How Big Is Connecticut? See Its Size in Miles, Acres, and How It Compares to Other States

Connecticut is located in the northeastern United States. It is the southernmost of the six New England states. Connecticut is the third-smallest state in the U.S. Here is an in-depth look at the size of the Constitution State, how its area compares with that of other states and much more.

Square Miles and Kilometers

Connecticut’s total area spans 5,543 square miles or 14,357 square kilometers. Water covers 701 square miles (1,816 square kilometers) of the state’s territory, giving Connecticut a total land area of 4,842 square miles or 12,542 square kilometers.

Acres

Connecticut’s total area encompasses 3,547,520 acres. There are 640 acres in one square mile. To help visualize the size of an acre, imagine an American football field without the end zones. That field is just over one acre in size.

Length and Width of Connecticut

Connecticut stretches 70 miles (113 kilometers) from north to south. This is a bit shorter than Delaware’s north-to-south measurement of 96 miles (154 kilometers).

Connecticut spans 110 miles (177 kilometers) from east to west. Neighboring Massachusetts has a very similar width of 115 miles (184 kilometers). 

State Borders

Connecticut shares borders with three states. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west. It is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound.

Other States

As stated earlier, Connecticut is the third-smallest state in the U.S. Only Delaware and Rhode Island have smaller footprints than Connecticut.

Rhode Island is the smallest U.S. state at only 1,214 square miles (3,144 square kilometers). Connecticut is four and a half times larger than Rhode Island.

Delaware covers ​​2,489 square miles (6,446 square kilometers). Connecticut is well over twice the size of Delaware.

Connecticut is bigger than these two smaller states combined. Delaware and two Rhode Islands could fit inside Connecticut’s borders with plenty of room to spare.

There are three other small states with total areas under 10,000 square miles: New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Vermont. New Jersey is about one and a half times the size of Connecticut. New Hampshire outsizes Connecticut by about 1.7 times. Vermont is nearly 1.75 times larger than Connecticut.

With a staggering 665,384 square miles (1,723,337 square kilometers) of total area, Alaska is the largest state in the U.S. by an absurd margin. It is nearly two and a half times the size of Texas, the largest state in the conterminous United States. More than 120 Connecticuts would fit inside Alaska’s borders!

Texas is about 48.5 times larger than Connecticut. California outsizes the Constitution State by almost 30 times. Montana is 26.5 times bigger than Connecticut. 

Connecticut’s size relative to Rhode Island is noted above, but how does it compare to its other two neighboring states? Massachusetts has a total area of 10,565 square miles (27,363 square kilometers). The Bay State is just under twice the size of Connecticut.

New York State is Connecticut’s largest neighbor by far. It covers 54,555 square miles (141,297 square kilometers) of total area. The Empire State is nearly ten times larger than Connecticut.

Percentage of the U.S.

Connecticut accounts for just 0.15% of the total area of the United States. By comparison, Rhode Island contains a minuscule 0.04% of the total area of the U.S.

California contains 4.31% of the United States, while Texas’ borders encompass 7.07% of the nation’s area. But no state comes close to Alaska, which contains 17.48% of the United States’ total area. 

Population

Connecticut may be the third-smallest state in terms of area, but it is the 29th most populous state in the U.S. 3,626,205 residents call Connecticut their home (U.S. Census Bureau 2022 estimate). The state’s population is rising and has been since the eighteenth century. Since 1790, there has never been a decennial census where Connecticut’s population did not expand.

Utah ranks directly below Connecticut as the 30th most populous state in the nation. Utah is the thirteenth largest state in terms of area at 84,899 square miles (219,887 square kilometers), more than fifteen times the size of Connecticut. However, Connecticut has nearly a quarter of a million more residents than the Beehive State.

Wyoming is the tenth largest state in the U.S. by area but is also the least populous state, with only 581,381 residents (2022 estimate). Connecticut’s population is almost 6.25 times larger than Wyoming’s, even though Wyoming’s total area is more than 17.5 times that of Connecticut.

California is the most populated state in the U.S., with 39,029,342 residents (2022 estimate). The Golden State’s population is about 10.75 times the size of Connecticut’s. 

Population Density

Population density is calculated by the number of people per square mile of land area. Connecticut is the fourth most densely populated state in the nation, with 745 people per square mile. New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts are the only states with higher population densities than Connecticut.

Massachusetts has a population density of 901 people per square mile. The population density of Rhode Island is 1,061 people per square mile. New Jersey has the highest population density of any U.S. state, with 1,263 people per square mile.

Looking to the other extreme, Alaska has the lowest population density in the U.S., with just 1.3 people per square mile. 

In the contiguous U.S., the lowest population density is found in Wyoming. The Equality State has a population density of only 5.9 people per square mile.

Largest Cities

There are five major cities (populations over 100,000) in the Constitution State. Bridgeport is the largest of these cities, with a population of 148,377 (2022 estimate). It is not only the most populous city in Connecticut but also the fifth most populous city in New England behind Boston, Massachusetts; Worcester, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; and Springfield, Massachusetts.

New Haven lies less than twenty miles to the northeast of Bridgeport and is Connecticut’s second-largest city, with 138,915 residents (2022 estimate). 

With 136,188 residents (2022 estimate), Stamford is the third most populous city in Connecticut. The capital city of Hartford is fourth, with an estimated population of 120,686. The smallest major city in the Constitution State is Waterbury, with an estimated 115,016 residents. 

Counties

There are only eight counties in Connecticut. The average U.S. state has 62 counties. Connecticut’s counties include Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, Tolland, and Windham counties.

Litchfield County is Connecticut’s largest county by area. The county in the northwestern corner of the state spans 920 square miles (2,383 square kilometers).

The smallest county in Connecticut is Middlesex County, at 369 square miles (956 square kilometers).

Fairfield County is the most populous county in the state, with 959,768 residents. Bridgeport and Stamford are both located in Fairfield County.

The least populous county in the state is Windham County, with 116,418 residents.

Public Lands

There are no national parks in Connecticut. However, the state is home to the Coltsville National Historic Park and Weir Farm National Historic Park.

There are also 110 state parks and 33 state forests. The largest state forest in Connecticut is Pachaug State Forest. This forest covers 26,477 acres, nearly 0.75% of the state’s total area. Connecticut’s 33 state forests combine to cover about 175,000 acres of the state or nearly five percent of the state’s total area.

State Animals

Connecticut has four state animals. The official animal of the state is the sperm whale. This whale received its designation as the state animal of Connecticut in 1975.

The state’s other animal symbols include the American robin (state bird), the European mantis, also known as the praying mantis (state insect), and the eastern oyster (state shellfish).

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Darwinek / CC BY-SA 3.0 – License / Original