The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii (also the last ones admitted to the Union), and all other offshore insular areas, such as American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the

U.S. Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

. The colloquial term "Lower48" is used also, especially in relation to just Alaska (Hawaii is farther south). The related but distinct term continental United States includes Alaska (which is also on the continent of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

but separated from the 48 states by British Columbia and Yukon of Canada), but excludes the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

and all U.S. territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The greatest distance (on a great-circle route) entirely within the contiguous U.S. is 2,802 miles (4,509 km), between Florida and the

State of Washington Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

; the greatest north–south line is 1,650 miles (2,660 km). The contiguous U.S. occupies an area of . Of this area, is actual land, composing 83.65% of the total U.S. land area, and is similar to the area of Australia. Officially, of the contiguous United States is water area, composing 62.66% of the nation's total water area. The contiguous United States, if it were a country, would be placed ''fifth'' on the list of countries and dependencies by area. However, the total area of the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii, ranks ''third or fourth''. In land area only, the country ranks fourth, behind Russia, Canada and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, but ahead of Brazil and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Brazil is larger than the contiguous United States, but smaller than the entire United States, while Russia, Canada, and ''maybe'' China are the only countries larger than both. The 2020 census population of this area was 328,571,074, comprising 99.13% of the nation's population, and a density of 111.04 inhabitants/sq mi (42.872/km²), compared to 93.844/sq mi (36.233/km²) for the nation as a whole.

Other terms

While ''conterminous U.S.'' has the precise meaning of ''contiguous U.S.'' (both adjectives meaning "sharing a common boundary"), other terms commonly used to describe the 48 contiguous states have a greater degree of ambiguity.

Continental and mainland United States

Because Alaska is also a part of

, the term continental United States also includes that state, so the term is qualified with the explicit inclusion of Alaska to resolve any ambiguity. On May 14, 1959, the

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

issued the following definitions based partially on the reference in the Alaska Omnibus Bill, which defined the continental United States as "the 49 States on the North American Continent and the District of Columbia..." The Board reaffirmed these definitions on May 13, 1999. However, even before Alaska became a state, it was properly included within the continental U.S. due to being an incorporated territory. The term ''mainland United States'' is sometimes used synonymously with ''continental United States'', but technically refers only to those parts of states connected to the landmass of North America, thereby excluding not only Hawaii and overseas insular areas, but also islands which are part of continental states but separated from the mainland, such as the Aleutian Islands ( Alaska), San Juan Islands ( Washington), the Channel Islands ( California), the Keys ( Florida), the barrier islands ( Gulf and

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

states), and

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

(New York).

CONUS and OCONUS

''CONUS'', a technical term used by the U.S. Department of Defense, General Services Administration, NOAA/National Weather Service, and others, has been defined both as the continental United States, and as the 48 contiguous states. "CONUS" seems to be used primarily by the American military and the Federal government and those doing business with them. The District of Columbia is not always specifically mentioned as being part of ''CONUS''. ''OCONUS'' is derived from CONUS with ''O'' for outside added, thus referring to Outside of Continental United States (OCONUS).

The lower 48

The term ''lower 48'' is also used to refer to the conterminous United States. The ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'' style guide recommends the use of ''contiguous'' or ''conterminous United States'' instead of ''lower 48'' when the 48 states are meant, unless used in the context of Alaska. Almost all of Hawaii is south of the southernmost point of the conterminous United States in Florida.

Zone of the Interior

During World War II, the first four

numbered Air Force A Numbered Air Force (NAF) is a type of organization in the United States Air Force that is subordinate to a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, major command (MAJCOM) and has assigned to it operational units such as wings, squ ...

s of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) were said to be assigned to the ''

Zone of the Interior The American Theater was a theater of operations during World War II including all continental American territory, and extending into the ocean. Owing to North and South America's geographical separation from the central theaters of ...

'' by the American military organizations of the time—the future states of Alaska and Hawaii, then each only organized incorporated territories of the Union, were respectively covered by the

Eleventh Air Force The Eleventh Air Force (11 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska.This unit is not related to the Eleventh Air Force headquarte ...

and Seventh Air Force during the war.

Terms used in the non-contiguous U.S. jurisdictions

Residents of Alaska, Hawaii and off-shore U.S. territories have unique labels for the contiguous United States because of their own locations relative to them.

Alaska

Alaska became the 49th state of the United States on January 3, 1959. Alaska is on the northwest end of the North American continent, but separated from the rest of the United States West Coast by the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

of British Columbia. The term ''Lower 48'' has, for many years, been a common Alaskan equivalent for "contiguous United States"; today, many Alaskans use the term "Outside", though a few persons may use "Outside" to refer to ''any'' location not within Alaska.

Hawaii

Hawaii (consisting of nearly all the

) became the 50th state of the United States on August 21, 1959. It is the southernmost and so far, the latest state to join the Union. Not part of any continent, Hawaii is located in the Pacific Ocean, about from North America and almost halfway to Asia. In Hawaii and overseas American territories, for instance, the terms ''the Mainland'' or ''U.S. Mainland'' are often used to refer to the 49 states in North America.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately southeast of Miami, Florida. Puerto Ricans born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens and are free to move to the mainland United States. The term Stateside Puerto Rican refers to residents of a U.S. state or the District of Columbia, who were born in or trace family ancestry to Puerto Rico.

U.S. Virgin Islands

The

is a

U.S. territory In the United States, a territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters (around islands or continental tracts). The United States asserts sovereign rights for ...

located directly to the east of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea. The term "stateside" is used to refer to the mainland, in relation to the U.S. Virgin Islands (see

Stateside Virgin Islands Americans Stateside Virgin Islands Americans are West Indian Americans who hold US citizenship and who have migrated from the U.S. Virgin Islands to the continental United States and Hawaii, and their descendants. Persons born in the U.S. Virgin Islands ...

American Samoa

American Samoa is a

located in the South Pacific Ocean in Polynesia, south of the equator — it is southwest of Hawaii. In American Samoa, the contiguous United States is called the "mainland United States" or "the states"; those not from American Samoa are called ''palagi'' (outsiders).

Non-contiguous areas within the contiguous United States

Apart from off-shore U.S. islands, a few continental portions of the contiguous U.S. are accessible by road only by traveling through Canada. Point Roberts, Washington;

Elm Point, Minnesota Elm Point, Minnesota, is a small uninhabited cape and a practical exclave of the United States in Lake Township, Roseau County, Minnesota, United States. It is surrounded on the west, south, and east by Lake of the Woods, and on the north b ...

; and the Northwest Angle in Minnesota are three such places.

Alburgh, Vermont Alburgh (formerly Alburg) is a town in Grand Isle County, Vermont, United States, founded in 1781 by Ira Allen. The population was 2,106 at the 2020 United States Census. Alburgh is on the Alburgh Tongue, a peninsula extending from Canada into L ...

, is not directly connected by land, but is accessible by road via bridges from within Vermont and from New York. By contrast, Hyder, Alaska is physically part of contiguous Alaska and its easternmost town, but the only practical access is by road through Canada or by seaplane.

List of contiguous U.S. states

The 48 contiguous states are: * Alabama * Arizona * Arkansas * California * Colorado * Connecticut * Delaware * Florida * Georgia * Idaho * Illinois * Indiana * Iowa * Kansas * Kentucky * Louisiana * Maine * Maryland * Massachusetts * Michigan * Minnesota * Mississippi * Missouri * Montana * Nebraska * Nevada * New Hampshire * New Jersey * New Mexico *

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

* North Carolina * North Dakota * Ohio *

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

* Oregon * Pennsylvania * Rhode Island * South Carolina * South Dakota * Tennessee * Texas * Utah * Vermont * Virginia * Washington * West Virginia * Wisconsin * Wyoming In addition, the District of Columbia is within the contiguous United States.