If a state is outside of the contaguous United States, what does that mean?
It means that it doesn't touch any other state. Both Alaska and Hawaii are outside the contiguous United States.
It's either Alaska or Hawaii.
There are 48 contiguous states in the US -- those whose borders touch at least one other state's borders.
When a state is referred to as being outside of the contiguous United States, it means that it is not part of the contiguous landmass of the United States.
The contiguous United States, also known as the lower 48 states, includes all the states that are connected together by land. These are located within North America, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Pacific Ocean to the west, and the borders with Canada to the north and Mexico to the south.
The states that lie outside of this contiguous landmass are Alaska and Hawaii. Alaska is located in the far northwest of North America, separated from the other states by Canada. Hawaii, on the other hand, is an archipelago located in the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles southwest of the mainland.
So, when someone mentions a state being outside of the contiguous United States, they are usually referring to Alaska and Hawaii.