USA State Abbreviations and State Capitals

The United States is comprised of fifty states and a national capital district, as well as a number of territories and possessions around the world.  Because their names are commonly used and some of them are fairly long, they are often abbreviated in written documents and on mailing addresses.

state abbreviations StateAbbreviations.us features a table of U.S. States, Districts, Territories, and Possessions, along with their standard and postal service abbreviations and their state capitals.  Each State name contains a link to its official state government website.  Each row of the State table also includes access to a state map.  Each District, Territory, or Possession name contains a link to its official government or tourism website.  To find state locations, view the state abbreviations map, which shows the lower 48 states plus Alaska and Hawaii, as well as their two-letter postal abbreviations.  Click on the illustration at right for a simplified view of the 50 states and their postal abbreviations.

US State Abbreviations - State Capitals - State Links

US States, Capitals, and Government Links
State Standard
Abbreviation
Postal
Abbr.
Capital City
Alabama Ala. AL Montgomery
Alaska Alaska AK Juneau
Arizona Ariz. AZ Phoenix
Arkansas Ark. AR Little Rock
California Calif. CA Sacramento
Colorado Colo. CO Denver
Connecticut Conn. CT Hartford
Delaware Del. DE Dover
Florida Fla. FL Tallahassee
Georgia Ga. GA Atlanta
Hawaii Hawaii HI Honolulu
Idaho Idaho ID Boise
Illinois Ill. IL Springfield
Indiana Ind. IN Indianapolis
Iowa Iowa IA Des Moines
Kansas Kans. KS Topeka
Kentucky Ky. KY Frankfort
Louisiana La. LA Baton Rouge
Maine Maine ME Augusta
Maryland Md. MD Annapolis
Massachusetts Mass. MA Boston
Michigan Mich. MI Lansing
Minnesota Minn. MN St. Paul
Mississippi Miss. MS Jackson
Missouri Mo. MO Jefferson City
Montana Mont. MT Helena
Nebraska Nebr. NE Lincoln
Nevada Nev. NV Carson City
New Hampshire N.H. NH Concord
New Jersey N.J. NJ Trenton
New Mexico N.M. NM Santa Fe
New York N.Y. NY Albany
North Carolina N.C. NC Raleigh
North Dakota N.D. ND Bismarck
Ohio Ohio OH Columbus
Oklahoma Okla. OK Oklahoma City
Oregon Ore. OR Salem
Pennsylvania Pa. PA Harrisburg
Rhode Island R.I. RI Providence
South Carolina S.C. SC Columbia
South Dakota S.D. SD Pierre
Tennessee Tenn. TN Nashville
Texas Tex. TX Austin
Utah Utah UT Salt Lake City
Vermont Vt. VT Montpelier
Virginia Va. VA Richmond
Washington Wash. WA Olympia
West Virginia W.Va. WV Charleston
Wisconsin Wis. WI Madison
Wyoming Wyo. WY Cheyenne

US District, Territory, and Possession Abbreviations and Capitals

US Districts, Territories, and Possessions
Subdivision Standard
Abbreviation
Postal
Abbr.
Capital City
American Samoa n/a AS Pago Pago
District of Columbia D.C. DC Washington
Federated States of Micronesia FSM FM Palikir
Guam Guam GU Hagatna
Marshall Islands n/a MH Majuro
Northern Mariana Islands n/a MP Saipan
Palau Palau PW Koror
Puerto Rico P.R. PR San Juan
Virgin Islands V.I. VI Charlotte Amalie

The standard, or traditional, abbreviations, were widely used on mailing addresses and in other contexts before the two-letter postal abbreviations were introduced.  Use the standard state abbreviations, with periods and spaces as shown, for all purposes other than postal addresses.  The United States Post Office instituted two letter state abbreviations along with five digit zip codes in 1963.  These postal abbreviations should only be used in mailing addresses.  When abbreviating the name of a state in a mailing address, use uppercase letters, with no space between the letters.

Related US Regional and Travel sites

  • Online Atlas for United States travel and tourism information.
  • State Capitals for maps and info about each U.S. state capital.
  • State Maps for printable road maps of each state in the USA.