<P> This is a list of U.S. states ranked by their coastline length . Thirty states have a coastline: twenty - three with a coastline on the Arctic, Atlantic, and / or Pacific Ocean, and eight with a Great Lakes coastline; New York has coasts on both . States with no coastline are not included . </P> <P> Two separate measurements are used: method 1 only includes states with ocean coastline and excludes tidal inlets; method 2 includes Great Lake coastline and the extra length from tidal inlets . For example, method 2 counts the Great Bay as part of New Hampshire's coastline, but method 1 does not . The resulting figures differ significantly due to the ambiguity inherent in all attempts at measuring coastlines, as expressed in the coastline paradox . </P>

How many states border an ocean in the united states