StatesFacts
Menu

All 50 states

States in order of statehood

Delaware was the first state, ratifying the Constitution on December 7, 1787, and Hawaii the 50th, admitted on August 21, 1959. The 13 original states joined by ratifying the Constitution between 1787 and 1790; the other 37 were admitted by Congress, starting with Vermont in 1791.

Checked against state law and official sources · verified October 24, 2026

The 50 states in the order they joined the Union

OrderStateDateHow it became a state
1DelawareDecember 7, 1787First state to ratify the U.S. Constitution
2PennsylvaniaDecember 12, 1787Ratified the U.S. Constitution by a 46-23 vote of its ratifying convention, the second state to do so after Delaware
3New JerseyDecember 18, 1787A state convention meeting in Trenton ratified the U.S. Constitution unanimously, making New Jersey the third state to do so.
4GeorgiaJanuary 2, 1788Ratified the U.S. Constitution by unanimous vote of a state convention, the fourth state to do so
5ConnecticutJanuary 9, 1788Ratified the U.S. Constitution by a 128-40 vote of a state convention meeting in Hartford
6MassachusettsFebruary 6, 1788Ratified the U.S. Constitution as the sixth of the original 13 states
7MarylandApril 28, 1788A state convention ratified the U.S. Constitution on April 28, 1788, making Maryland the seventh state to ratify it.
8South CarolinaMay 23, 1788A state convention meeting in Charleston ratified the U.S. Constitution on May 23, 1788, making South Carolina the eighth state to do so.
9New HampshireJune 21, 1788Ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, the ratification that met Article VII's nine-state threshold and put the Constitution into effect
10VirginiaJune 25, 1788Ratified the U.S. Constitution on June 25, 1788, the tenth state to do so.
11New YorkJuly 26, 1788A state ratifying convention meeting at Poughkeepsie approved the U.S. Constitution on July 26, 1788, by a narrow 30 to 27 vote, making New York the eleventh state to ratify.
12North CarolinaNovember 21, 1789Ratified the U.S. Constitution at a convention in Fayetteville, after a 1788 convention at Hillsborough had declined to ratify.
13Rhode IslandMay 29, 1790Last of the thirteen original states to ratify the U.S. Constitution, at a convention whose final session met in Newport in May 1790
14VermontMarch 4, 1791Admitted under an act of Congress approved February 18, 1791, after a Vermont convention ratified the U.S. Constitution on January 10, 1791; it had governed itself under its own 1777 constitution beforehand.
15KentuckyJune 1, 1792Separated from Virginia and admitted as the 15th state, the first west of the Appalachian Mountains
16TennesseeJune 1, 1796Admitted by act of Congress after the Southwest Territory, the first federal territory to seek admission, wrote a constitution and organized a state government before applying.
17OhioMarch 1, 1803Formed from the Northwest Territory after a state convention petitioned for admission in November 1802; Congress formally ratified Ohio's admission only in 1953, retroactive to March 1, 1803.
18LouisianaApril 30, 1812Admitted under an act of Congress signed by President James Madison on April 8, 1812, which set April 30, 1812 as the admission date
19IndianaDecember 11, 1816Admitted after delegates meeting at Corydon in June 1816 drafted the first state constitution
20MississippiDecember 10, 1817Admitted by a congressional joint resolution signed by President James Monroe after a convention at Washington, Mississippi, adopted a state constitution on August 15, 1817 under the enabling act of March 1, 1817.
21IllinoisDecember 3, 1818Admitted by a congressional resolution signed by President James Monroe, after the Enabling Act of April 1818 set the boundaries, a 40,000-resident threshold and the drafting of a constitution.
22AlabamaDecember 14, 1819Admitted as the 22nd state after delegates meeting in Huntsville in July 1819 drafted a state constitution.
23MaineMarch 15, 1820Separated from Massachusetts and admitted as a free state under the Missouri Compromise of 1820
24MissouriAugust 10, 1821Admitted by proclamation of President James Monroe after the Missouri Compromise and the legislature's 'solemn public act' required by Congress
25ArkansasJune 15, 1836Admitted by an act of Congress of June 15, 1836, which also provided for Michigan's admission; Michigan did not join until January 26, 1837.
26MichiganJanuary 26, 1837Admitted after a December 1836 convention accepted a compromise ending the Toledo War: Michigan ceded the Toledo Strip to Ohio and received the western Upper Peninsula.
27FloridaMarch 3, 1845Admitted by an act of Congress that President John Tyler signed on March 3, 1845, after Florida had been a U.S. territory since 1822.
28TexasDecember 29, 1845The independent Republic of Texas was annexed by joint resolution of Congress; President Polk signed the act admitting Texas as a state on December 29, 1845.
29IowaDecember 28, 1846Admitted to the Union as the 29th state, and the first free state west of the Mississippi River, after serving as Iowa Territory from 1838
30WisconsinMay 29, 1848Admitted to the Union as the 30th state by act of Congress, about twelve years after Wisconsin Territory was organized in 1836.
31CaliforniaSeptember 9, 1850Admitted directly as a free state, without first being a territory, by one of the acts making up the Compromise of 1850
32MinnesotaMay 11, 1858Admitted to the Union by act of Congress after nine years as Minnesota Territory (organized 1849)
33OregonFebruary 14, 1859Admitted to the Union as the 33rd state by an act of Congress approved February 14, 1859.
34KansasJanuary 29, 1861Admitted as a free state when President James Buchanan signed the Kansas admission bill on January 29, 1861.
35West VirginiaJune 20, 1863Formed from the western counties of Virginia during the Civil War; after voters ratified a constitution containing the Willey Amendment (gradual emancipation) 28,321 to 572, President Lincoln proclaimed on April 20, 1863 that West Virginia would become a state in 60 days.
36NevadaOctober 31, 1864Admitted during the Civil War by proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln
37NebraskaMarch 1, 1867Admitted by presidential proclamation after Congress overrode President Andrew Johnson's veto of the statehood bill, the only state admitted over a veto
38ColoradoAugust 1, 1876President Ulysses S. Grant proclaimed Colorado admitted after it met the terms of the Enabling Act of March 3, 1875, including voter approval of a state constitution on July 1, 1876.
39North DakotaNovember 2, 1889Admitted on November 2, 1889, as the 39th state, formed from the northern half of Dakota Territory.
40South DakotaNovember 2, 1889Admitted by proclamation of President Benjamin Harrison on the same day as North Dakota, after Dakota Territory was divided in two.
41MontanaNovember 8, 1889Admitted by proclamation of President Benjamin Harrison under the enabling act of February 22, 1889, after voters ratified a state constitution in October 1889.
42WashingtonNovember 11, 1889Admitted by presidential proclamation of Benjamin Harrison under the Enabling Act of February 22, 1889, which also covered the Dakotas and Montana.
43IdahoJuly 3, 1890Admitted as the 43rd state when President Benjamin Harrison signed the admission act; Idaho had been a territory since March 4, 1863.
44WyomingJuly 10, 1890Admitted as the 44th state when President Benjamin Harrison signed the statehood bill introduced by territorial delegate Joseph M. Carey
45UtahJanuary 4, 1896Admitted by proclamation of President Grover Cleveland after Congress passed the Utah Enabling Act of July 16, 1894
46OklahomaNovember 16, 1907Admitted as a single state formed by merging Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory under the Oklahoma Enabling Act, which President Theodore Roosevelt signed on June 16, 1906.
47New MexicoJanuary 6, 1912President William Howard Taft signed New Mexico into statehood on January 6, 1912, ending a territorial period that began in 1850.
48ArizonaFebruary 14, 1912Admitted as the 48th state after Congress passed the 1910 Enabling Act and Arizona revised its constitution (removing the recall of judges) following President Taft's 1911 veto.
49AlaskaJanuary 3, 1959Admitted by President Eisenhower's Proclamation 3269 after Alaskans met the conditions of the Alaska Statehood Act, signed July 7, 1958
50HawaiiAugust 21, 1959Admitted by presidential proclamation after Congress passed the Hawaii Admission Act (signed March 18, 1959) and island voters accepted statehood in June 1959

The original thirteen

The first 13 states did not need to be admitted: they became states of the new Union by ratifying the Constitution. Delaware went first, on December 7, 1787, followed within days by Pennsylvania and New Jersey. New Hampshire’s ratification in June 1788 was the ninth, enough to put the Constitution into effect. North Carolina and Rhode Island held out until after the new government had begun; Rhode Island ratified last, on May 29, 1790.

Westward expansion

Vermont, admitted in 1791, was the first new state. Admissions then followed the frontier west, sometimes in pairs that kept a balance between free and slave states before the Civil War. The busiest moment came in 1889 and 1890, when six states were admitted in eight months: North Dakota and South Dakota on the same day in November 1889, then Montana and Washington, and in July 1890 Idaho and Wyoming.

Utah followed in 1896 and Oklahoma in 1907. New Mexico and Arizona, admitted five weeks apart in 1912, completed the lower 48. Nearly half a century passed before Alaska and Hawaii joined in 1959.

An odd case

Ohio counts as the 17th state, admitted on March 1, 1803, but Congress never formally passed a resolution ratifying its admission. The oversight surfaced before the state’s 150th anniversary, and in 1953 Congress passed one, retroactive to the 1803 date.

Questions people ask

What was the first state?
Delaware, which ratified the Constitution on December 7, 1787. It is known as the First State.
What was the last state to join?
Hawaii, admitted on August 21, 1959, seven months after Alaska.
Which year saw the most states admitted?
1889, when North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington were all admitted in November. Idaho and Wyoming followed in July 1890.
When was the last of the lower 48 states admitted?
Arizona, on February 14, 1912, about five weeks after New Mexico.

Sources