States that border Mexico

Four states, about 1,933 miles

The boundary with Mexico runs about 1,933 miles. In the west it runs mostly overland, from the Pacific coast across California, Arizona and New Mexico; Arizona’s share includes 19.1 miles along the Colorado River. Along the whole length of Texas, the boundary follows the Rio Grande to the Gulf of Mexico.

Texas has most of it

Texas’s 1,241 miles make up nearly two-thirds of the total, more than the other three states combined. Arizona follows with about 373 miles, New Mexico with about 180 and California with about 140, the shortest stretch of the four. The table below lists each state’s share.

Compared with the northern border

The border with Mexico is about a third as long as the border with Canada, which runs about 5,525 miles along 13 states. Both figures include boundaries in water: the Rio Grande and a short stretch of the Colorado River in the south, and the Great Lakes and other boundary waters in the north. See states that border Canada for the northern border, and bordering states for how many states each state touches.