Which States Have the Most Trees Per Person?
Key Takeaways:
- Alaska has an estimated 43,401 trees per capita, more than seven times Montana’s 5,965.
- California ranks last with just 20 trees per person, illustrating how population size can dramatically affect per-capita rankings.
- Maine ranks fourth despite having the highest share of forested land in the country, highlighting the difference between forest coverage and trees per capita.
This map, created by Harris Saleem, compares the estimated number of trees per person across all 50 U.S. states, using data compiled by World Population Review.
Population plays a major role in the rankings. Sparsely populated states with extensive forests tend to rank near the top, while some of the country’s most populous states rank near the bottom.
Where Trees Outnumber People by the Thousands
The table below shows trees per capita for every state.
| Rank | State | Trees Per Capita |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 43,401 |
| 2 | Montana | 5,965 |
| 3 | Wyoming | 4,536 |
| 4 | Maine | 3,292 |
| 5 | Idaho | 3,022 |
| 6 | New Mexico | 2,945 |
| 7 | Vermont | 1,803 |
| 8 | West Virginia | 1,674 |
| 9 | Mississippi | 1,663 |
| 10 | Arkansas | 1,549 |
| 11 | Utah | 1,170 |
| 12 | Alabama | 1,163 |
| 13 | Colorado | 1,059 |
| 14 | Oregon | 948 |
| 15 | New Hampshire | 883 |
| 16 | Nevada | 860 |
| 17 | Minnesota | 767 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 758 |
| 19 | Louisiana | 753 |
| 20 | Washington | 722 |
| 21 | Kentucky | 694 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 687 |
| 23 | South Carolina | 631 |
| 24 | Georgia | 584 |
| 25 | Missouri | 570 |
| 26 | South Dakota | 548 |
| 27 | Texas | 538 |
| 28 | Tennessee | 513 |
| 29 | Michigan | 501 |
| 30 | Virginia | 460 |
| 31 | Kansas | 446 |
| 32 | North Carolina | 443 |
| 33 | Pennsylvania | 330 |
| 34 | North Dakota | 261 |
| 35 | New York | 243 |
| 36 | Iowa | 238 |
| 37 | Hawaii | 203 |
| 38 | Nebraska | 203 |
| 39 | Florida | 186 |
| 40 | Indiana | 167 |
| 41 | Ohio | 163 |
| 42 | Arizona | 137 |
| 43 | Connecticut | 118 |
| 44 | Massachusetts | 117 |
| 45 | Maryland | 112 |
| 46 | Delaware | 87 |
| 47 | Illinois | 87 |
| 48 | Rhode Island | 86 |
| 49 | New Jersey | 53 |
| 50 | California | 20 |
Alaska is the clear outlier, with 43,401 trees per resident. That’s more than seven times second-place Montana (5,965) and nearly 10 times Wyoming (4,536). The top of the ranking is dominated by large, sparsely populated states, with Idaho and New Mexico also placing in the top six.
Trees per capita is different from forest coverage. Maine has the country’s highest share of forested land at 89.06%, yet ranks fourth by this measure. World Population Review notes that forest inventories are conducted on five- or seven-year cycles, meaning underlying forest measurements can come from different years.
Why Does Alaska Have So Many Trees Per Person?
Alaska’s enormous lead comes from the combination of its vast forested landscape and small population. With fewer than one million residents spread across the country’s largest state by area, its tree count translates into an unusually high per-capita figure.
The same dynamic helps push Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and New Mexico toward the top of the ranking. Trees per capita therefore reflects more than how forested a state is: population can have a major effect on where a state ranks.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
To put America’s forests in a global context, see Which Countries Have the Largest Forests? on the Voronoi app.
