Miss USA 1981 was the 30th Miss USA pageant, held at the Gulf Coast Convention Center in Biloxi, Mississippi on May 21, 1981. At the end of the event, Jineane Ford of Arizona crowned Kim Seelbrede of Ohio as Miss USA 1981. It is the second victory of Ohio in the pageant's history. Seelbrede later competed at Miss Universe and was named one of the twelve semi-finalists. This year also marked the first year since 1957 that a runner-up of Miss USA was sent to Miss World. Holli Dennis, the first runner-up from Indiana, was supposed to compete at Miss World, but chose to marry instead. Due to this, Lisa Moss, the second runner-up from Louisiana, was appointed as the representative of the United States to Miss World. Moss later competed at Miss World and was named one of the seven finalists. Contestants from forty-nine states and the District of Columbia competed in the pageant. The competition was hosted by Bob Barker.

Results

Placements

Pageant

Format

Same with 1971, twelve semi-finalists were chosen through the preliminary competition— composed of the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and closed-door interviews. The twelve semi-finalists competed in the evening gown and swimsuit competitions and were narrowed down to five afterward. The five finalists competed in the question and answer round and the final look.

Selection committee

Final telecast

Contestants

Fifty contestants competed for the title.