Practical tools
Last reviewed: October 31, 2026
This section gathers small interactive utilities that come up again and again when reading about the United States or moving there: distance, temperature, and currency converters, a searchable list of states and capitals, the full set of state abbreviations, the U.S. time zones, a filterable states map, and a tip calculator. No tool requires an account, and what you type stays in your browser. The site itself uses Google Analytics, as described in our Privacy Policy.
Each link below opens the working tool.
Miles ↔ kilometers converter
Convert in either direction. The factor (1 mile = 1.60934 km) shows up the moment you read distances on road signs, in weather reports, or in running apps.
Open the toolU.S. states, capitals & abbreviations
The 50 states with their capitals and official two-letter postal codes (CA, NY, TX, etc.). Useful for filling out forms, reading addresses, and decoding ZIP-code prefixes.
Open the toolFahrenheit ↔ Celsius converter
Convert temperatures instantly for weather, cooking, and body temperature, with the formulas and a few everyday reference points.
Open the toolDollar ↔ euro converter
Convert with a dated, editable exchange rate, and understand U.S. tax-exclusive pricing, tax added at the register, and tipping.
Open the toolU.S. time zones
The current time in all six U.S. time zones, a time converter, the zone for every state, and Daylight Saving dates.
Open the toolU.S. state abbreviations
The 50 two-letter postal codes (AL, CA, NY, TX…) in a searchable table, grouped by region, with the pairs that are easiest to mix up.
Open the toolU.S. states map
A labeled map of the 50 states by Census region, with abbreviation and capital in a filterable table.
Open the toolU.S. tip calculator
Work out the tip, the total, and each person's share of a U.S. bill, with the usual rates by service.
Open the toolOther useful references on this site
- What is the United States? — federalism, the 50 states, the Constitution.
- How the U.S. government works — three branches, checks and balances.
- Moving to the U.S. — visa categories and practical timeline.
- Working in the U.S. — labor market, contracts, salaries.
- Studying in the U.S. — admissions, costs, student visas.
Authoritative external references
For canonical data and official forms:
- U.S. Census Bureau — population, demographics, household statistics.
- USA.gov — directory of federal services and agencies.
- USCIS — visas, green card, naturalization.
- U.S. Department of State (Travel) — visa applications from outside the U.S., passports, travel advisories.
- IRS — federal taxes.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics — wages, employment, occupational data.
If you have a tool idea that would fit here (and that we can build without collecting any data about you), email contact@americain.org.