The current United States flag displayed in America250 imagery has 50 stars.
Each white star represents one state of the Union. The 50-star design became official on July 4, 1960, after Hawaii joined the United States as the 50th state. Alaska had become the 49th state in 1959, prompting a temporary 49-star flag before the current design was adopted.
The stars are arranged in nine horizontal rows, alternating between rows of six and five. They appear on a blue canton, the rectangular area in the upper corner next to the flagpole. The arrangement is not a map; it is a geometric pattern representing the states as a united nation.
The number of stars changes when states enter the Union, but the number of stripes remains fixed at 13. That distinction explains why the modern flag combines a changing symbol of the states with a permanent symbol of the original colonies.