Coronavirus testing: See which states are doing the most – and least – in the US

Texas has the second largest population in the United States with 28.9 million residents, but it has the lowest rate of coronavirus testing per capita in the country, research shows.

The Lone Star State has performed 115,718 tests, which equates to 3,990 tests per 1 million people, according to data from the COVID-19 Tracking Project and the U.S. Census.

In comparison, New York, with a population of about 19.4 million people, has tested 417,885 people as of Friday afternoon, according to the New York State Department of Health. That means New York has conducted 21,481 tests per 1 million people, according to data.

California, one of the states with the most confirmed cases of coronavirus, has conducted 4,172 tests per 1 million people, data show.

Louisiana, another hard-hit state in the pandemic, has performed 19,850 tests per 1 million people, according to data from the COVID-19 Tracking Project and the U.S. Census. The rate per million is calculated by dividing the total number of tests performed in a state by the total population, then multiplying the result by 1 million, according to Indeed.

The data demonstrates a stark contrast in testing across the country.

Vox reports that per capita, Washington state has conducted about four times as many tests as Texas and Georgia and twice as many as Florida.

The concern is that the actual number of cases may be underestimated because of a lack of testing, Vox reported.

Data from the COVID-19 Tracking Project shows that while Washington state has tested far more people per capita, with a rate of 12,212 tests per 1 million, Texas has more confirmed coronavirus cases, with 11,671 compared to almost 10,000 in Washington, suggesting “the real number of cases is much larger than the officials count,” according to Vox and data from the COVID-19 Tracking Project.

Most of Texas’ testing is conducted by private labs, according to KTRK in Houston. Over 90% of the state’s testing is performed in private labs, KTRK reported.

This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 9:06 PM.