Is Any US State More Populated Than California? No.

No US state has a larger population than California. As of the 2020 Census, California's population was 39,538,223—making it the most populous state by a wide margin.

Comparison to Next Largest (2020 Census)

1. California: 39.54 million
2. Texas: 29.15 million (10.4M fewer)
3. Florida: 21.54 million
4. New York: 20.20 million
5. Pennsylvania: 13.00 million

Context

• California has held #1 since the 1970 Census (surpassed New York).
• It contains ~12% of the US population.
• If it were a country, it would rank ~36th globally—between Iraq and Poland.
• Growth has slowed recently (net domestic outmigration, lower birth rates), but it remains #1 by a large margin.

Texas is the only plausible future challenger, but at current growth rates, it would take decades to close the gap.