Most Regulated States
All states ranked by total number of new state-level regulations across all tracked categories. Regulations are tracked across all 50 states, with data from state legislatures, NCSL, and IAPP; see our methodology.
What This Ranking Tells Us
States with the most regulations tend to be larger, more economically diverse states that serve as regulatory laboratories. California consistently leads due to its large economy, diverse industries, and politically active consumer protection environment. States like Illinois, Colorado, and New York follow as they enact comprehensive frameworks across privacy, employment, AI, and environmental categories. High regulation counts reflect both legislative activity and the breadth of issues a state chooses to address through law rather than market self-regulation.
| # | State | Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California CA | 12 |
| 2 | Illinois IL | 9 |
| 3 | Colorado CO | 8 |
| 4 | New York NY | 8 |
| 5 | Oregon OR | 8 |
| 6 | Washington WA | 7 |
| 7 | Connecticut CT | 6 |
| 8 | Massachusetts MA | 6 |
| 9 | Minnesota MN | 5 |
| 10 | Texas TX | 5 |
| 11 | Delaware DE | 4 |
| 12 | Nevada NV | 4 |
| 13 | New Jersey NJ | 4 |
| 14 | Utah UT | 4 |
| 15 | Vermont VT | 4 |
| 16 | Virginia VA | 4 |
| 17 | Florida FL | 3 |
| 18 | Hawaii HI | 3 |
| 19 | Maryland MD | 3 |
| 20 | Rhode Island RI | 3 |
| 21 | Tennessee TN | 3 |
| 22 | District of Columbia DC | 3 |
| 23 | Alabama AL | 2 |
| 24 | Arizona AZ | 2 |
| 25 | Indiana IN | 2 |
| 26 | Iowa IA | 2 |
| 27 | Kentucky KY | 2 |
| 28 | Louisiana LA | 2 |
| 29 | Maine ME | 2 |
| 30 | Montana MT | 2 |
| 31 | Nebraska NE | 2 |
| 32 | New Hampshire NH | 2 |
| 33 | North Dakota ND | 2 |
| 34 | Oklahoma OK | 2 |
| 35 | Pennsylvania PA | 2 |
| 36 | West Virginia WV | 2 |
| 37 | Alaska AK | 1 |
| 38 | Arkansas AR | 1 |
| 39 | Georgia GA | 1 |
| 40 | Idaho ID | 1 |
| 41 | Kansas KS | 1 |
| 42 | Michigan MI | 1 |
| 43 | Mississippi MS | 1 |
| 44 | Missouri MO | 1 |
| 45 | New Mexico NM | 1 |
| 46 | North Carolina NC | 1 |
| 47 | Ohio OH | 1 |
| 48 | South Carolina SC | 1 |
| 49 | South Dakota SD | 1 |
| 50 | Wisconsin WI | 1 |
| 51 | Wyoming WY | 1 |
Source: PlainRegWatch State Regulation Tracker.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does more regulation mean overregulation?
Not necessarily. Regulation quantity says nothing about quality or burden. Some states enact many narrowly targeted laws that address specific problems efficiently, while others may have fewer but broader regulations with greater compliance costs. The economic impact depends on implementation, enforcement, and how regulations interact with each other.
Why do some states regulate more than others?
Factors include state population size and economic complexity (larger economies have more issues to address), political culture (some states prefer proactive regulation while others favor market solutions), industry presence (tech-heavy states lead on data privacy), and consumer advocacy strength. Federal preemption also plays a role, states regulate more in areas where federal law is absent.
How often is this data updated?
PlainRegWatch tracks regulations as they are enacted, proposed, or take effect. Data is updated as state legislatures complete their sessions and new laws are signed. Most state legislative sessions run January through June, with updates reflecting the latest enacted legislation.
Explore More Rankings
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Source: State regulatory agencies / Federal Register State and federal regulatory rule history and changes · 2025
Every figure on PlainRegWatch is rendered directly from state source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal and state source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.