Are there 50 or 52 states in America?

https://www.reference.com/geography/50-52-states-america-1493417013f35ee0

Are there 50 or 52 states in

America?
A:
QUICK ANSWER

As of 2014, there are 50 states in the United States. The idea there are 52 states comes
from the mistaken belief that the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are states. Puerto
Rico has held nonbinding referendum votes four times since 1967.

FULL ANSWER

Forty-eight of the states lie on the mainland, while Alaska and Hawaii are disconnected.
The largest state in the union is Alaska at 656,424 square miles, while the smallest state
in the union is Rhode Island, covering just 1,545 square miles. The first state to join the
union was Delaware on Dec. 7, 1787, and the most recent state to join the union was
Hawaii on Aug. 21, 1959.