The US is a massive country, and its 327 million people are scattered across a vast expanse of land. This map shows how many people per square mile live in each county, with the darker blue indicating big cities and their suburbs:
The urbanization and suburbanization of the US can be seen even more starkly —50.1% of the country's population lives in the 238 most densely populated counties, shown here in darker blue:
Big cities in the South and West are quickly increasing in size, while more sparsely populated areas and Northern counties are growing more slowly or shrinking in population.
The biggest factor driving population change in many counties is domestic migration, or Americans moving from one place to another.
Americans trace their roots from all over the world. In most Northern states, a plurality of residents described themselves as having German ancestry, while more residents of states along the US-Mexico border described themselves as Mexican. African American was the most common self-identified ancestry throughout much of the Deep South.
The diversity of American origins can also be seen in the languages that people speak at home.
New Americans arrive from other countries every day. Here are the states where they're most likely to settle:
Those new Americans come from all over the world.
Census population estimates can give a more granular look of where those immigrants are moving.
The sex breakdown of most states is pretty close to balanced, although women slightly outnumber men. Only 10 states — those in red on the map below — had more male than female residents.
Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Connecticut were the healthiest states in the country last year, according to a study from the United Health Foundation.
Access to healthcare comes with a cost. Total healthcare burdens — the combined cost of premiums and out-of-pocket deductible costs — ranged from about $5,400 in Michigan to almost $8,300 in New Hampshire per year.
Between 2017 and 2018, more people died than were born in 1,342 of the country's 3,142 counties.
Families in the West tend to be larger than Northeastern families.
Just over four years ago, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision making same-sex marriage the law of the land, and LGBT families are thriving.
Trends in what people name their newborn children come and go over time.
A college education is still an expected milestone. The share of adults age 25 and over with at least a bachelor's degree tends to be higher in Eastern states and lower in Southern states.
Colleges and universities in the Northeast and West tend to have higher rates of on-time graduation than other states.
Like healthcare, higher education in the US can be very expensive. The average student debt held by new graduates ranged from about $19,000 in Utah to over $38,000 in Connecticut.
While milestones like getting an education and raising a family are big parts of Americans' lives, heartbreak is as well. Marriages sometimes end, and states deal with how to split up marital property in different ways.
Faith is a big part of many Americans' lives, especially in the traditional Bible Belt states.
Americans express their core political beliefs through elections. While President Donald Trump won a surprising victory in the 2016 race, the Democratic Party regained control of the House of Representatives in 2018.
The right to an abortion remains a hotly contested issue in American politics. A newly more conservative Supreme Court could overrule the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that has secured that right for decades.
Another contentious issue in the Trump era is immigration, particularly of refugees and migrants seeking asylum status. According to State Department data, states like Texas, New York, California, Ohio, and Washington have had a large number of refugees settle in them.
The Trump administration's crackdown on immigration involves the use of hundreds of detention centers for migrants across the US.
Trump's approval ratings have declined in most states since his inauguration.
An emerging hot-button issue is convict voting rights. While many states continue to permanently bar felons from voting, a trend toward restoring rights after convicts have served their time is gaining steam.
Most states require some form of identification for voters to be able to cast a ballot.
The death penalty is another perennial hot-button issue in American politics. Several states still actively execute prisoners convicted of capital crimes, though a number of states have recently restricted the penalty.
Marijuana legalization has been on the upswing in recent years. As of last month, 10 states allow sales of recreational and legal marijuana.
The wage for a typical worker varies widely across the country. The median full-time worker in Washington, DC, earns nearly twice as much as the median worker in Mississippi.
At the low end of the spectrum, the share of workers with earnings at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is relatively high in Southern states, while pay at that level is much less common in the far West.
There's been a big push in recent years by labor groups for states and localities to increase their minimum wages. Several states have wages far above the $7.25 federal level.
In many states, the lowest-paying occupation, as measured by average annual wages, is in the food-service industry.
The situation at the top of the income distribution looks very different. In 27 states and DC, CEO was the nonmedical occupation with the highest average annual wage.
The gender wage gap in America persists and is widespread. Women earn less than men in every state and DC.
Younger workers also tend to earn less than older workers.
Even though college keeps getting more expensive, the wage premium for workers with a degree remains wide across the country.
Labor markets across the country have largely recovered from the Great Recession.
Of course, work has its hazards as well. Fatal-occupational-injury rates tend to be higher in states with large concentrations of dangerous jobs, like forestry and mining.
America runs on a massive $20 trillion economy, and about two-thirds of that economy is consumer spending. The country's biggest companies — massive employers and household brand names alike — have headquarters scattered across the US.
The main measure of economic output, gross domestic product, totals up the value of all goods and services sold in a state. That measure, adjusted by population, is a good indicator of the overall economic health of a state.
Even though they tend to have stronger job opportunities and higher wages, large metro areas also have a much higher cost of living than smaller cities and rural areas.
One of the biggest drivers of the cost of living is the price of housing.
Costs for renters also vary from state to state.
Another way of looking at the cost of rent is the wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment in each state.
While the homeless population declined in most states between 2007 and 2017, rising housing costs have contributed to increases in some states, particularly in New York.
Another nearly daily cost for many Americans is fuel for their cars.
Another dreaded expenditure is taxes. While federal taxes apply across the board, states also set their own tax rates, and there's a wide range of how much tax revenue per person each state takes in.
Finally, putting everything together, this map shows how Americans in every state rate their own overall happiness and well-being.
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