Miss USA and Miss America are not the same spectacle. Here’s how to tell the difference.

Do you know the difference between Miss USA And Miss America?

They are the two largest parades in the country, and both feature a sash and a crown. But that’s where most of the similarities end.

From entry requirements and prize packages to swimsuit versus talent shows, here are all the differences between them Miss America and Miss USA.

The Miss USA pageant started because of the protest of a Miss America winner

Miss America predates Miss USA by 31 years. The first parade – held in September 1921 – was part of a strategy to attract tourists Atlantic city after Labor Day, according to the Miss America website. It was won by a 16-year-old named Margaret Gorman, who competed as Miss Washington, DC.

The Miss America website states that the pageant also included a “swimming beauty review,” which was an “act of rebellion at a time when women were not allowed to wear swimsuits in public.”

Miss USA started because of a very different act of rebellion. It became new in 1951 Miss America winnerYolande Betbeze refused to be photographed in swimwear. Catalina, a swimwear company that sponsored the competition, was upset by her decision and decided to organize her own pageants.

In 1952, Jackie Loughery was crowned the first Miss USA, and Armi Kuusela of Finland became the first Ms. Universe. Nine American women have won Miss Universe since its founding – the most of any country.

The pageants have very different eligibility requirements

To be eligible to compete in Miss America, contestants must be between the ages of 18 and 28. Women between the ages of 14 and 18 can participate in Miss America’s Teen, the sister pageant.

Miss America contestants may not be married or have children. It’s a rule that past winners, including Grace Stanke And Camille Schrierdefended in interviews with Business Insider.

The Miss America pageant previously also had one strict ‘anti-boyfriend’ rule. Madison Marsh, who won Miss America in January 2024 told Business Insider at the time that the policy had changed under current CEO Robin Fleming.

“She says it’s a new day at Miss America, and she really meant it,” Marsh said. “There are a lot of outdated rules that have gone away, including that you can’t be engaged and be Miss America.”

Miss USA has changed its eligibility rules significantly in recent years. The parade began to allow it married women and mothers to compete in 2023, and 2024 was the first year that all women 18 and older were eligible (the previous cutoff age was 28).

Women aged 14 to 19 can compete in Miss Teen USA.

Unlike Miss USA, Miss America does not have a swimsuit competition

Miss USA contestants are judged on swimsuit, evening dress and interview rounds.

Unlike Miss USA, Miss America has a talent show. It also has evening wear, interview and fitness rounds.

The parade deleted his swimsuit round in 2018, announcing that it would no longer judge contestants based on their “outward physical appearance”.

The pageants also have very different prize packages

Beginning in 1945, Miss America was one of the first organizations in the country to offer scholarships to women, according to its website.

Instead of offering scholarships, the Miss USA Organization has typically paid the winner a salary for their years of reign. In recent years, the prize package has also included an apartment in New York or Los Angeles for their time as Miss USA.

Both Miss USA and Miss America have had their share of controversies

Sam Haskell led the Miss America Organization for 12 years before resigning in 2017 after his internal emails about past Miss America winners were leaked to the press.

In the 2023 A&E docuseries “Secrets of Miss America,” Mallory Hagan, who won in 2013, said Haskell repeatedly spread false rumors about her sex life. Haskell said Hagan slept with more than 25 men in one of the leaked emails The Huffington Post.

Haskell resigned from the organization days after the emails were published. In a statement in the docuseries, he said much of what was reported was “dishonest, deceptive and despicable” and was “based on private emails stolen by ex-employees.”

Gretchen Carlson, host of Fox News and Miss America 1989, took over the pageant in early 2018, but her reign was short-lived. Carlson subsequently resigned in June 2019 Cara Mundwho was Miss America at the time, spoke out against her leadership.

Miss USA made headlines in October 2022 when she was president at the time Kristel Stewart was suspended after participants said that year’s election was rigged. The Miss Universe Organization, which oversees Miss USA, said it found no evidence of tampering during its investigation, although Stewart and the organization parted ways.

The parade was then in the news again Miss USA Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava relinquished their crowns in May 2024. It was the first time in the pageant’s history that a woman had vacated her title.

Both pageant queens said they couldn’t share the details publicly due to non-disclosure agreements, but their mothers… Jackeline Voigt and Barbara Srivastavatold Business Insider in a May 2024 interview that their daughters experienced “eight months of torture and abuse” while working with Rose – allegations that Rose has denied.

In September 2025, Thom Brodeur announced he would take over Miss USA. A day after Brodeur’s announcement, Rose took to Miss USA’s official Instagram page and said she was still in charge. The Miss Universe Organization has officially announced this Brodeur as new CEO and president weeks later.

The next Miss USA pageant will take place on August 27 in Miami streaming live on the Queen Beauty Network at 8:00 PM ET

The next Miss America pageant will take place in West Palm Beach on September 6. The broadcast will air on PageantVision.com.