Texas Isn't a Number: Clarifying the State's Position in the Union

The question "what number is Texas?" is based on a misunderstanding. Texas is a state, not a number.

However, if you mean order of admission to the Union:

• Texas was the 28th state, admitted December 29, 1845.

If you mean population rank (2023): 2nd (after California).

If you mean area rank: 2nd (after Alaska).

If you mean electoral votes: 40 (2nd after California's 54).

Texas is many things—a state, a former republic, an economic powerhouse—but it is not a number.