How many U.S. states border at least one Great Lake?

Eight U.S. states border at least one Great Lake.

The states are Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Together, they form the American portion of the Great Lakes region, whose waters are shared with the Canadian province of Ontario.

Michigan touches four Great Lakes, while New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota each border one or more of the lakes. Pennsylvania has the shortest Great Lakes shoreline, along Lake Erie, while Michigan has the most extensive Great Lakes coastline among the states.

The count refers to states with a physical shoreline on one of the five lakes. It does not include states connected only through rivers or the wider Great Lakes watershed. Canada’s Great Lakes shoreline is concentrated in Ontario.