In the 2020 United States census, which state was most populous?

California was the most populous U.S. state in the 2020 census.

The Census Bureau recorded 39,538,223 residents in California on 1 April 2020. That placed it ahead of Texas, which had 29,145,505 people, followed by Florida with 21,538,187 and New York with 20,201,249. California’s lead was therefore more than 10.3 million residents over the second-ranked state.

California has held the top position since surpassing New York in the 1960 census. Its population includes major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, and the Inland Empire. Although California remains the largest state by population, it is not the largest by land area; Alaska and Texas are larger geographically. Another common mix-up is using annual population estimates instead of the decennial census count. The quiz asks specifically about the official 2020 enumeration, whose results also determined congressional apportionment and electoral representation for the following decade.