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- The 74th annual Miss USA pageant will take place in Reno, Nevada, on October 24.
- We looked back at the states that have had the most success at the pageant.
- Texas has the most Miss USA wins, taking the crown 10 times.
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 74th annual Miss USA pageant in Reno, Nevada, on October 24. 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 title 10 times.
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 the Miss USA pageant five times from 1985 to 1989, a streak nicknamed the “Texas Aces.”
Here are all the Miss Texas titleholders who won Miss USA:
- 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
Close to catching up is California, which has taken the Miss USA crown six times.
California has won a Miss USA title in every decade except the 2000s. Its most recent Miss USA win was when Alyssa Campanella took the crown in 2011.
These are all the Miss California titleholders who won Miss USA:
- 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 2023 winner 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 went on to win 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 places have four winners, including Michigan, the most recent state to take the Miss USA crown.
Carole Gist was both the first Miss Michigan and the first African American woman to win the Miss USA crown. In 2010, another Miss Michigan made history as Rima Fakih became 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.
Here are all the Miss Michigan titleholders who won Miss USA:
- 1990: Carole Gist
- 1993: Kenya Moore
- 2010: Rima Fakih
- 2024: Alma Cooper
The District of Columbia’s most recent Miss USA titles came in quick succession.
The District of Columbia may not have representation in the Senate, but it sure does great 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 titles at Miss USA since the reign of the Texas Aces.
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
All four of Illinois’ Miss USA 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
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