State Capitals List: All 50 US States & Capitals
All 50 US states and their capitals in one clean table: the study sheet for the state capitals quiz, the answer key for homework, and the fastest way to settle whether it’s Kansas City, Kansas (it isn’t; it’s Topeka, and Kansas City is mostly in Missouri anyway, which is a whole other conversation).
| State | Capital | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Montgomery | South |
| Alaska | Juneau | West |
| Arizona | Phoenix | West |
| Arkansas | Little Rock | South |
| California | Sacramento | West |
| Colorado | Denver | West |
| Connecticut | Hartford | Northeast |
| Delaware | Dover | South |
| Florida | Tallahassee | South |
| Georgia | Atlanta | South |
| Hawaii | Honolulu | West |
| Idaho | Boise | West |
| Illinois | Springfield | Midwest |
| Indiana | Indianapolis | Midwest |
| Iowa | Des Moines | Midwest |
| Kansas | Topeka | Midwest |
| Kentucky | Frankfort | South |
| Louisiana | Baton Rouge | South |
| Maine | Augusta | Northeast |
| Maryland | Annapolis | South |
| Massachusetts | Boston | Northeast |
| Michigan | Lansing | Midwest |
| Minnesota | Saint Paul | Midwest |
| Mississippi | Jackson | South |
| Missouri | Jefferson City | Midwest |
| Montana | Helena | West |
| Nebraska | Lincoln | Midwest |
| Nevada | Carson City | West |
| New Hampshire | Concord | Northeast |
| New Jersey | Trenton | Northeast |
| New Mexico | Santa Fe | West |
| New York | Albany | Northeast |
| North Carolina | Raleigh | South |
| North Dakota | Bismarck | Midwest |
| Ohio | Columbus | Midwest |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma City | South |
| Oregon | Salem | West |
| Pennsylvania | Harrisburg | Northeast |
| Rhode Island | Providence | Northeast |
| South Carolina | Columbia | South |
| South Dakota | Pierre | Midwest |
| Tennessee | Nashville | South |
| Texas | Austin | South |
| Utah | Salt Lake City | West |
| Vermont | Montpelier | Northeast |
| Virginia | Richmond | South |
| Washington | Olympia | West |
| West Virginia | Charleston | South |
| Wisconsin | Madison | Midwest |
| Wyoming | Cheyenne | West |
What to notice as you scan
The list’s defining pattern: the capital is usually not the state’s biggest or most famous city. Albany over New York City, Sacramento over Los Angeles, Springfield over Chicago, Olympia over Seattle. Nineteenth-century legislatures picked central locations and river junctions, then commerce built the famous cities somewhere else. Reading down the table, the mismatch rows are exactly the rows quizzes will ask you about, so give them the attention.
The opposite rows are worth flagging too, the merciful handful where the obvious guess is right: Boston, Denver, Phoenix, Atlanta, Nashville, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City (the state’s name is in the capital, hard to miss). Between the traps and the gifts sit the tiny capitals that only quiz players ever think about: Pierre, Montpelier, Frankfort, and friends, small towns holding statewide power.
Study advice mirrors the world capitals list: read by region, not alphabet, with the US states map quiz providing the geographic frame. Then test through the state capitals quiz and the matching quiz, and hand the printable states and capitals quiz to anyone who needs it on paper.
Frequently asked questions
Are there any US states with more than one capital?
No, all 50 states have exactly one capital, which makes this list refreshingly free of the multi-capital footnotes that complicate world capitals. Every state, one city, no exceptions, and no partial credit needed anywhere.
Which state capitals are smallest?
Montpelier, Vermont is the least populous state capital in the country, with Pierre, South Dakota its rival for the title of most-missed. Small capitals are a feature of the system: legislatures chose locations for centrality and compromise, and many of those towns stayed small.
Why does the capital so rarely match the biggest city?
Because most capitals were fixed in the 1800s on criteria like geographic centrality and river access, before the railroads and industries that decided which cities would boom. Tallahassee, for instance, was picked in 1824 as the midpoint between Florida’s two main towns of the era.
What’s the best way to memorize all 50 pairs?
Region by region with a map, then retrieval practice in both directions. The matching quiz is the strongest single tool, because its endgame forces exactly the pairs you keep dodging. A week of short sessions covers the full set for most people.