All 50 US States and Capitals

The full list in alphabetical order, with postal abbreviations, and the games that make it stick.

By Ziga StrausUpdated 22 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

The dome of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, with a flag and blue sky.
Photo: Ivan Dražić, Pexels
the short answer
There are 50 states, and each has its own capital. The full list is below in alphabetical order, with each state's two-letter postal code. Only 17 capitals are also their state's largest city, and Washington, D.C. is the national capital but not a state.
50States17Largest city

All 50 states and capitals in alphabetical order

Sorted A to Z by state. The abbreviation is the US Postal Service code, the one used on envelopes and in most data sets.

  • Alabama
    Abbr.:
    AL
    Capital:
    Montgomery
  • Alaska
    Abbr.:
    AK
    Capital:
    Juneau
  • Arizona
    Abbr.:
    AZ
    Capital:
    Phoenix
  • Arkansas
    Abbr.:
    AR
    Capital:
    Little Rock
  • California
    Abbr.:
    CA
    Capital:
    Sacramento
  • Colorado
    Abbr.:
    CO
    Capital:
    Denver
  • Connecticut
    Abbr.:
    CT
    Capital:
    Hartford
  • Delaware
    Abbr.:
    DE
    Capital:
    Dover
  • Florida
    Abbr.:
    FL
    Capital:
    Tallahassee
  • Georgia
    Abbr.:
    GA
    Capital:
    Atlanta
  • Hawaii
    Abbr.:
    HI
    Capital:
    Honolulu
  • Idaho
    Abbr.:
    ID
    Capital:
    Boise
  • Illinois
    Abbr.:
    IL
    Capital:
    Springfield
  • Indiana
    Abbr.:
    IN
    Capital:
    Indianapolis
  • Iowa
    Abbr.:
    IA
    Capital:
    Des Moines
  • Kansas
    Abbr.:
    KS
    Capital:
    Topeka
  • Kentucky
    Abbr.:
    KY
    Capital:
    Frankfort
  • Louisiana
    Abbr.:
    LA
    Capital:
    Baton Rouge
  • Maine
    Abbr.:
    ME
    Capital:
    Augusta
  • Maryland
    Abbr.:
    MD
    Capital:
    Annapolis
  • Massachusetts
    Abbr.:
    MA
    Capital:
    Boston
  • Michigan
    Abbr.:
    MI
    Capital:
    Lansing
  • Minnesota
    Abbr.:
    MN
    Capital:
    Saint Paul
  • Mississippi
    Abbr.:
    MS
    Capital:
    Jackson
  • Missouri
    Abbr.:
    MO
    Capital:
    Jefferson City
  • Montana
    Abbr.:
    MT
    Capital:
    Helena
  • Nebraska
    Abbr.:
    NE
    Capital:
    Lincoln
  • Nevada
    Abbr.:
    NV
    Capital:
    Carson City
  • New Hampshire
    Abbr.:
    NH
    Capital:
    Concord
  • New Jersey
    Abbr.:
    NJ
    Capital:
    Trenton
  • New Mexico
    Abbr.:
    NM
    Capital:
    Santa Fe
  • New York
    Abbr.:
    NY
    Capital:
    Albany
  • North Carolina
    Abbr.:
    NC
    Capital:
    Raleigh
  • North Dakota
    Abbr.:
    ND
    Capital:
    Bismarck
  • Ohio
    Abbr.:
    OH
    Capital:
    Columbus
  • Oklahoma
    Abbr.:
    OK
    Capital:
    Oklahoma City
  • Oregon
    Abbr.:
    OR
    Capital:
    Salem
  • Pennsylvania
    Abbr.:
    PA
    Capital:
    Harrisburg
  • Rhode Island
    Abbr.:
    RI
    Capital:
    Providence
  • South Carolina
    Abbr.:
    SC
    Capital:
    Columbia
  • South Dakota
    Abbr.:
    SD
    Capital:
    Pierre
  • Tennessee
    Abbr.:
    TN
    Capital:
    Nashville
  • Texas
    Abbr.:
    TX
    Capital:
    Austin
  • Utah
    Abbr.:
    UT
    Capital:
    Salt Lake City
  • Vermont
    Abbr.:
    VT
    Capital:
    Montpelier
  • Virginia
    Abbr.:
    VA
    Capital:
    Richmond
  • Washington
    Abbr.:
    WA
    Capital:
    Olympia
  • West Virginia
    Abbr.:
    WV
    Capital:
    Charleston
  • Wisconsin
    Abbr.:
    WI
    Capital:
    Madison
  • Wyoming
    Abbr.:
    WY
    Capital:
    Cheyenne
All 50 states with abbreviation, capital, Census region and division · CSV

State abbreviations people mix up

Nineteen codes are simply the first two letters of the name, like CA for California. The ten states with two-word names use their initials, like NY and WV. These are the groups people mix up:

  • Alaska is AK, Alabama AL, Arkansas AR and Arizona AZ.
  • Eight states start with M: Maine ME, Maryland MD, Massachusetts MA, Michigan MI, Minnesota MN, Mississippi MS, Missouri MO and Montana MT.
  • Iowa is IA, Idaho ID, Illinois IL and Indiana IN.
  • Kansas is KS and Kentucky KY; Nebraska is NE and Nevada NV.
  • Connecticut is CT, Tennessee TN, Texas TX and Vermont VT.

Capitals that are not the largest city

The usual wrong answer is the biggest city. In 33 states that guess fails: New York's capital is Albany, California's is Sacramento, and Florida's is Tallahassee, while its largest city is Jacksonville. The table uses the Census Bureau's estimates for July 2025.

  • Alabama
    Capital:
    Montgomery
    Largest city:
    Huntsville
  • Alaska
    Capital:
    Juneau
    Largest city:
    Anchorage
  • California
    Capital:
    Sacramento
    Largest city:
    Los Angeles
  • Connecticut
    Capital:
    Hartford
    Largest city:
    Bridgeport
  • Delaware
    Capital:
    Dover
    Largest city:
    Wilmington
  • Florida
    Capital:
    Tallahassee
    Largest city:
    Jacksonville
  • Illinois
    Capital:
    Springfield
    Largest city:
    Chicago
  • Kansas
    Capital:
    Topeka
    Largest city:
    Wichita
  • Kentucky
    Capital:
    Frankfort
    Largest city:
    Louisville
  • Louisiana
    Capital:
    Baton Rouge
    Largest city:
    New Orleans

In the other 17 the capital is the largest city: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Phoenix is the biggest capital of all and Montpelier, Vermont, the smallest; US state capitals by population ranks all 50.

Capitals that are easy to mix up

  • Charleston is the capital of West Virginia. South Carolina has a Charleston too, but its capital is Columbia.
  • Augusta is the capital of Maine, not Georgia, whose capital is Atlanta.
  • Kansas City is not a capital: the capital of Kansas is Topeka, and the larger Kansas City is in Missouri, whose capital is Jefferson City.
  • Four capitals have City in the name: Carson City (Nevada), Jefferson City (Missouri), Oklahoma City (Oklahoma) and Salt Lake City (Utah).

The games to learn them

Reading the list takes a few minutes. Recalling it cold is the part that needs practice, and three games here train it:

  • State Capitals Quiz: type all 50 capitals from memory. Each right answer turns its state green and puts a star on its capital.
  • US States Game: type all 50 states as fast as you can, a good warm-up before the capitals.
  • Draw the US States: sketch a state's outline from memory, then watch the real border appear over your drawing.

One way in: learn the capitals one region at a time, and spend most of your practice on the 33 that are not the biggest city.

Can you name all 50 from memory?

Type every state capital you can remember and watch the map fill with stars.

Play State Capitals Quiz

Questions people ask

How many states and capitals are there in the US?

Fifty states, each with one capital. Washington, D.C. is the federal capital but not a state; its postal code is DC.

What is the capital of New York?

Albany. New York City is the largest city in the state, but not its capital.

Which state capital is the largest?

Phoenix, Arizona, by the Census Bureau's estimates. It is also Arizona's largest city. The smallest capital is Montpelier, Vermont.

Is there a printable list of the 50 states and capitals?

Yes. Use the "Print this list" button next to the download on this page, or open the free CSV in any spreadsheet.

Sources

Ziga Straus

I'm Ziga, a developer in the EU. I build and run Geography Games on my own. More about the site

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