# Can two states merge? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2005, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010 "2005-06-27T06:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/41 "2005-06-29T23:41:16Z")
Oops, I retract the statement about Utah and North Carolina changing seats. Something weird is going on. My calculations show Utah with four and North Carolina with twelve, even with separate Dakotas. I’m using the [official numbers](http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-T1-R&-ds_name=PEP_2004_EST&-_lang=en&-format=US-9S&-_sse=on), so I don’t know what the problem is. There’s probably some adjustments they make to the population numbers that I’m not taking into account. ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/42 "2005-06-30T00:11:37Z")
This dispute over whether NC or UT should get the House seat went to the Supreme Court, in [Utah v. Evans](http://www.thegreenpapers.com/Census00/Utah.html). As you noticed, Utah lost out to North Carolina in the end. ---
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/43 "2005-07-02T03:13:53Z")
> [@iamthewalrus(:3=](#): > > It’s possible that they’d lose (or gain) a Representative as well. > > North Dakota currently has only one Representative, and South Dakota has two. The sum of their populations might not be enough to get three in hypothetical Dakota. > > According to Wikipedia, the population of ND is 633K and that of SD is 764K. The formula for apportioning representatives is [here](http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/apportionment/computing.html). I didn’t feel like working it out, but someone else might. Each of the Dakotas has only one Representative. Combined, the states would have two Reps and two Senators for a total of four EV. Separately, they have six. ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/44 "2005-07-03T06:34:12Z")
> [@Only Mostly Dead](#): > > Considering something like option (4) it goes to Delaware, or any other state, is laughable because of the logistical nightmare -especially issues of intrastate commerce- of administering a non-contiguous zone. Michigan excluded because the water divider between the two masses doesn’t allow for the existence of another state between them. Until Maine was admitted to statehood in its own right in 1820, it was a non-contiguous part of Massachusetts. ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/45 "2005-07-03T06:42:06Z")
> [@Ronald C. Semone](#): > > I remember my high school history teacher telling us that Texas is unique in that the Congressional action making it a state included the provision that it could at any time it wanted divide itself into 4 separate states. In the 50 years since then I have never seen this mentioned anywhere else. Did Miss Thompson really know what she was talking about? Besides the snopes article that **pravnik** linked to, these threads may also interest you: [Can Texas Still Split Into Five States?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=189495) [Texas into 5 States?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=159651) ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/46 "2005-07-03T13:54:15Z")
> [@brianmelendez](#): > > Until Maine was admitted to statehood in its own right in 1820, it was a non-contiguous part of Massachusetts. There are also other examples. The Western Reserve area of Ohio was claimed by Connecticut as a western extension of CT’s north and south borders. Notwithstanding the fact that NY and part of PA lay in between. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010.md?page=2)