Alaska vs Lower 48 Size: How Much Bigger Is the Contiguous US?

By SimpleMapLab·Published 15 May 2026·Reviewed against US Census 2020·CC-BY 4.0

Alaska is the largest US state, covering 570,641 square miles — more land than the next two largest states (Texas and California) combined. But the contiguous lower 48 is 5.18× bigger still, at 2,954,841 sq mi. Five Alaskas plus a small partial fit inside the lower 48. Alaska accounts for just 16.2% of US land — and holds 0.22% of the US population.

Five Alaska silhouettes plus a 0.18 partial packed inside the contiguous lower 48 outline. All at true equal-area scale; Standard US Albers Equal-Area Conic projection. Source: US Census 2020 boundaries.

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At a glance: Alaska vs the Lower 48 by the numbers

Metric	Alaska	Lower 48	Ratio
Land area (sq mi)	570,641	2,954,841	5.18× L48
% of total US land	16.2%	83.7%	—
Population (2020)	736,081	~326,808,648	444× L48
Density (/sq mi)	1.29	~110.6	86× L48
GDP (2024)	$63B	~$27.5T	~437× L48
Coastline (general, mi)	6,640	~5,500	1.21× AK
Highest point (ft)	20,310 (Denali)	14,505 (Mt. Whitney)	—
Number of states	1	48 + DC	—
Statehood	1959 (49th)	1788–1912 (varied)	—

How much bigger is the lower 48 than Alaska?

The lower 48 is 5.18 times larger than Alaska by land area — 2,384,200 more square miles. That difference alone is bigger than the entire country of Argentina (1,073,500 sq mi) plus India (1,148,000 sq mi) combined.

Five full Alaskas fit inside the lower 48, with about 103,000 square miles left over — slightly more than the entire state of Colorado (104,094 sq mi). The visual at the top shows the 5.18× ratio as five solid Alaska silhouettes plus a small dashed 0.18 partial, all packed inside the contiguous-48 outline at true equal-area scale.

Alaska is the largest single US state — bigger than Texas + California combined, bigger than the 22 smallest US states combined, and 17% of total US land area. But the remaining 49 states + DC together cover 5.18× as much ground as Alaska. Most of that mass is in the contiguous lower 48: 2,955,000 sq mi vs Hawaii's 6,423 sq mi.

Drawn to scale: Alaska next to the Lower 48

Both regions rendered at the same area-per-pixel scale, side by side. The visual difference is the honest ratio — no Mercator stretching, no Web-Mercator flattering. Five Alaska footprints stacked together still wouldn't fill the contiguous United States.

Lower 48 vs Alaska at equal area scale. Standard US Albers Equal-Area Conic projection (parallels 29.5°N + 45.5°N) for the contiguous-48; Alaska-tuned Albers (parallels 55°N + 65°N) for Alaska — each region at its natural shape, both at the same square-miles-per-pixel.

The Alaska Purchase: a 22% land increase overnight

On March 30, 1867, US Secretary of State William H. Seward signed the Treaty of Cession with the Russian Empire. The price: $7.2 million for approximately 663,300 square miles of territory — about $0.02 per acre in 1867 dollars, roughly $140 million in 2026 dollars.

At the time, the United States was approximately 3 million square miles of organised territory and states. The Alaska Purchase increased US land area by about 22% in a single transaction. Newspapers of the era mocked the deal — variously called “Seward's Folly,” “Seward's Icebox,” and “Andrew Johnson's Polar Bear Garden” (after the unpopular president who signed it). The 1896 Klondike Gold Rush, World War II Pacific theatre, and 1957 Kenai Peninsula oil discovery gradually rehabilitated the deal. Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.

Population inverse: 0.22% of US people on 16% of US land

The contiguous 48 states + DC hold approximately 99.6% of US residents. Alaska's 736,081 people are about 0.22% of the US total. Hawaii contributes the remaining 0.18% — together, AK + HI hold 0.4% of US population on 16.4% of US land.

Population density tells the same story differently. Alaska's 1.29 people per square mile is the lowest of any US state by an order of magnitude. The lower 48 averages about 110 per square mile — roughly 85× denser than Alaska. New York metro area alone (about 19.5 million residents) has more people than the entire population of Alaska × 26.

The economic gap is even larger. Lower-48 GDP is approximately $27.5 trillion; Alaska's is about $63 billion. The lower 48 produces roughly 440× more economic output than Alaska, despite covering only 5.2× more land. Alaska's per-capita GDP is high (~$86,000) because of oil revenues and small population, but absolute output is dwarfed by lower-48 metropolitan economies.

What else is the size of the lower 48? Country-equivalents

The contiguous 48 states + DC (2,954,841 sq mi) is approximately the size of:

Australia (2,941,000 sq mi) — within 0.5%
About 0.84× China (3,500,000 sq mi)
About 0.92× Brazil (3,287,597 sq mi)
About 17× France (246,000 sq mi)
About 3.4× Mexico (758,000 sq mi)

What else is the size of Alaska? Country-equivalents

If Alaska were a country, it would rank approximately 19th in the world by area:

Alaska is roughly 90% the size of Iran (636,000 sq mi).
Alaska is roughly 2× Mongolia's area, 1.2× Peru.
Alaska is bigger than France + Germany + the United Kingdom combined (478,000 sq mi).
Alaska is bigger than the 22 smallest US states combined.

10 surprising facts about Alaska vs the Lower 48

Alaska is 16.2% of US land area. The other 49 states + DC = 83.8%.
The 1867 purchase added 22% to US land area in a single transaction. $7.2M for 663,300 sq mi.
Alaska is bigger than the 22 smallest US states combined. RI + DE + CT + HI + NJ + NH + VT + MA + MD + WV + SC + ME + IN + KY + VA + TN + OH + LA + MS + PA + NC + NY ≈ 506,000 sq mi — Alaska is 570,641 sq mi.
The lower 48 is roughly the same size as Australia. Within 0.5% by area.
Alaska has more coastline than the entire rest of the US combined. 6,640 mi vs ~5,500 mi for the lower 48 + Hawaii.
Alaska has 17 of the 20 highest US peaks. The lower 48 has Mt. Whitney (14,505 ft) as its highest — about 70% of Denali's height.
The Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area alone is bigger than 28 US states. 147,808 sq mi vs the 28 smallest states each individually.
Alaska's panhandle alone is bigger than 11 lower-48 states. The southeast Alaska panhandle covers ~35,000 sq mi.
The lower 48 has 47,000+ miles of interstate highway. Alaska has 1,082 miles of state highways total — and zero interstates connect Alaska to the lower 48 (the Alaska Highway runs through Canada).
If Alaska were the lower-48, it would still be enormous. Alaska's 570,641 sq mi is between Mongolia (605K) and Peru (496K) — the 19th-largest country in the world by area, if it were independent.

Methodology and sources

State area: US Census Bureau, State Area Measurements (2020). Land area excludes inland water bodies.

Lower 48 area: Computed as US total land area (3,531,905 sq mi) minus Alaska land (570,641) minus Hawaii land (6,423) = 2,954,841 sq mi.

Population: US Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census. Lower-48 population computed as US total minus AK and HI.

GDP: US Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024). Lower-48 GDP from US total minus AK and HI.

Lower 48 outline:Derived from the US nation TopoJSON (us-atlas), filtered to its largest sub-polygon (the contiguous mainland; the lower-48 mainland is 74% of the nation polygon's total area, with the remainder being Alaska, Hawaii, and outlying islands). Hero rendered via d3.geoConicEqualArea (standard US, parallels 29.5°N + 45.5°N). Last reviewed 15 May 2026.

Frequently asked questions

No — the contiguous lower 48 states are 5.18 times bigger than Alaska. The lower 48 covers 2,954,841 square miles of land; Alaska covers 570,641. About five Alaskas plus a small partial would fit inside the contiguous United States. But Alaska is bigger than any individual lower-48 state, and bigger than the 22 smallest states combined.

The lower 48 is 5.18× the land area of Alaska — 2,384,200 sq mi bigger in absolute terms. Alaska is roughly 16.2% of total US land area; the lower 48 plus Hawaii make up the remaining 83.8%. Hawaii alone is 6,423 sq mi (less than 0.2% of US land).

Approximately 5.18 Alaskas fit inside the lower 48 by land area. That's five full Alaskas plus another 18% — about 103,000 sq mi, slightly bigger than Colorado.

Yes. Alaska's 570,641 sq mi is the largest US state by land area — 2.18× the size of Texas (the second-largest at 261,232 sq mi) and 3.66× the size of California (third at 155,779 sq mi). Alaska alone accounts for 16.2% of all US land area; the remaining 49 states + DC share 83.8%.

The United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million — about $0.02 per acre, roughly $140 million in 2026 dollars. The deal, negotiated by Secretary of State William H. Seward, added 663,300 square miles to a country that was then approximately 3 million square miles — a single transaction that grew US land area by about 22% overnight. Newspapers mocked it as "Seward's Folly." Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959; Hawaii followed in August 1959.

The lower 48 holds approximately 99.6% of the US population. Alaska's 2020 Census population was 736,081 — roughly 0.22% of US residents. The lower 48 has about 326 million residents on 84% of US land; Alaska has 0.7 million on 16% of US land. Alaska's population density (1.29 per sq mi) is roughly 85 times lower than the lower 48's (about 110 per sq mi).

Yes — "lower 48," "contiguous United States," "continental US," and "conterminous states" all refer to the 48 states (plus DC) that share land borders. Excluded: Alaska (separated from the lower 48 by Canada) and Hawaii (Pacific archipelago). Some sources use "continental US" to also include Alaska since both are on the North American continent, but the common usage matches "lower 48."

The lower 48 (2,954,841 sq mi land) is roughly the same size as Australia (2,941,000 sq mi) — within 1%. Lower 48 + Alaska gives the contiguous US the same area as China (3,500,000 sq mi) approximately. Adding Hawaii makes the US the world's 3rd or 4th largest country by total area, depending on which metric you use (and whether you count China or the US first — they alternate in rankings based on water inclusion).

Texas (261,232 sq mi) is roughly the size of Afghanistan or Spain × 1.34. California (155,779 sq mi) is about the size of Japan or Paraguay. Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada are each bigger than the United Kingdom. The smallest lower-48 state, Rhode Island (1,034 sq mi), is roughly the size of Hong Kong.

Alaska's 570,641 sq mi exceeds the combined land area of the 22 smallest US states. Specifically: RI + DE + CT + HI + NJ + NH + VT + MA + MD + WV + SC + ME + IN + KY + VA + TN + OH + LA + MS + PA + NC + NY combined ≈ 506,000 sq mi — about 89% of Alaska. Alaska is bigger than this entire eastern third of the nation in land area.

Lower 48: about 2,800 miles east-to-west (Boston to San Francisco via I-80) — roughly 42 hours non-stop. Alaska: mostly undriveable corner-to-corner. The longest practical route, from the southeastern panhandle to Prudhoe Bay via the Dalton Highway, is about 1,400 miles and takes 26+ hours. The Aleutian chain and most of western Alaska have no road access. The contiguous US has 47,000+ miles of interstate highway; Alaska has 1,082 miles of highways total.

Related size comparisons

Open Alaska + US in the interactive Country Size Comparison tool — drag Alaska across the lower 48 at true area scale.
Alaska vs California size comparison — Alaska is 3.66× California; almost four Californias fit inside Alaska.
Texas vs Alaska size comparison — Alaska is 2.18× Texas; the largest-state matchup.
Texas vs California size comparison — Texas is 1.68× California by land, but California has 1.36× the population and a $1.2T-larger economy.
California vs Florida size comparison — California is 2.91× Florida; almost three Floridas fit inside California, but Florida wins on coastline.
Delaware vs Rhode Island size comparison — America's two smallest states: Delaware is 1.88× larger but Rhode Island packs more people on half the land.
All 30 Alaska boroughs and census areas — full list with population and area.
The loneliest town in Alaska — Alaska holds the most isolated inhabited places in the United States.
Mexico vs USA size comparison — the USA is 5× Mexico; 555K sq mi of today's USA was once Mexican.
Russia vs Canada size comparison — the world's two largest countries; the same Alaska-Purchase thread.
UK vs USA size comparison — the USA is 40× the UK; the post-1776 territorial expansion arc.
Greenland vs Antarctica size comparison — Earth's two polar ice giants; Antarctica is 6.58× Greenland.
All size comparisons — full library.

Suggested citation: SimpleMapLab (2026). Alaska vs Lower 48 Size: How Much Bigger Is the Contiguous US? Part of the SimpleMapLab Size Comparisons series. Retrieved from https://www.simplemaplab.com/size-comparisons/alaska-vs-lower-48. Licensed under CC-BY 4.0.