Rhode Island and Oregon produce an incredible number of Summer Olympians
When it comes to the Rio Olympics, no state produces more Summer Olympians than California with 124 athletes representing the United States. However, no state is more efficient at producing Olympic athletes than Rhode Island.
In all, more than 22% of all Olympians on Team USA list California as their home state. Florida (39) and Texas (33) are next with 7% and 6% of the Team USA athletes, respectively.
However, things look a lot different if we take into consideration state populations. Based on the most recent census data, Rhode Island (4 Olympians) is the state with the most Olympians per capita, with 1 Olympian for every 264,075 residents (Washington D.C. is even better, but alas, still not a state).
Oregon, with 14 Olympians, is second with an Olympian out of every 287,784 residents. California still does pretty well, even by per capita standards, ranking fifth among all states.
