Interactive map
Great Lakes Map
The 8 states of the Great Lakes states on one zoomable map, with every state capital, the cities and towns, interstates, rivers and lakes. Switch on towns and state names above the map and zoom in for more; tap a state to see its capital, population, area and largest cities.
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Printable maps of the Great Lakes states
Free to print for class and home: the Great Lakes states with its cities, a map of its states and capitals, and a blank outline map. PDFs fit one A4 or US Letter page.
Great Lakes map with cities
Great Lakes states and capitals map
About the Great Lakes states
The Great Lakes states are the eight that border the lakes: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The Great Lakes states has about 86,585,919 people (2025 estimate) on 1,073,478 km² (414,472 sq mi) of land. Its largest city is New York, New York, with 8,584,629 people.
New York is the most populous state (20,002,427 people) and Minnesota the least (5,830,405); Minnesota is the largest by land area (206,245 km²) and Indiana the smallest (92,787 km²).
Largest cities in the Great Lakes states
The 25 most populous cities. All 1,308 cities and towns are on the map above: switch on Towns and zoom in to see them.
| # | City | State | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | New York | 8,584,629 |
| 2 | Chicago | Illinois | 2,731,585 |
| 3 | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 1,574,281 |
| 4 | Columbus | Ohio | 938,396 |
| 5 | Indianapolis | Indiana | 901,116 |
| 6 | Detroit | Michigan | 649,095 |
| 7 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | 562,407 |
| 8 | Minneapolis | Minnesota | 430,324 |
| 9 | Cleveland | Ohio | 363,608 |
| 10 | Cincinnati | Ohio | 314,367 |
| 11 | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 307,632 |
| 12 | St. Paul | Minnesota | 306,684 |
| 13 | Madison | Wisconsin | 286,233 |
| 14 | Fort Wayne | Indiana | 275,203 |
| 15 | Buffalo | New York | 274,613 |
| 16 | Toledo | Ohio | 263,423 |
| 17 | Yonkers | New York | 212,603 |
| 18 | Rochester | New York | 206,108 |
| 19 | Grand Rapids | Michigan | 201,183 |
| 20 | Akron | Ohio | 189,691 |
| 21 | Aurora | Illinois | 181,505 |
| 22 | Naperville | Illinois | 153,114 |
| 23 | Joliet | Illinois | 152,241 |
| 24 | Rockford | Illinois | 147,384 |
| 25 | Syracuse | New York | 144,896 |
Populations are US Census Bureau estimates for July 2025, within city or town limits.
States of the Great Lakes states
All 8 states with their capitals. Select one to show it on the map.
| Springfield | 12,719,141 | 143,778 | |
| Indianapolis | 6,973,333 | 92,787 | |
| Lansing | 10,127,884 | 146,620 | |
| Saint Paul | 5,830,405 | 206,245 | |
| Albany | 20,002,427 | 122,049 | |
| Columbus | 11,900,510 | 105,824 | |
| Harrisburg | 13,059,432 | 115,882 | |
| Madison | 5,972,787 | 140,293 |
Practise US geography
Sources
- States, city and town locations and highways: US Census Bureau cartographic boundary files, Gazetteer files and TIGER/Line roads (2023).
- Populations: US Census Bureau Population Estimates, Vintage 2025; Census-designated communities: 2020 Census.
- Regions and divisions: US Census Bureau.