This is a list of U.S. states by population (with inhabited non-state jurisdictions included for comparison) as of April 1, 2010, the date of the 2010 United States Census. The nine most populous U.S. states contain slightly more than half of the total population. The 25 least populous states contain less than one-sixth of the total population.  California, the most populous state, contains more people than the 21 least populous states combined.