There are 50 states in the United States, not 51. The count has held steady since 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted. The confusion usually traces back to Washington, D.C., which functions like a state in some ways but legally isn’t one, or to U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, which aren’t states either.
Why People Think There Are 51
A few things feed the mix-up. Washington, D.C., has its own mayor, its own police force, and license plates that read “Taxation Without Representation.” Its residents pay federal income taxes, vote for president, and live in a city more populous than some actual states. Skip the legal details and counting D.C. as a state is an easy mental shortcut.
Puerto Rico contributes too. It shows up in the news in connection with statehood referendums, and many people assume it already crossed the finish line. It hasn’t. There’s also a simpler explanation: people remember “around 50” and their brains round up. The 52 cards in a deck and 52 weeks in a year don’t help. Once someone lands on 51 or 52, the mistake sticks because it rarely gets challenged in ordinary conversation.
How the Count Reached 50
The country started with 13 states and grew through purchases, treaties, and annexations over the next two centuries. The final additions came in 1959. Alaska joined as the 49th state on January 3, and Hawaii followed as the 50th on August 21.1Library of Congress. Territories to Statehood, Alaska and Hawaii: Topics in Chronicling America President Eisenhower signed Hawaii’s admission proclamation that same day.2Eisenhower Presidential Library. Hawaii Statehood
Because each star on the flag represents one state, the flag was redesigned twice in 1959. The current 50-star design was formally established by Executive Order 10834 and first flown on July 4, 1960.3Eisenhower Presidential Library. Design of the 49- and 50-Star Flags No star has been added since.
Washington, D.C., Is Not a State
The District of Columbia was carved out to serve as the seat of the federal government, placed under Congress’s direct control rather than inside any state’s borders. That arrangement made political sense in 1790 but created a lasting asymmetry: more than 670,000 people live there today with a fundamentally different relationship to their government than any state resident has.
D.C. residents do vote for president. The 23rd Amendment, ratified in 1961, gives the District electoral votes equal to what it would receive as a state, capped at the number given to the least populous state.4National Constitution Center. 23rd Amendment – Presidential Vote for D.C. In practice, that means three electoral votes.5National Archives. Distribution of Electoral Votes
Where D.C. residents lose out is Congress. The District sends a delegate to the House of Representatives, but that delegate has limited voting privileges and cannot vote on final passage of legislation. D.C. has no senators.6GovTrack. District of Columbia Senators, Representatives, and Congressional District Maps Meanwhile, D.C. residents pay federal income taxes at the highest per-capita rate in the country, which is where those license plates get their edge. Statehood bills have been introduced in Congress repeatedly, including the Washington, D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51) in the current 119th Congress, but none has passed both chambers.7Congress.gov. Washington, D.C. Admission Act
U.S. Territories Are Not States
Beyond D.C., the United States has five major inhabited territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.8Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Preparing for the Oath – U.S. Territories All five fall under Congress’s broad authority granted by the Territorial Clause of the Constitution.9Library of Congress. Power of Congress over Territories None of them send voting members to Congress, and their residents cannot vote for president in general elections.10USAGov. Who Can and Cannot Vote
People born in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands are U.S. citizens at birth. American Samoa is the exception: people born there are U.S. nationals, not citizens, unless a parent is a citizen.11USCIS. Chapter 2 – Becoming a U.S. Citizen Nationals can live and work in the United States but cannot vote or hold certain positions reserved for citizens.
Puerto Rico and the Statehood Question
Puerto Rico is by far the most populous territory, with roughly 3.2 million residents. It has its own constitution and local legislature, but Congress retains ultimate authority over its affairs. Puerto Ricans have voted on their political status multiple times, most recently in a 2020 referendum where about 52.5% of voters favored statehood. That result, like previous ones, was non-binding and did not trigger any action in Congress.
What It Would Take to Add a 51st State
Adding a state is constitutionally straightforward but politically difficult. Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to admit new states, with one restriction: no new state can be carved from an existing state’s territory, or formed by combining parts of existing states, without the consent of every state legislature involved.12Constitution Annotated. Overview of Admissions (New States) Clause
The Constitution does not spell out a formal checklist for admission, but historically Congress has looked for a stable population, a republican form of government, and demonstrated public support for statehood among the territory’s residents. The usual process involves Congress passing an enabling act that instructs the territory to draft a state constitution and hold elections. Once those steps are complete, Congress passes an admission act, the president signs it, and the new state enters the Union on equal footing with the existing ones.13Congress.gov. Statehood Process and Political Status of U.S. Territories: Brief Policy Background
There is also a shortcut known as the Tennessee Plan, where a territory skips the enabling act. Residents vote on statehood on their own initiative, ratify a constitution, and elect would-be congressional representatives before petitioning Congress for admission. Tennessee used this strategy in 1796, and D.C. statehood advocates have borrowed from it by electing shadow senators to lobby for admission. Even so, Congress and the president still have to approve the final admission act. Until that happens for D.C., Puerto Rico, or anywhere else, the number stays at 50.