What was the first US state?

Delaware, which ratified the US Constitution on December 7, 1787. Its nickname is 'The First State' for that reason. Pennsylvania followed five days later and New Jersey seven days after that.

What was the last US state admitted?

Hawaii, on August 21, 1959. Alaska joined the same year, on January 3, 1959. Before that, the previous state to join was Arizona in 1912, so the 48-star flag flew for 47 years.

Which state joined in the centennial year of American independence?

Colorado, admitted August 1, 1876. That is why its nickname is the Centennial State.

How many years passed between the first and last state joining the Union?

172 years. Delaware ratified the Constitution on December 7, 1787, and Hawaii was admitted August 21, 1959.

How many states were admitted before the Civil War?

Thirty-three. Kansas, admitted January 29, 1861, was the last state to join before the Civil War began that April. The next state, West Virginia, was created by seceding from Confederate Virginia in 1863.

Which state joined the Union first from the Louisiana Purchase?

Louisiana, on April 30, 1812, exactly nine years after the purchase treaty was signed. Missouri (1821), Arkansas (1836), Iowa (1846), Minnesota (1858) and Kansas (1861) followed, all carved from Louisiana Purchase territory.

Home · Learn · US States by Statehood Year

172 years of statehood, Delaware to Hawaii

Every state in the order it joined the Union, from December 7, 1787 to August 21, 1959, with the political story behind each admission.

The United States did not arrive fully formed. It took 172 years, one civil war, three major land purchases and one Alaska referendum to complete the 50 states between Delaware's ratification of the Constitution on December 7, 1787 and Hawaii's admission on August 21, 1959. Most states came in waves: the original 13 colonies, the post-Revolutionary frontier, the Louisiana Purchase, the Mexican Cession, the post-Civil War Great Plains, then a long gap before the two Pacific latecomers. This guide walks through the order, wave by wave, with dates and context.

The complete admission order

All 50 states in the order the federal government recognized statehood. Dates for the original 13 refer to their ratification of the US Constitution; for the others, the day Congress admitted them.

#	State	Date
1	Delaware	Dec 7, 1787
2	Pennsylvania	Dec 12, 1787
3	New Jersey	Dec 18, 1787
4	Georgia	Jan 2, 1788
5	Connecticut	Jan 9, 1788
6	Massachusetts	Feb 6, 1788
7	Maryland	Apr 28, 1788
8	South Carolina	May 23, 1788
9	New Hampshire	Jun 21, 1788
10	Virginia	Jun 25, 1788
11	New York	Jul 26, 1788
12	North Carolina	Nov 21, 1789
13	Rhode Island	May 29, 1790
14	Vermont	Mar 4, 1791
15	Kentucky	Jun 1, 1792
16	Tennessee	Jun 1, 1796
17	Ohio	Mar 1, 1803
18	Louisiana	Apr 30, 1812
19	Indiana	Dec 11, 1816
20	Mississippi	Dec 10, 1817
21	Illinois	Dec 3, 1818
22	Alabama	Dec 14, 1819
23	Maine	Mar 15, 1820
24	Missouri	Aug 10, 1821
25	Arkansas	Jun 15, 1836
26	Michigan	Jan 26, 1837
27	Florida	Mar 3, 1845
28	Texas	Dec 29, 1845
29	Iowa	Dec 28, 1846
30	Wisconsin	May 29, 1848
31	California	Sep 9, 1850
32	Minnesota	May 11, 1858
33	Oregon	Feb 14, 1859
34	Kansas	Jan 29, 1861
35	West Virginia	Jun 20, 1863
36	Nevada	Oct 31, 1864
37	Nebraska	Mar 1, 1867
38	Colorado	Aug 1, 1876
39	North Dakota	Nov 2, 1889
40	South Dakota	Nov 2, 1889
41	Montana	Nov 8, 1889
42	Washington	Nov 11, 1889
43	Idaho	Jul 3, 1890
44	Wyoming	Jul 10, 1890
45	Utah	Jan 4, 1896
46	Oklahoma	Nov 16, 1907
47	New Mexico	Jan 6, 1912
48	Arizona	Feb 14, 1912
49	Alaska	Jan 3, 1959
50	Hawaii	Aug 21, 1959

Wave 1: the original 13 (1787-1790)

These states existed as British colonies before independence. They joined the Union by ratifying the newly written Constitution. Delaware ratified first (December 7, 1787), earning the nickname "The First State." Rhode Island ratified last, on May 29, 1790, over two years later, after threats of federal trade sanctions. In between, the pace was frantic: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut and Massachusetts all ratified within nine weeks of Delaware.

Wave 2: the early frontier (1791-1821)

Vermont, Kentucky and Tennessee were carved from parts of existing states or unclaimed territory. Ohio (1803) opened the Northwest Territory. Louisiana (1812) was the first state formed from the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, and the first with a majority non-English-speaking population. Maine and Missouri (1820-1821) were admitted together under the Missouri Compromise, keeping the balance between free and slave states at 12-12.

Wave 3: expansion and the Mexican Cession (1836-1858)

Texas joined by treaty in 1845 after nine years as an independent republic. California (September 9, 1850) rushed to statehood after the 1849 gold rush multiplied its population. Oregon (1859) was the first Pacific Northwest state. Minnesota (1858) closed out this wave. All told, 10 states were admitted between the Missouri Compromise and the Civil War.

Wave 4: Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1876)

Kansas snuck in on January 29, 1861, three months before Fort Sumter, tipping the free-slave balance and helping trigger secession. West Virginia (June 20, 1863) is unique: it seceded from Confederate Virginia during the war and joined the Union as a separate state. Nevada was admitted on October 31, 1864, in time to help re-elect Lincoln. Nebraska followed in 1867. Colorado, admitted on August 1, 1876, arrived exactly 100 years after the Declaration of Independence, giving it the "Centennial State" nickname.

Wave 5: the Great Plains rush (1889-1912)

The Omnibus Bill of 1889 admitted North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington within nine days of each other. Idaho and Wyoming followed in July 1890. Utah waited until 1896, held back by Congressional resistance to Mormon polygamy until the LDS Church renounced the practice. Oklahoma (1907), New Mexico (January 6, 1912) and Arizona (February 14, 1912) completed the contiguous 48. From then on, the US map looked settled for nearly half a century.

Wave 6: the Pacific latecomers (1959)

Alaska and Hawaii both joined in 1959, ending a 47-year drought. Alaska was admitted on January 3, 1959, as the 49th state. Hawaii followed on August 21, 1959, as the 50th. The 50-star flag was designed by a 17-year-old high school student, Robert G. Heft, whose class project earned him a B-minus. President Eisenhower later called him personally to say the flag had been chosen and his grade was upgraded to an A.

Curiosities in the timeline

Fastest sequence: the four Omnibus states of November 1889 (North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington) joined in nine days.
Longest gap: 47 years between Arizona (1912) and Alaska (1959).
Same-day admissions: North and South Dakota, both November 2, 1889. Officially recognized as a tie, with the order set alphabetically.
Two June 1st admissions: Kentucky (1792) and Tennessee (1796), exactly four years apart.
Two Valentine's Day admissions: Oregon (February 14, 1859) and Arizona (February 14, 1912).
The July 3-4-10 sequence of 1890: Idaho joined July 3, and Wyoming July 10, framing the Independence Day holiday.

Learn the admission order by playing

Statedoku's Admission Order puzzle uses statehood years as constraints. "Joined before 1800", "Post-Civil War", "1889 Omnibus". Learn the sequence through pattern recognition.

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