Alaska has by far the most lakes of any U.S. state, with estimates of around 3 million lakes larger than about five acres.

Quick Scoop

  • Top state: Alaska is the clear number one, thanks to its glacial history and vast wilderness, which created millions of natural depressions that filled with water.
  • How many lakes? Estimates put Alaska at roughly 3–3.2 million lakes, including both named and unnamed lakes over about five acres in size.
  • Why the confusion with Minnesota? Minnesota brands itself as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” but modern counts list it at about 11,800–14,000+ lakes depending on the size cutoff, which is still far below Alaska’s total.

Other lake-rich states

  • Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Florida also rank high, each having many thousands of lakes, but all are dwarfed by Alaska’s count.
  • Some lists differ slightly because they use different minimum sizes or exclude man‑made reservoirs, but Alaska remains number one under all major definitions.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.