0.0588
7 Vermont 29 643,077 0.0451
8 New Hampshire 51 1,377,529 0.0370
9 Idaho 66 1,839,106 0.0359
10 Washington 212 7,705,281 0.0275
11 Michigan 200 10,077,331 0.0198
12 Colorado 82 5,773,714 0.0142
13 Tennessee 88 6,910,840 0.0127
14 New York 221 20,201,249 0.0109
15 North Carolina 109 10,439,388 0.0104
16 West Virginia 16 1,793,716 0.0089
17 Wisconsin 50 5,893,718 0.0085
18 South Dakota 7 886,667 0.0079
19 Alabama 37 5,024,279 0.0074
20 Minnesota 42 5,706,494 0.0074
21 Pennsylvania 95 13,002,700 0.0073
22 Utah 22 3,271,616 0.0067
23 New Mexico 14 2,117,522 0.0066
24 Oklahoma 26 3,959,353 0.0066
25 Virginia 48 8,631,393 0.0056
26 South Carolina 27 5,118,425 0.0053
27 California 189 39,538,223 0.0048
28 Rhode Island 5 1,097,379 0.0046
29 Arizona 30 7,151,502 0.0042
30 Nebraska 8 1,961,504 0.0041
31 Kentucky 18 4,505,836 0.0040
32 Arkansas 12 3,011,524 0.0040
33 Massachusetts 27 7,029,917 0.0038
34 Georgia 36 10,711,908 0.0034
35 Indiana 21 6,785,528 0.0031
36 Connecticut 11 3,605,944 0.0031
37 Nevada 8 3,104,614 0.0026
38 Maryland 15 6,177,224 0.0024
39 Ohio 19 11,799,448 0.0016
40 District of Columbia 1 689,545 0.0015
41 Kansas 4 2,937,880 0.0014
42 Mississippi 4 2,961,279 0.0014
43 North Dakota 1 779,094 0.0013
44 Texas 31 29,145,505 0.0011
45 Missouri 6 6,154,913 0.0010
46 New Jersey 7 9,288,994 0.0008
47 Louisiana 3 4,657,757 0.0006
48 Illinois 6 12,812,508 0.0005
49 Iowa 1 3,190,369 0.0003
50 Florida 2 21,538,187 0.0001

What the population ranking shows

  • Wyoming and Montana lead because sparse population magnifies mid-size waterfall inventories.
  • Maine and Hawaii appear near the top on both lists, a rare combination of high areal density and high per-resident availability.
  • Big coastal states fall. California and New York have large named-falls inventories, but tens of millions of residents pull their per-capita ranks down.
  • A high per-resident score is not a travel guide by itself. Alaska ranks well per resident while remaining hard to reach; always check access, seasons and land ownership on the individual waterfall pages.

How to Use These Rankings

Cite or Embed

Suggested attribution (HTML):

<a href="https://www.waterfallsnearyou.com/blog/waterfall-density-by-state">Waterfall density by state</a> — WaterfallsNearYou.com, ranking named USGS GNIS Falls features per 1,000 sq mi and per 1,000 residents (Census land area and 2020 population).

Suggested citation:

David F., "Waterfall Density by State: Per Square Mile and Per Resident," WaterfallsNearYou.com, November 6, 2026, https://www.waterfallsnearyou.com/blog/waterfall-density-by-state.

Counts update when our GNIS-derived directory updates. If you republish a table, note the retrieval date and link back to this page.

Frequently asked questions

Which state has the highest waterfall density by land area?

Among the 50 states, Hawaii ranks first by named waterfalls per 1,000 square miles in our directory, followed by New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The District of Columbia also scores high on a per-area basis because of its tiny land area and one named falls.

Which state has the most waterfalls per resident?

Wyoming leads on named waterfalls per 1,000 residents, followed by Montana and Maine. Sparse population, not sheer waterfall count, drives much of that ranking.

How is waterfall density different from total waterfall count?

Raw counts favor large, wet, mountainous states such as Oregon, New York and Washington. Density divides those counts by land area or population, so compact or sparsely populated places can rank higher even with fewer named falls.

Where do the waterfall counts and population figures come from?

Waterfall counts are named Falls features from the USGS Geographic Names Information System as loaded into WaterfallsNearYou.com. Land area is U.S. Census Bureau land area in square miles. Population is the 2020 Census count for each state and the District of Columbia.

Can I cite or embed this ranking?

Yes. See the cite and embed section near the end of this page for a short attribution line and a suggested citation. Please link back to this URL.

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