The US State Abbreviations Quiz at a Glance
A free map of all 50 US state abbreviations, the two-letter postal codes like TX for Texas and CA for California, with the full list underneath. Then test yourself: see a code and click its state. A second round drills the 26 codes people mix up most, such as AK and AL or MI and MN.
- States
- 50
- Code
- Two capital letters
- Set by
- The US Post Office, 1963
- Codes starting with M
- 8
- Codes starting with N
- 8
- Price
- Free, no sign up
How to Play the US state abbreviations quiz
- The map opens with every state labelled with its code. Click or tap a state to see its full name, or press "Full names" to label the whole map with names instead.
- Pick a round. In All 50, a code is shown and you click its state. Look-alikes asks only the 26 codes that trip people up.
- There is no time limit, and the right state turns green after every answer.
- Whole map asks every code once. The table under the map lists all 50 states with their codes and capitals.
What Makes It Different
- The codes are written on the map itself, so it works as a reference map before you play.
- A Look-alikes round for the codes everyone confuses: AK, AL, AR and AZ, or the eight states starting with M.
- Small states like Rhode Island and Delaware have a ring around them, so you can tap them on a phone.
- A printable US map with the abbreviations, free to download.
Every state has a two-letter code that the US Postal Service uses on mail. The codes are always two capital letters with no period: TX, not Tex. or T.X. Most are the first two letters of the name (CA, CO, DE, FL), but many are not, and those are the ones worth learning.
The Codes People Mix Up
A: AL is Alabama and AK is Alaska, because AL was taken first. AR is Arkansas and AZ is Arizona.
I: IA is Iowa, ID is Idaho, IL is Illinois and IN is Indiana.
M: eight states start with M: MA Massachusetts, MD Maryland, ME Maine, MI Michigan, MN Minnesota, MO Missouri, MS Mississippi and MT Montana.
N: NE is Nebraska and NV is Nevada. The other six are easy pairs: NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC and ND.
W: WA Washington, WI Wisconsin, WV West Virginia and WY Wyoming. And in the C states, CO is Colorado while CT is Connecticut.
Why Nebraska Is NE
The Post Office brought in the two-letter codes in 1963, alongside ZIP codes. Nebraska was first given NB, but that was also the code for New Brunswick in Canada, so in 1969 it became NE. The codes have not changed since.
All 50 State Abbreviations
In alphabetical order by state, with each state capital.
| # | State | Abbreviation | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | AL | Montgomery |
| 2 | Alaska | AK | Juneau |
| 3 | Arizona | AZ | Phoenix |
| 4 | Arkansas | AR | Little Rock |
| 5 | California | CA | Sacramento |
| 6 | Colorado | CO | Denver |
| 7 | Connecticut | CT | Hartford |
| 8 | Delaware | DE | Dover |
| 9 | Florida | FL | Tallahassee |
| 10 | Georgia | GA | Atlanta |
| 11 | Hawaii | HI | Honolulu |
| 12 | Idaho | ID | Boise |
| 13 | Illinois | IL | Springfield |
| 14 | Indiana | IN | Indianapolis |
| 15 | Iowa | IA | Des Moines |
| 16 | Kansas | KS | Topeka |
| 17 | Kentucky | KY | Frankfort |
| 18 | Louisiana | LA | Baton Rouge |
| 19 | Maine | ME | Augusta |
| 20 | Maryland | MD | Annapolis |
| 21 | Massachusetts | MA | Boston |
| 22 | Michigan | MI | Lansing |
| 23 | Minnesota | MN | Saint Paul |
| 24 | Mississippi | MS | Jackson |
| 25 | Missouri | MO | Jefferson City |
| 26 | Montana | MT | Helena |
| 27 | Nebraska | NE | Lincoln |
| 28 | Nevada | NV | Carson City |
| 29 | New Hampshire | NH | Concord |
| 30 | New Jersey | NJ | Trenton |
| 31 | New Mexico | NM | Santa Fe |
| 32 | New York | NY | Albany |
| 33 | North Carolina | NC | Raleigh |
| 34 | North Dakota | ND | Bismarck |
| 35 | Ohio | OH | Columbus |
| 36 | Oklahoma | OK | Oklahoma City |
| 37 | Oregon | OR | Salem |
| 38 | Pennsylvania | PA | Harrisburg |
| 39 | Rhode Island | RI | Providence |
| 40 | South Carolina | SC | Columbia |
| 41 | South Dakota | SD | Pierre |
| 42 | Tennessee | TN | Nashville |
| 43 | Texas | TX | Austin |
| 44 | Utah | UT | Salt Lake City |
| 45 | Vermont | VT | Montpelier |
| 46 | Virginia | VA | Richmond |
| 47 | Washington | WA | Olympia |
| 48 | West Virginia | WV | Charleston |
| 49 | Wisconsin | WI | Madison |
| 50 | Wyoming | WY | Cheyenne |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many state abbreviations are there?
Fifty, one for each state. Washington, D.C. is DC, and the territories have codes too, such as PR for Puerto Rico and GU for Guam; the quiz covers the 50 states.
What is the abbreviation for Texas?
TX. California is CA, Florida is FL and New York is NY.
Why is Alaska AK and not AL?
Alabama already had AL, so Alaska took its first and last letters. Arizona is AZ for the same reason: AR is Arkansas.
What state is MI?
Michigan. MN is Minnesota, MS is Mississippi and MO is Missouri.
Should state abbreviations have a period?
No. The postal codes are two capital letters with no period: NY, not N.Y. Older styles like Calif. or Mass. are still seen in some newspapers, but mail uses the two-letter codes.
Is the state abbreviations quiz free?
Yes. It runs in your browser, on a phone or a computer, with no download and no account.
Made by Kashif Sulehria in Lahore, Pakistan. Updated October 21, 2026.