5 states · Census division · 53,669,422 people · 1,009,688 sq mi
Pacific states map
The Pacific division is the five states with a Pacific Ocean coast: Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska and Hawaii. It has the most people and the most land of any Census division.
How the region is defined
The Pacific is the coastal division of the Census West region: Washington, Oregon and California on the mainland, plus Alaska and Hawaii. The two non-contiguous states are included because they are also Pacific states, which gives the division a spread of about 5,000 miles from Hawaii's Kure Atoll to the Alaska Panhandle. Nevada, although west of the Sierra crest in places and on Pacific time, is in the Mountain division.
The five states had 53,669,422 people in 2020 on 1,009,688 square miles. California is 74% of the population and Alaska is 66% of the area. Without Alaska the division would still be larger than Texas; without California it would have fewer people than Florida. Four of the ten largest US cities are here: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco.
States, capitals and largest cities
| State | Capital | Largest city | Population (2020) | Area (sq mi) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska (AK) | Juneau | Anchorage | 733,391 | 665,384 |
| California (CA) | Sacramento | Los Angeles | 39,538,223 | 163,695 |
| Hawaii (HI) | Honolulu | Honolulu | 1,455,271 | 10,932 |
| Oregon (OR) | Salem | Portland | 4,237,256 | 98,379 |
| Washington (WA) | Olympia | Seattle | 7,705,281 | 71,298 |
| Total (5 states) | 53,669,422 | 1,009,688 |
Geography
The mainland states share a structure: Coast Ranges along the shore, a long valley behind them (Puget Sound lowland, Willamette Valley, California's Central Valley), and a high interior range — the Cascades in Washington, Oregon and northern California, the Sierra Nevada in California. The Cascades are volcanic: Rainier (14,411 ft), Shasta, Hood and St. Helens, which erupted in 1980. The Sierra's Mount Whitney, 14,505 ft, is the highest point in the contiguous states. The Columbia River cuts through the Cascades in a gorge and forms 300 miles of the Washington–Oregon border.
Alaska adds the highest mountains in North America — Denali, 20,310 ft — plus the Brooks Range above the Arctic Circle, the Aleutian volcanic arc, and 34,000 miles of shoreline, more than the rest of the country combined. Hawaii is eight main volcanic islands 2,400 miles south-west of California; Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island both exceed 13,600 ft, and Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes on earth.
The division contains the country's wettest place (the windward slopes of Kauai), its driest (Death Valley, which is also the lowest at −282 ft), and its tallest trees (coast redwoods). Time zones: Pacific for the three mainland states (except eastern Oregon's Malheur County), Alaska and Hawaii-Aleutian.
Related maps
- Parent region: West; sibling division Mountain.
- Overlapping informal region: Pacific Northwest.
- Quiz: Western states quiz.
- Cities: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Anchorage, Honolulu.
- Geography: Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Columbia River, Coastlines.