You probably think you know the map of the United States. Fifty states, right? From the rocky coast of Maine to the sunny beaches of California, it seems pretty straightforward. But honestly, if you stop there, you’re missing millions of people and thousands of miles of American soil. There is a specific list of us territories that exist in a weird legal limbo. They are part of the U.S., but not quite in the U.S. in the way most of us think. It’s confusing. It’s messy. And frankly, the way these places are governed is kind of a relic of a different era.
Think about it. There are Americans who can’t vote for President despite being citizens. There are people who pay federal taxes but have no voting representation in Congress. It’s not just a trivia question for a geography bee; it’s the lived reality for about 3.6 million people. If you want to understand the full scope of American influence, you have to look at the islands.
The Big Five: The List of US Territories You Need to Know
When people talk about the list of us territories, they are usually referring to the five permanently inhabited ones. These aren't just vacation spots; they are complex societies with their own laws, cultures, and struggles.
First up is Puerto Rico. It’s the heavyweight of the group. With over 3 million people, it has a larger population than about 20 U.S. states. It’s a Commonwealth. People there are U.S. citizens by birth, thanks to the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917. They use the dollar. They have U.S. mail. But they don't get a vote in the Electoral College. If a Puerto Rican moves to Florida, they can vote for President. If they move back to San Juan, they lose that right. It’s a strange, disjointed reality that defines the island's politics.
Then you’ve got Guam. Located way out in the Western Pacific, it’s "where America’s day begins." It’s a massive military hub. About a quarter of the island is occupied by military bases. The people there, the Chamorro, have a history that stretches back thousands of years, long before the Spanish or Americans arrived. Like Puerto Ricans, Guamanians are U.S. citizens.
The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) are probably the most famous for tourism. St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John. The U.S. actually bought these from Denmark back in 1917. Why? Strategy. We wanted to protect the Panama Canal during World War I. Today, it’s a tropical paradise where you still drive on the left side of the road—a lingering habit from the Danish days.
Don’t forget American Samoa. This one is the outlier. It is the only territory where the people are "U.S. Nationals" but not "U.S. Citizens." They have U.S. passports, but they can't work certain federal jobs that require citizenship without going through a naturalization process. They also have a unique land ownership system called Fa'amatai, which keeps land in the hands of indigenous families. It’s a fascinating example of a local culture successfully pushing back against federal homogenization.
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Finally, there’s the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). This is a chain of 14 islands near Guam. Saipan is the big one. They have a "Covenant" with the U.S. that gives them a bit more local control over things like immigration than other territories have had in the past.
Why the Status Actually Matters
It’s easy to dismiss this as "island politics," but the legal framework is actually pretty wild. It’s based on something called the Insular Cases. These are a series of Supreme Court decisions from the early 1900s. Basically, the court decided that the Constitution doesn't "follow the flag."
Justice Edward White wrote back then that some territories were "inhabited by alien races" and might not be able to handle Anglo-Saxon principles of law. Yeah, it was as racist as it sounds. And yet, those 100-year-old rulings still dictate how the list of us territories is managed today. It’s why the Bill of Rights doesn’t automatically apply in full to every territory unless Congress says so.
The "Minor" Islands and the Guano Act
Not every territory has a Starbucks and a highway system. In fact, most of the list of us territories consists of tiny, uninhabited specks of land. These are grouped together as the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
Most of these were claimed under the Guano Islands Act of 1856. Back then, bird droppings (guano) were the world’s best fertilizer. It was like the oil of the 19th century. The U.S. told citizens that if they found an island with guano on it, they could claim it for the U.S.
- Midway Atoll: Famous for the WWII battle, now a wildlife refuge.
- Wake Island: An active airfield and strategic point in the Pacific.
- Johnston Atoll: Used for decades for chemical weapon storage and testing; now it’s being reclaimed by nature.
- Palmyra Atoll: An incredible biodiversity hotspot owned by the Nature Conservancy but under U.S. jurisdiction.
- Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: Tiny spots near the equator. Howland is where Amelia Earhart was headed when she disappeared.
These places don't have permanent residents, but they give the U.S. massive "Exclusive Economic Zones" (EEZ). That means the U.S. controls the fishing and mineral rights for 200 nautical miles around every one of those tiny rocks. It's a huge deal for global power and resource management.
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The Weird Case of Palmyra Atoll
Palmyra is the only "incorporated" territory on the list. This is a technical term that carries a lot of weight. Being incorporated means the Constitution applies there in full. Every other territory—Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.—is "unincorporated."
Why is a tiny, uninhabited atoll "incorporated" while Puerto Rico isn't? History. When Hawaii became a state in 1959, Palmyra was specifically carved out and kept as an incorporated territory. It’s a legal ghost, a piece of land that is technically "part of the United States" in a way that Saipan or St. Thomas are not.
Realities of Life and Law
Living on the list of us territories isn't all palm trees. There are real disadvantages. Because these areas are unincorporated, Congress can—and does—treat them differently than states.
Take the SSI (Supplemental Security Income) program. In a 2022 Supreme Court case, United States v. Vaello Madero, the court ruled that the federal government can legally deny SSI benefits to U.S. citizens just because they live in Puerto Rico. The logic? They don't pay most federal income taxes (though they pay payroll taxes like Social Security and Medicare).
Economic development is also tricky. The Jones Act (a different one from the citizenship act) requires that all goods shipped between U.S. ports be carried on ships that are built, owned, and operated by United States citizens. For islands like Guam or Puerto Rico, this drives up the cost of everything. Milk, cars, construction materials—it all costs more because of a 1920s law designed to protect the U.S. shipping industry.
The Military Connection
You can't talk about these places without talking about the Pentagon. The U.S. territories have some of the highest rates of military enlistment in the country. In American Samoa, the recruitment numbers are often the highest per capita of any U.S. jurisdiction.
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There is a profound irony there. People from Guam or the USVI serve in the military at higher rates than people from Kansas or California, yet they cannot vote for their Commander-in-Chief. They have "Delegates" in Congress who can sit on committees and speak on the floor, but they cannot cast a vote on the final passage of any bill. It’s "taxation without representation" in a very literal, modern sense.
Is Statehood the Answer?
The debate over the status of the list of us territories is constant. In Puerto Rico, there have been multiple referendums. Some want statehood. Some want to keep the status quo. A smaller group wants full independence.
The problem is that only Congress has the power to change things. Under the Territory Clause of the Constitution, Congress has "plenary power." That’s a fancy way of saying they have total control. Until Congress decides to act, these islands remain in a state of "belonging to, but not a part of" the United States.
It’s not just Puerto Rico, either. There are movements in Guam and the USVI to clarify their relationship with the mainland. But because these places have small populations and no electoral votes, they often get pushed to the bottom of the legislative priority list.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
If you’re looking to engage with the reality of U.S. territories, don't just treat them as travel destinations. There are ways to understand and support these communities:
- Support Local Governance: When visiting, spend your money at locally owned businesses rather than international chains to ensure the capital stays within the island's economy.
- Follow Territorial Delegates: Look up the work of delegates like Stacey Plaskett (USVI) or James Moylan (Guam). Their work in committee is often where the real battle for territorial resources happens.
- Check the Legal Battles: Organizations like Equally American are actively fighting in court to overturn the Insular Cases. Following their litigation gives you a front-row seat to how the law is—or isn't—changing.
- Understand Shipping Realities: If you’re shipping goods or starting a business, research how the Jones Act impacts costs. It’s a major hurdle for entrepreneurship in the territories.
- Learn the Indigenous Names: Guam is Guåhan. The Virgin Islands have deep West African and Carib roots. Acknowledging the pre-colonial identity of these places changes how you see their current political status.
The U.S. isn't just a block of 50 states on a map. It’s a scattered, complex collection of islands and people tied together by a history that is often uncomfortable and always complicated. Knowing the list of us territories is the first step in understanding what the United States actually looks like in the 21st century.