US State Flag Rankings
Consider this the sequel to our license plate power rankings. Here are the US state flags ranked 1-51 (including DC). This is obviously just our opinion and we clearly have zero expertise in vexillology.
*This was slightly revised in 2026.
1. California
It has sort of a Soviet vibe, but it’s an outstanding flag.
2. Colorado
You can’t walk into a gift shop in Colorado without seeing this on every mug, hat and sweatshirt. It’s a bit surprising that they didn’t somehow incorporate the Rocky Mountains, but it’s an A+ nonetheless.
3. New Mexico
The Zia sun symbol is better than any of the state seals that adorn most other flags.
Read More: World Flag Rankings
4. Maryland
No one is more obsessed with their flag than the citizens of Maryland. Despite being pretty wacky, it’s definitely a top 5 flag. I’m sure any readers from Maryland will be up in arms that it wasn’t ranked higher.
5. South Carolina
According to Wikipedia, “South Carolina’s flag was ranked as the 10th best designed state or provincial flag in North America by a non-scientific poll on the website of the North American Vexillological Association in 2001”. Well, according to our highly scientific process, they’re actually number 5.
6. Arizona
This is supposed to be a representation of the sun setting over the Colorado River. I think it bears a striking resemblance to the old “Free Tibet” bumper stickers. Either way, it’s enough to crack the top 10.
7. Texas
This is another flag that is flown with a ton of state pride.
8. Alaska
It’s astounding that groups of full grown adults consistently come up with such heinous designs for flags, license plates, logos, etc. Meanwhile Alaska’s flag was designed by 13 year old Benny Benson who won a contest back in 1927. This kid nailed it.  He won $1,000 for his winning design plus they threw in a gold watch and a trip to Washington DC. That’s more than $13,000 in today’s dollars. When you consider that the US bought Alaska from the Russians for like 20 bucks and a cup of coffee, Benny must have been living like a king.
9. Ohio
This is a weird one. But I like it.
10. Tennessee
At first I wasn’t crazy about this one but it’s grown on me.
11. Wyoming
Bison are a top 10 animal for silhouettes. That’s just a fact.
12. North Carolina
Texas with words…and upside-down.
13. Missouri
These bears are striking the most ridiculous pose in the history of their species. It’s so ridiculous that you can’t not love it.
14. Oregon
Oregon was the only state who thought to make a two-sided flag. If they had simply stuck with the one sided flag, they would have disappeared into the sea of unoriginal blue and yellow designs, but the beaver skyrocketed them into the upper echelon.
15. Washington, D.C.
DC always gets left out, but we like DC, so we’re including them in our list once again. It’s a straightforward design, but it works.
16. Massachusetts
In typical Massachusetts fashion, it’s nothing flashy or overstated. This is one of the better state seals and one of the only flags with a plain white background.
17. Rhode Island
The nautical theme is fitting for Ocean State. The white background looks good too.
18. Iowa
This feels a bit too French for a US state flag, but I suppose it makes sense given that Iowa was part of the Louisiana Purchase. Not a bad flag overall.
19. Georgia
Here’s another variation on the Texas/Chile theme. It’s a good looking flag, but two stripes is a decidedly better look than three.
20. Indiana
Simple. Stately. Symmetrical.
21. Minnesota
Big improvement over the old flag.
22. Arkansas
I understand that there’s a lot of symbolism in this flag, but visually it’s just mediocre.
23. Mississippi
Mississippi adopted a new flag in 2021. It’s better than the prior design, but still not a top tier flag.
24. Utah
Not great but much better than the old flag.
25. Maine
How do you not love these two guys? Easily the two most swashbuckling gentlemen in the flag world. And the moose in the center ties it all together. This is one of the better boring blue flags.
26. Virginia
When seemingly every other state has a blue flag with a seal in the middle, you have to do something to stand apart from the crowd. Virginia does exactly that. It’s the ultimate underdog story in flag form.
27. Michigan
The expression on that moose’s face is priceless. It looks so uncomfortable holding that pose and clearly wants to be anywhere else in the world other than holding up a picture of Bigfoot with the assistance of a disgruntled elk. It’s a strange flag…but it’s one of the better blue ones.
28. Nevada
I can appreciate the fact that they didn’t want to center their seal like everyone else.
29. Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s coat of arms is one of the better ones, but the fact that it’s just another blue flag prevents it from ranking higher.
30. New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s coastline is only 13 miles long but why not throw a ship on there.
31. New York
This is such an average flag. At least it inspired a classic episode of South Park.
32. Vermont
I expect so much more out of the Green Mountain State. First of all, their flag needs to be green. There’s no other option. The fact that they so willingly designed a boring blue flag just like everyone else is extremely disappointing. You expect that from the flyover states, but not Vermont. It may be one of the better boring blue flags, but I still feel like Vermont let me down. Also, the deer head looks like it should be mounted on a wall over someone’s fireplace.
33. Florida
At least they tried harder than Alabama and put a seal on top of the red “X”.
34. Louisiana
The state of Louisiana has an obsession with pelicans. Eagles are so cliche anyway.
35. North Dakota
Components of an unoriginal state flag: 1) Blue background. 2) Bald eagle with a ribbon in it’s mouth.. 3) 13 stars. 4) A Latin phrase.
36. Nebraska
Are you tired of blue flags yet?
37. Oklahoma
This would be so much better with a different background color.
38. Idaho
There’s sort of an Inception thing going on in Idaho’s state seal with the nature scene within a nature scene. Way too much happening here.
39. Kentucky
Kentucky’s flag features Daniel Boone and Henry Clay but for some reason Colonel Sanders was left out.
40. Montana
Putting the state’s name in large letters usually takes away from the design. In this case there wasn’t much to take away from to begin with.
41. Hawaii
Ignoring the fact that it looks as if Hawaii secretly wishes they were part of Great Britain, this flag is difficult to look at.
42. Wisconsin
The obnoxious block letters take away from the the badger crawling on top of the coat of arms.
43. Kansas
I have officially run out of things to write about blue flags with seals in the middle.
44. South Dakota
Not only is the color scheme terrible, they for some reason feel the need to include the name “South Dakota” twice.
45. West Virginia
The blue border isn’t doing it for me.
46. Delaware
These guys are trying to act like they’re as cool as their counterparts on the Maine flag, but there’s no hiding the fact that they’re huge dweebs in comparison.
47. Washington
George Washington deserves better than this.
48. Connecticut
“Qui transtulit sustinet” transaltes to “He who transplanted still sustains”. It’s a very fitting motto at the moment seeing as one of the state’s largest employers (General Electric) just uprooted itself and left for greener pastures in Massachusetts. Rumor has it they were fed up with looking at Connecticut’s ugly flag all the time.
49. Alabama
Boring…
50. Illinois
It looks like Illinois was kind enough to let local elementary school students design their flag…Just kidding. If that were the case it would have come out much better.
51. New Jersey
Pretty atrocious color scheme. It also looks like the woman on the left has Where’s Waldo’s hat hanging from her spear. We may have finally figured out where Waldo is (was?).
*All photos are from Wikipedia
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I’m a Mississippian, and I don’t like the flag. The state government seems to be unwilling to change it, and in a 2001 referendum, â…” of the voters voted to keep it.
Sadly, I think it is going to take either the federal government or the NCAA to impose sanctions to get the flag to change.
Yes! The Golden Beaver scores #7! As Oregonians, we’re are glad you didn’t make California #1. Yes, they put a cool bear on their flag but then they shot them all. Oregon, on the other hand, still has those cute little rodents(?) out there building stuff.
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Maryland should be number 1. Just look at the other flags. 5 flags are not better than Maryland’s. No flag is better than Maryland’s
you know nothing about vexillology
You’re right about that.
i think he knows a lot on vexillology
california should not be that high
I cant believe flags with any text, let alone really small texts and symbols made your list. Minnesota should be much farther up, and California in no way should be in the top 30. Its a flag not a t-shirt.
The person who compiled this list doesn’t know much about flag design and could benefit from an in-depth course in vexillology. Flags are for identification purposes, i.e., one should be able to look at a group of flags and easily pick out the one representing his/her state. In other words, flags should be simple, with no more than 2 or 3 basic colors, without lettering or seals. California, which is listed here as No. 1, violates the basic tenets of vexillology. Most state flags are far too “busy” for easy identification. One of the most identifiable and attractive state flags is that of Alabama, which should be No. 1, but instead is relegated to No. 49 on this list. (BTW, I live in Florida, the state that stuck an ugly state seal on a red and white St. Andrew’s Cross.)
Top 3
1. Maryland (most identifiable, history tied to the state)
2. Wyoming (love how the bison must always face the wind)
3. California (2nd most identifiable, ever without the wording)
Shocking that Missouri is ranked #8 – this flag is not superior to a number of the non-seal based designs further down the list
California number one? Seriously? If you have to put your name on your flag you’ve already failed. By the way, I Iive in Minnesota and I love our new state flag! Bold, uncluttered, meaningful, distinctive. Not just an unreadable seal plastered on dark background like half the flags.
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