States with the Most Regulatory Diversity
All states ranked by number of distinct regulation categories they have active laws in, measuring breadth of regulatory coverage. Regulations are tracked across all 50 states, with data from state legislatures, NCSL, and IAPP; see our methodology.
What This Ranking Tells Us
Regulatory diversity measures how many different policy areas a state has addressed through legislation. States covering more categories take a comprehensive approach to emerging issues, while others focus on one or two areas. California and Colorado lead in diversity, having enacted laws across privacy, AI, employment, right-to-repair, and food safety categories. High diversity suggests a legislature actively monitoring and responding to a broad range of emerging issues.
| # | State | Categories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas TX | 5 |
| 2 | California CA | 5 |
| 3 | Utah UT | 4 |
| 4 | New York NY | 4 |
| 5 | Colorado CO | 4 |
| 6 | Virginia VA | 3 |
| 7 | Tennessee TN | 3 |
| 8 | Oregon OR | 3 |
| 9 | Minnesota MN | 3 |
| 10 | Illinois IL | 3 |
| 11 | Delaware DE | 3 |
| 12 | Connecticut CT | 3 |
| 13 | West Virginia WV | 2 |
| 14 | Washington WA | 2 |
| 15 | Vermont VT | 2 |
| 16 | Rhode Island RI | 2 |
| 17 | New Jersey NJ | 2 |
| 18 | New Hampshire NH | 2 |
| 19 | Nebraska NE | 2 |
| 20 | Montana MT | 2 |
| 21 | Maryland MD | 2 |
| 22 | Massachusetts MA | 2 |
| 23 | Louisiana LA | 2 |
| 24 | Kentucky KY | 2 |
| 25 | Indiana IN | 2 |
| 26 | Iowa IA | 2 |
| 27 | Florida FL | 2 |
| 28 | Arizona AZ | 2 |
| 29 | Wyoming WY | 1 |
| 30 | Wisconsin WI | 1 |
| 31 | South Dakota SD | 1 |
| 32 | South Carolina SC | 1 |
| 33 | Pennsylvania PA | 1 |
| 34 | Oklahoma OK | 1 |
| 35 | Ohio OH | 1 |
| 36 | Nevada NV | 1 |
| 37 | New Mexico NM | 1 |
| 38 | North Dakota ND | 1 |
| 39 | North Carolina NC | 1 |
| 40 | Mississippi MS | 1 |
| 41 | Missouri MO | 1 |
| 42 | Michigan MI | 1 |
| 43 | Maine ME | 1 |
| 44 | Kansas KS | 1 |
| 45 | Idaho ID | 1 |
| 46 | Hawaii HI | 1 |
| 47 | Georgia GA | 1 |
| 48 | District of Columbia DC | 1 |
| 49 | Arkansas AR | 1 |
| 50 | Alabama AL | 1 |
| 51 | Alaska AK | 1 |
Source: PlainRegWatch State Regulation Tracker.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does regulatory diversity matter?
For businesses operating nationally, states with diverse regulatory portfolios require attention across more compliance areas. For consumers, diverse regulation means broader protections. For policymakers, states with high diversity serve as regulatory laboratories whose experiences inform other states and potential federal legislation.
Can a state be strict in one area but lenient in others?
Absolutely. Many states have comprehensive data privacy laws but minimal AI regulation, or strong employment protections but no food chemical bans. Regulatory diversity and strictness are independent dimensions. A state might cover many categories lightly or few categories deeply.
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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.