How Many States Are Along the East Coast and West Coast of the United States?

The contiguous United States is flanked by two major coastlines: the East Coast, which stretches along the Atlantic Ocean, and the West Coast, which borders the Pacific Ocean.  In addition to the East and West Coasts, the coastline area of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida is bordered by the Gulf Coast, which runs along the Gulf of Mexico.

This article looks at how many states are along the East Coast and how many states are along the West Coast.

How Many States are Along the East Coast?

The East Coast of the United States stretches from the northeastern state of Maine down to the southeastern state of Florida. In total, 14 states have coastlines along the Atlantic Ocean. 

These states, in order from north to south, are:  

1. Maine
2. New Hampshire
3. Massachusetts
4. Rhode Island
5. Connecticut
6. New York
7. New Jersey
8. Delaware
9. Maryland
10. Virginia
11. North Carolina
12. South Carolina
13. Georgia
14. Florida.

States Along the East Coast that Have No Atlantic Coastline

There is one state along the East Coast that does not have an Atlantic coastline but still has access to the ocean. While not actually along the Atlantic Coast, Pennsylvannia’s coastline access is provided by 57 miles (92 km) of shoreline along the Delaware River estuary.  

Connecticut, located on the Long Island Sound, also has no actual coastline facing the Atlantic Ocean.

While Vermont is located in the eastern part of the United States, it does not have coastal access to the Atlantic.

The capital of the United States, Washington D.C. is part of the region known as the East Coast but is landlocked and is sandwiched between Maryland and Virginia.

How Long are the Coastlines of States Along the East Coast?

Measuring the length of a coastline is challenging due to the coastline paradox.

Coastlines are not smooth lines. Decisions have to be made about how much of the variation inherent in coastlines to measure.

As the Congressional Research Service (CRS) notes, “Coastline measurements are more difficult because of the effects of tides and the necessarily arbitrary decisions that must be made about measuring bays, coves, islands, and inlets leading to streams and rivers.”

The CRS measures coastlines using large scale nautical charts while NOAA measures the length of coastlines based on measurements calculated in 1930-1940 and 1970 based on the  largest-scale charts and maps available at that time.

This table lists the total calculated miles (and kilometers) for the states that are along the Atlantic Coast based on measurements from the CRS and NOAA:

How Many States are Along the West Coast?

There are three states in the contiguous United States that have coastline access to the Pacific Ocean:

1. California
2. Oregon
3. Washington.  

The state of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii make up the other two states that are part of the region called the West Coast of the United States.

How Long are the Coastlines of States Along the West Coast?

This table lists the total calculated miles (and kilometers) for the states that are along the Pacific Coast based on measurements from the CRS and NOAA:

The State of Alaska has the longest coastline by far of all the states.

This article was originally written on July 14, 2015 and has since been updated.