Texas: 2nd Largest U.S. State by Area (After Alaska)

Texas ranks #2 in area among the 50 states.

• Area: 268,596 sq mi (695,662 km²).
• #1 Alaska: 665,384 sq mi (2.5× Texas).
• #3 California: 163,695 sq mi.

Superlatives

• Largest contiguous state (Alaska non-contiguous).
• 2nd longest coastline: 3,600 mi (5,800 km) – after Alaska (6,640 mi).
• Largest state capital metro: Dallas-Fort Worth (7.8M) – wait, Austin is capital (2.4M metro); DFW is largest metro.
• Most counties: 254.

Global Comparison

Texas ≈ France (248K sq mi) or Germany (138K sq mi) ×2. If a country, #39 by area (between Zambia and Myanmar).

Population (2023)

30.5M – #2 after California (39M).

Everything's bigger in Texas—except Alaska.