Here is the list of the ten smallest US states ranked using the total water area. Water area means that part of a landscape composed of water features such as pools, fountains, ponds, etc. For the smallest states measured via total area, read the ranking here. And for the smallest states via total area, you can see the ranking here.

See the ranking below of the 10 smallest states of the United States.

Table of Contents
👉 Nebraska
👉 Kansas
👉 Rhode Islands
👉 Colorado
👉 Iowa
👉 Vermont
👉 New Hampshire
👉 Arizona
👉 New Mexico
👉 West Virginia

Top 10 USA Smallest States by Total Water Area

👉 Number 10 - State of Nebraska
Its capital is Lincoln and the state has the population of over 1.9 million people. Its total water area is 524 sq. mi (1,356 sq. km).
Chimney Rock National Historic Site, planetware

👉 Number 9 - State of Kansas
Kansas capital is Topeka. It has the total population of over 2.9 million. Its total water area is 520 sq. mi (1,346 sq. km).
Monument Rock, shutterstock
👉 Number 8 - Rhode Islands State
It is the smallest state when it comes to the total land area. But it is not, when it comes to the water area, wherein it has a total water area of 511 sq. mi (1,324 sq. km). Its capital is Providence and has the population of over a million.
Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, iSTOCK

👉 Number 7 - Colorado State
Colorado is the seventh smallest US state when it comes to water area with 452 sq. mi (1,170 sq. km). Its capital is Denver and has the population of over 5.7 million people.
Colorado Springs Garden of the gods, planetware

👉 Number 6 - The State of Iowa
Its capital is Des Moines. It has the population of almost 3.2 million people. Its total water area is 416 sq. mi (1,077 sq. km).
Iowa Capitol Building, faykatriona - Fotolia.com

👉 Number 5 - The State of Vermont
Its capital is Montpelier and has the population of over 643 thousand. Its total  water area is 400 sq. mi (1,035 sq. km). It is the 5th smallest state when it comes to water area.
Stowe, image source: planetware

👉 Number 4 - The State of New Hampshire
New Hampshire is 4th on the list with a total water area is 397 sq. mi (1,027 sq. km). Its capital is Concord with the total population of over 1.3 million people.
White Mountain, image source: Hilary McCoy

👉 Number 3 - The State of Arizona
Its capital is Phoenix and has a total population of over 7.1 million. Its total water area is 396 sq. mi (1,026 sq. km). It is the 3rd smallest state in terms of water area combined.
Arizona Monument Valley, image source: fodors

👉 Number 2 - The State of New Mexico
New Mexico capital is Santa Fe. The state has the population of over 2.1 million people. Its total water area is 292 sq. mi (757 sq. km).
Bisti Wilderness, image source: shermanstravel

👉 Number 1 - The State of West Virginia
When it comes to the smallest states via total area, West Virginia is ranked 10th. But when it comes to total water area, it is the smallest of all the 50 states of US and ranked 1st. Its capital is Charleston. It has a population of over 1.7 million people. Its total water area is 192 sq. mi (497 sq. km).
New River Gorge, image source: planetware

References:
👉 List of states and territories of the United States, Wikipedia.org