Most Forested States

As of 2016, Forests cover an estimated 36.21% of the United States with 818,814,000 acres of forest. 

These rankings are based on Wise Voter data. Click here for more information. The data below is the percentage of the state currently covered in forest. It should be noted that states with lower percentages do not necessarily reflect a low coverage of wild areas as some states naturally have fewer forests. For instance, Kansas is mostly plains and will naturally have less forest coverage. 

Here are the rankings:

1. Maine 88.8%

2. New Hampshire – 81.9%

3. West Virginia – 78.1%

4. Vermont – 76.7%

5. Alabama – 71.3%

6. South Carolina – 66.8%

7. Georgia – 66.5%

8. Mississippi 63.9%

9. Virginia 63.6%

10. New York – 61.7%

11. North Carolina – 60.3%

12. Massachusetts – 59.8%

13. Pennsylvania – 58%

14. Connecticut – 56.9%

15. Arkansas – 56.8%

16. Michigan – 55.7%

17. Rhode Island – 54.5%

18. Louisiana – 54.3%

19. Tennessee – 54.3%

20. Washington – 51.9%

21. Florida – 49.3%

22. Kentucky – 49%

23. Wisconsin – 48.9%

24. Oregon – 48.4%

25. New Jersey – 42.3%

26. Idaho – 41%

27. Maryland – 39.2%

28. Texas – 37.1%

29. Hawaii – 35.8%

30. Alaska – 35.2%

31. Missouri – 34.8%

32. Minnesota – 34.7%

33. Colorado – 34.6%

34. Utah – 34.2%

35. California – 31.7%

36. New Mexico – 31.7%

37. Ohio – 29.9%

38. Delaware – 28.5%

39. Montana – 27.8%

40. Oklahoma – 27%

41. Arizona – 25.4%

42. Indiana – 20.8%

43. Wyoming – 17%

44. Nevada – 15.1%

45. Illinois – 13.7%

46. Iowa – 8%

47. Kansas – 4.7%

48. South Dakota – 3.9%

49. Nebraska – 2.9%

50. North Dakota – 1.8%

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