The pageant was hosted by Bob Goen for the third and final year, with color commentary by Shari Belafonte and entertainment from The Monkees. This was the only year that the pageant was held in Las Cruces, although Albuquerque had previously played host to the 1987 Miss USA pageant. For the first time ever, 6 out of 10 semifinalists were African-American.
Two contestants later competed in the Miss America pageant. Kelly Gaudet (Florida) later became Miss Florida 2001 and Marissa Perez (Connecticut) held the Miss Connecticut title the same year. Gaudet made the top ten in the pageant.
Two other contestants competed in the Miss USA pageant. Amanda Carraway (Kansas) became Miss Kansas USA 1999 and Sarah Cahill (Minnesota) was Miss Minnesota USA 2003. Since 1990, this year had the smallest number of delegates who went on to win a Miss USA state title.
Christie Lee Woods later competed on the fifth season of the Emmy award-winning CBS reality show, The Amazing Race, with her boyfriend turned fiancé Colin Guinn, and finished in second place. They were deemed by the show's host to be one of the most competitive couples to ever compete.
Patricia Campbell (PA), won one of the episodes of NBC's reality show Fear Factor
^"18-Year-Old Texan Clinches Miss Teen USA Title". The Associated Press. 1996-08-21.
^Massaro, Gary (1996-05-02). "Teen eyes national beauty pageant; Being a `burger queen' hasn't hurt". Rocky Mountain News.
^"Kelly Gaudet of Miami crowned 1996 Miss Florida Teen USA". Business Wire. 1995-11-25.
^"Area contestant in Miss Teen show". The Baton Rouge Advocate. 1996-08-21.
^Wright, Kristi (1995-10-15). "Just the Girl Next Door Model, Titleholder Says She Works Hard, but She's Average Teen at Heart Mandy Groff". The Omaha World-Herald.
^Garza, Nora (1995-11-14). "Miss Nevada Teen USA serving as role model". The Las Vegas Review-Journal.
^Trout Lowen, J (1995-11-28). "A little bit teen-ager, a little bit beauty queen: Liverpool High School junior crowned Miss New York Teen USA". Syracuse Herald-Journal.
^"Holland Hall Student Is Miss Oklahoma Teen USA". Tulsa World. 1995-10-18.
^"UT coed competes for Miss Teen USA; Newport native represents state at national pageant". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. 1996-08-14.
^Pierce, Annie (1996-08-19). "Vancouver teen-ager eagerly practicing for national pageant". The Columbian.
^"Miss Teen winner to represent state". Charleston Gazette. 1996-08-17.
Texas
Alabama - Luann Roberts
Alaska - Brandee McCoskey
Arizona - Courtney Hamilton
Arkansas - Aimee Delatte
California - Michelle Cardamon
Colorado - Ara Francis[2]
Connecticut - Marissa Perez
Delaware - Ashley Anderson
District of Columbia - Shannan McCray
Florida - Kelly Gaudet[3]
Georgia - Summer Newmann
Hawaii - Monica Ivey
Idaho - Suzan Dandeneau
Illinois - Eisa Istok
Indiana - Misha Ivetich
Iowa - Allison Dickey
Kansas - Amanda Carraway
Kentucky - Kelly Marie Sodan
Louisiana - Kimi Fairchild[4]
Maine - Laura Larson
Maryland - Jennifer Smith
Massachusetts - Maria Menounos
Michigan - Tamika Thomas
Minnesota - Sarah Cahill
Mississippi - Brandee Layne Loving
Missouri - Leah Sexton
Montana - Grace Murray Tubbs
Nebraska - Mandy Groff[5]
Nevada - Cerina Vincent[6]
New Hampshire - Melissa Coish
New Jersey - Jessica Ponzo
New Mexico - Whitni Zimmerman
New York - Aiesha Hendrick[7]
North Carolina - Tammy Ashton
North Dakota - Katrina Bergstrom
Ohio - Tara Shaffer
Oklahoma - Latoya Farley[8]
Oregon - Heather Noelle Jones
Pennsylvania - Patricia Campbell
Rhode Island - Kelly Dutra
South Carolina - Wendy Christina Roberts
South Dakota - Tatewin Means
Tennessee - Adrienne Parker[9]
Texas - Christie Lee Woods
Utah - Jodi Webb
Vermont - Lavinia Magruder
Virginia - Kandy Marshall
Washington - Emily Ballard[10]
West Virginia - Heather Gray[11]
Wisconsin - Nicole Lynn Werra
Wyoming - Michelle Marie Jefferson
