Nearly 80% Federal Land: These 10 States Rank Highest (2024)

Nearly four in five acres. Alaska is not number one. Count down the10 states with the highest federal land share in this sourced2024 five-agency comparison. METHOD & LIMITS All 50 U.S. states ranked by combined federal acreage held/administered by BLM, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and Defense, divided by each state's acreage in CRS Table1. Data: September30,2024; report updated September14,2026. Sorted on unrounded ratios; displayed percentages match the report's one-decimal values. DC and territories excluded. These five agencies account for about96% of federal acreage; other federal agencies, state/local public land and tribal land are not this measure. Defense figures count owned acreage, not all leased or otherwise administered military land. A high share is not a public-access permission or recreation score. The report uses its stated GSA2004 state-acreage denominators and notes rounding/aggregation limitations; Hawaii's submerged-land footnote does not affect this Top10. This is not a claim of current2026 ownership. Actual footage identifies real places within each state. It illustrates the state; it does not establish ownership of every parcel/property visible, including the Las Vegas skyline. NPS/USFS/USAF archives show different seasons and dates, not a current conditions report. No generated place footage. DATA SOURCE Congressional Research Service, R42346, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data, Tables1–2 (government report republished in full): https://www.everycrsreport.com/report... Complete50-state calculations, source copies/hashes and exact shot/timecode/license evidence retained in the production record. CHAPTERS 00:00 NEARLY FOUR IN FIVE 00:11 THE MEASURE 00:51 #10 NEW MEXICO 01:29 #9 COLORADO 02:05 #8 ARIZONA 02:41 #7 CALIFORNIA 03:18 #6 WYOMING 03:53 #5 OREGON 04:30 #4 ALASKA 05:07 #3 IDAHO 05:45 #2 UTAH 06:23 #1 NEVADA 07:02 SHARE IS NOT SIZE ACTUAL FOOTAGE & CREDITS NPS Video: Blum, Wells, and Wang — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... NPS Video: Blum, Wang, and Well — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... NPS Video:Blum, Well, and Wang — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... NPS — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... NPS — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... NPS Video: Richard Burton — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... NPS Video: Richard Burton — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... U.S. Forest Service/Charity Parks — https://www.dvidshub.net/video/979500... NPS/Neal Herbert — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... NPS Video By T. Vaughn and J. Pfeiffenberger — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... U.S. Air Force/Airman1stClassTimothyPerish — https://www.dvidshub.net/video/946725... Scott Unfried / Pexels — https://www.pexels.com/video/las-vega... Scott Unfried / Pexels — https://www.pexels.com/video/las-vega... NPS — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... National Park Service — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... National Park Service — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... National Park Service — https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.... NPS Video — https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail... MUSIC & SOUND Sounds Good — Michael Ramir C., via Mixkit (Envato), licensed instrumental background. https://mixkit.co/license/#musicFree Whooshes and impacts: original synthesized effects. Original source sound muted. Independent America Ranked production. AI-assisted narration; photo-based illustrative thumbnail compositing. No government endorsement. The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement. #AmericaRanked #FederalLand #USStates