The United States has the most winners in Miss Universe history, but which states reign supreme when it comes to Miss USA?
One state had a five-year winning streak and produced two future Miss Universe winners. Meanwhile, 18 states still haven’t won the crown.
They’ll get a chance to change their record at the 75th annual Miss USA pageant in Miami on August 27.
Until then, let’s take a look back at the most successful states in the history of the Miss USA pageant.
Texas has won the Miss USA crown 10 times.
Texas has a storied history in the world of pageants.
Two Miss Texas winners who won Miss USA went on to win Miss Universe: Chelsi Smith and R’Bonney Gabriel. Miss Texas 2008 Crystle Stewart, who also won Miss USA, served as CEO and president of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants from 2020 to 2023.
Texas won five Miss USA pageants in a row from 1985 to 1989, a streak nicknamed the “Texas Aces.”
The full list of Miss Texas titleholders who won Miss USA is:
- 1977: Kimberly Tomes
- 1985: Laura Martinez Herring
- 1986: Christy Fichtner
- 1987: Michelle Royer
- 1988: Courtney Gibbs
- 1989: Gretchen Polhemus
- 1995: Chelsi Smith
- 2001: Kandace Krueger
- 2008: Crystle Stewart
- 2022: R’Bonney Gabriel
California, which has taken the Miss USA crown six times, is catching up.
California has won a Miss USA title in every decade except the 2000s. Its most recent winner was Alyssa Campanella, who took the crown in 2011.
The full list of Miss California titleholders who won Miss USA is:
- 1959: Terry Huntingdon
- 1966: Maria Remenyi
- 1975: Summer Bartholomew
- 1983: Julie Hayek
- 1992: Shannon Marketic
- 2011: Alyssa Campanella
Hawaii assumed its fifth Miss USA title after Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt resigned, a first in the pageant’s history.
Miss Hawaii 1962 Macel Wilson became the first woman from Hawaii to enter the Miss USA competition, as well as the first Asian American and first woman of color to win the crown.
Miss Hawaii 1997 Brook Lee won both Miss USA and Miss Universe.
The state assumed its fifth title after Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt stepped down three months before her reign came to an end due to the leadership of Laylah Rose, who was CEO of Miss USA at the time. Miss Hawaii Savannah Gankiewicz, who had won first runner-up at the pageant, took Voigt’s place.
The full list of Miss Hawaii titleholders who were named Miss USA is:
- 1962: Macel Wilson
- 1972: Tanya Wilson
- 1978: Judi Andersen
- 1997: Brook Lee
- 2023: Savannah Gankiewicz
Multiple states have four winners, including Michigan.
Carole Gist was both the first Miss Michigan and the first African American woman to win the Miss USA crown. In 2010, Miss Michigan Rima Fakih made history as the first Arab American woman to take the title.
Former Miss Michigan Kenya Moore, who won Miss USA in 1993, has become one of the most famous contestants in the pageant’s history after starring in “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” from 2012 to 2025.
The most recent Miss Michigan to win Miss USA is Alma Cooper, a US Army officer who took the crown in 2024.
The full list of Miss Michigan titleholders who won Miss USA is:
- 1990: Carole Gist
- 1993: Kenya Moore
- 2010: Rima Fakih
- 2024: Alma Cooper
The District of Columbia’s recent Miss USA titles came in quick succession.
The District of Columbia doesn’t have representation in the Senate, but it sure does well on the Miss USA stage.
In 2016, Deshauna Barber won Miss District of Columbia, and Kára McCullough placed first runner-up. Barber went on to win Miss USA, while McCullough won Miss District of Columbia in 2017. That year, Barber crowned McCullough the new Miss USA. It was the first time a place had won back-to-back Miss USA titles since the Texas Aces’ reign.
The full list of Miss District of Columbia titleholders who won Miss USA is:
- 1964: Bobbi Johnson
- 2002: Shauntay Hinton
- 2016: Deshauna Barber
- 2017: Kára McCullough
Illinois has also taken the Miss USA title four times, but all its wins came before 1975.
Illinois is also one of only four states to win back-to-back Miss USA titles.
The full list of Miss Illinois titleholders who won Miss USA is:
- 1953: Myrna Hansen
- 1963: Marite Ozers
- 1973: Amanda Jones
- 1974: Karen Morrison
New York has the honor of winning the very first Miss USA pageant.
Miss New York 1952 Jackie Loughery was named the very first Miss USA. She also represented the USA at the first-ever Miss Universe pageant that same year, placing in the top 10.
New York assumed its third Miss USA crown in 1995, when Shanna Moakler inherited the title after Chelsi Smith won Miss Universe 1995.
The full list of Miss New York titleholders who won Miss USA is:
- 1952: Jackie Loughery
- 1979: Mary Therese Friel
- 1995: Shanna Moakler
- 1999: Kimberly Ann Pressler
All four of North Carolina’s wins have been during the 2000s.
North Carolina has really hit its stride on the pageant stage in recent years.
The state’s most recent Miss USA title came when Morgan Romano assumed the 2022 crown after R’Bonney Gabriel won America’s ninth Miss Universe title.
The full list of Miss North Carolina titleholders who won Miss USA is:
- 2005: Chelsea Cooley
- 2009: Kristen Dalton
- 2019: Cheslie Kryst
- 2022: Morgan Romano
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