UNESCO — the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — has strict criteria for its World Heritage Sites, choosing landmarks with particular natural, scientific, historical, or cultural significance. Considering the list features the likes of Machu Picchu, Stonehenge, and the Great Barrier Reef, UNESCO’s standards are pretty high. Of the 1,121 World Heritage Sites spread across the world as of 2025, 26 are in the U.S. Here are the seven states that rank highest for the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
New York

New York state is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, both celebrated in their own right. The first of the two, the Statue of Liberty, serves as a national symbol for freedom and democracy and is a must-see tourist destination in New York Harbor, within New York City. A collaboration between sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and engineer Gustave Eiffel, the 305-foot sculpture was a gift from France to the United States in 1886.
In 2019, New York City’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was also added to the illustrious list, as part of the 20th Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. This UNESCO Site includes eight of Wright’s most famous works, constructed over the course of five decades. The Guggenheim is not only an architectural marvel with its spiral design, but also a cultural landmark that features work from legendary artists such as Jackson Pollock and Pablo Picasso.
Wisconsin

Wisconsin contains two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, both designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House was finished in 1937 in Madison, Wisconsin, as a private home for a journalist and his wife. Before construction, Jacobs dared Wright to build a modest-sized home for $5,000, the equivalent of about $110,000 in today’s currency. Never one to skirt a challenge, Wright produced his first Usonian structure, a term used to describe his vision for affordable American architecture.
Nearby, in Spring Green, Taliesin is one of Wright’s most famous masterpieces, built as the personal home and retreat of the architect himself. Construction on Taliesin began in 1911 and was never fully finished due to continual renovations. Destroyed twice by separate fires, Taliesin was marked by tragedy, but its innovative design of interconnected buildings and landscaped gardens make it a worthy stop in central Wisconsin.
Arizona

Arizona is another state with two UNESCO sites, but only one of them belongs to Frank Lloyd Wright. During the last two decades of his life, before his death in 1959, Wright decamped to Scottsdale annually to stay in Taliesin West, his winter home. Wright invited his students to join him in the desert city, where they tested out design ideas and construction techniques, including Taliesin West’s original canvas roofing. Today, the midcentury modern building remains an architecture school and is open for tours.
Arizona’s other UNESCO World Heritage Site is the first natural phenomenon on this list. The Grand Canyon is often considered the most impressive natural wonder in the country, if not the world. Carved by the Colorado River over the course of 2 billion years, the massive canyon features sheer heights, beautiful formations, and diverse ecosystems that make it a true showstopper.
Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s three World Heritage Sites include a transnational site. Located in the small town of Bethlehem, the Moravian Church comprises four early Protestant settlements throughout four countries — the U.K., Germany, Denmark, and the U.S. — all of which display magnificent urban design and remain open for worship.
In nearby Philadelphia, Independence Hall was chosen by UNESCO due to its historical and cultural significance. As the site where both the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were drafted and signed — in 1776 and 1787, respectively — it’s where American democracy was born and it continues to play an important role in our nation today.
In the Western half of the state, Fallingwater is another stunning achievement by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Fallingwater’s one-of-a-kind design is integrated with a naturally occurring waterfall. The result is a unified sense between the indoors and outdoors, a characteristic that defines Wright’s work.
Illinois

Illinois is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Unity Temple, and the Frederick C. Robie House. The latter two showcase Wright’s earlier work in Chicago, where he began his career. Both buildings are celebrated as early examples of the architect’s signature style, which employed innovative materials and clean lines to create interior space and allow for ample light.
Farther south, Cahokia Mounds was once a settlement of a group of prehistoric Indigenous peoples called the Native Americans of the Mississippian. As the largest pre-Columbian site north of Mexico, Cahokia still contains 70 of the original 120 earthen mounds that were built by these ancient peoples, including Emerald Mound, which is now accessible via stairs. At interpretive galleries and a museum, visitors to this UNESCO site can learn more about the lives of the people who lived in the region around 1200 BCE.
California

The Golden State also features three UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Completed in 1921 in Los Angeles, Hollyhock House is an earlier example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. Named for the hollyhock flower, a feature employed in the landscaped gardens and architectural designs, Wright’s design used reinforced concrete to create a modern, light-filled, and open space.
When Yosemite National Park was designated a UNESCO site in 1984, it had already been a national park for almost 100 years. Located in the Sierra Nevada, Yosemite is known for its staggering landmarks, including El Capitan and Half Dome.
Farther north, Redwood National Park showcases the state’s breadth of natural beauty, thanks to the flora that thrives in California’s coastal climate. The park is home to the tallest trees in the world — centuries-old behemoths that stretch as high as 350 feet and up to 14 feet wide.
New Mexico

Finally, New Mexico also has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, but not a single one belongs to Frank Lloyd Wright. Renowned for their architectural, cultural, and historical significance, the traditional adobe buildings at Taos Pueblo have been inhabited by Ancestral Puebloans and their descendants for over 1,000 years. In northwestern New Mexico, Chaco Canyon was a hub of Ancestral Puebloan culture between 850 and 1250, and today the Chaco Culture National Historical Park preserves their remarkable ceremonial ruins.
In the southeastern corner of the state, the caves within Carlsbad Caverns National Park date back approximately 250 million years, and are also believed to have been used by the Ancestral Puebloans. In addition to limestone formations creating stalagmites and stalactites, Carlsbad is famous for its colony of bats — 400,000 in total — who make an appearance every day around dusk.
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