Third in World GDP
If the nation's coastal counties were an individual country, it would rank third in the world in gross domestic product, surpassed only by the United States and China.4
Top Five Coastal Populations
California tops the coastal populations chart with 26.5 million people living in coastal counties, followed by New York with 16 million, Florida with 15.3 million, New Jersey with 7.1 million, and Texas with 6.6 million.5
461 People per Square Mile
Approximately 461 people per square mile live in coastal counties (excluding Alaska), compared to the nation's population density of roughly 87 people per square mile.6
Vulnerable Populations
Approximately 40 percent of Americans living in coastal counties fall into an elevated coastal hazard risk category. These include children, the elderly, households where English isn't the primary language, and those in poverty.7

The basic geographic footprint for the data represented on this page is a suite of “Coastal Shoreline Counties” determined by using the Federal Emergency Management Agency's definition, which states that a coastal county must
- Have a coastline bordering the open ocean or the Great Lakes or
- Contain coastal high hazard areas (V-zones).
Handout: Top Ten Marine Economy