US State Abbreviations: All 50 Two-Letter Codes
Every US state abbreviation in one place. The table lists the official two-letter postal code for each of the 50 states, alongside the state name, its capital and its Census region. Type in the box to filter it, or jump to the list grouped by region.
All 50 state abbreviations, A to Z
Sorted by abbreviation, the way you usually meet them — on an address, a licence plate or a drop-down menu.
| Abbreviation | State | Capital | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| AK | Alaska | Juneau | West |
| AL | Alabama | Montgomery | South |
| AR | Arkansas | Little Rock | South |
| AZ | Arizona | Phoenix | West |
| CA | California | Sacramento | West |
| CO | Colorado | Denver | West |
| CT | Connecticut | Hartford | Northeast |
| DE | Delaware | Dover | South |
| FL | Florida | Tallahassee | South |
| GA | Georgia | Atlanta | South |
| HI | Hawaii | Honolulu | West |
| IA | Iowa | Des Moines | Midwest |
| ID | Idaho | Boise | West |
| IL | Illinois | Springfield | Midwest |
| IN | Indiana | Indianapolis | Midwest |
| KS | Kansas | Topeka | Midwest |
| KY | Kentucky | Frankfort | South |
| LA | Louisiana | Baton Rouge | South |
| MA | Massachusetts | Boston | Northeast |
| MD | Maryland | Annapolis | South |
| ME | Maine | Augusta | Northeast |
| MI | Michigan | Lansing | Midwest |
| MN | Minnesota | Saint Paul | Midwest |
| MO | Missouri | Jefferson City | Midwest |
| MS | Mississippi | Jackson | South |
| MT | Montana | Helena | West |
| NC | North Carolina | Raleigh | South |
| ND | North Dakota | Bismarck | Midwest |
| NE | Nebraska | Lincoln | Midwest |
| NH | New Hampshire | Concord | Northeast |
| NJ | New Jersey | Trenton | Northeast |
| NM | New Mexico | Santa Fe | West |
| NV | Nevada | Carson City | West |
| NY | New York | Albany | Northeast |
| OH | Ohio | Columbus | Midwest |
| OK | Oklahoma | Oklahoma City | South |
| OR | Oregon | Salem | West |
| PA | Pennsylvania | Harrisburg | Northeast |
| RI | Rhode Island | Providence | Northeast |
| SC | South Carolina | Columbia | South |
| SD | South Dakota | Pierre | Midwest |
| TN | Tennessee | Nashville | South |
| TX | Texas | Austin | South |
| UT | Utah | Salt Lake City | West |
| VA | Virginia | Richmond | South |
| VT | Vermont | Montpelier | Northeast |
| WA | Washington | Olympia | West |
| WI | Wisconsin | Madison | Midwest |
| WV | West Virginia | Charleston | South |
| WY | Wyoming | Cheyenne | West |
State abbreviations by region
The same 50 codes, grouped into the four US Census regions. This is the fastest way to remember them: the Northeast codes are short and clustered, the West spans the widest geography, and the South holds the most states.
- Northeast (9 states): CT = Connecticut, ME = Maine, MA = Massachusetts, NH = New Hampshire, NJ = New Jersey, NY = New York, PA = Pennsylvania, RI = Rhode Island, VT = Vermont
- Midwest (12 states): IL = Illinois, IN = Indiana, IA = Iowa, KS = Kansas, MI = Michigan, MN = Minnesota, MO = Missouri, NE = Nebraska, ND = North Dakota, OH = Ohio, SD = South Dakota, WI = Wisconsin
- South (16 states): AL = Alabama, AR = Arkansas, DE = Delaware, FL = Florida, GA = Georgia, KY = Kentucky, LA = Louisiana, MD = Maryland, MS = Mississippi, NC = North Carolina, OK = Oklahoma, SC = South Carolina, TN = Tennessee, TX = Texas, VA = Virginia, WV = West Virginia
- West (13 states): AK = Alaska, AZ = Arizona, CA = California, CO = Colorado, HI = Hawaii, ID = Idaho, MT = Montana, NV = Nevada, NM = New Mexico, OR = Oregon, UT = Utah, WA = Washington, WY = Wyoming
The abbreviations everyone mixes up
Roughly a dozen codes cause almost all the mistakes, because several states share their opening letters. These are the ones worth memorising:
| Careful with | Because |
|---|---|
| AL vs AK | AL is Alabama, AK is Alaska. AK takes the K because AL was assigned first, alphabetically. |
| AR vs AZ | AR is Arkansas, AZ is Arizona. |
| MS, MO, MN, MI | Mississippi, Missouri, Minnesota, Michigan — four Midwestern and Southern states sharing an M. MT is Montana and MD is Maryland, MA is Massachusetts and ME is Maine. |
| NH, NJ, NM, NY | The four “New” states: New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York. |
| NC / SC, ND / SD | North and South Carolina, North and South Dakota. The first letter is the compass direction, not the state name. |
| VA vs WV | Virginia and West Virginia have been separate states since 1863; WV is not a sub-region of VA. |
| WA vs DC | WA is the state of Washington, on the Pacific coast. The capital, Washington, D.C., is DC and sits on the East Coast, almost 2,500 miles away. |
Washington, D.C., territories and military codes
Beyond the 50 states, the Postal Service uses the same two-letter format for the federal district, the inhabited territories and mail sent to service members abroad. They appear in the same address field, so forms usually list them together with the states:
| Code | Stands for |
|---|---|
| DC | District of Columbia — the federal capital, not a state |
| PR | Puerto Rico |
| VI | U.S. Virgin Islands |
| GU | Guam |
| AS | American Samoa |
| MP | Northern Mariana Islands |
| AA / AE / AP | Armed Forces Americas, Europe and Pacific — used for military addresses overseas |
How to use an abbreviation in an address
The two-letter code sits on the final line, after the city and before the ZIP code, in capitals and without punctuation:
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
The same code identifies the state on driver's licences, licence plates, sports scoreboards and the state-selector menu of nearly every American website — which is why knowing them is genuinely useful long before you ever post a letter.
The older, longer abbreviations
Before the USPS standardised two-letter codes in 1963, American newspapers used longer forms that you still meet in print and in older documents: Calif. for California, Mass. for Massachusetts, Tex. for Texas, Penn. or Pa. for Pennsylvania, Conn. for Connecticut. Eight state names were considered short enough never to be abbreviated at all: Alaska, Hawai'i, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. On an envelope or a form, always use the two-letter code from the table above.
Frequently asked questions
How many US state abbreviations are there?
Fifty — one two-letter code per state. The Postal Service also assigns codes to Washington, D.C. (DC) and to the territories, such as PR for Puerto Rico and GU for Guam, but those are not states.
Are state abbreviations written with periods?
No. The USPS two-letter codes are written in capitals with no periods and no spaces: CA, NY, TX. The older newspaper style (Calif., N.Y., Tex.) does use periods, but it is not valid on a mailing address.
Which state abbreviations are most often confused?
The pairs that share a first letter: AL (Alabama) and AK (Alaska); MS (Mississippi), MO (Missouri), MN (Minnesota) and MI (Michigan); AR (Arkansas) and AZ (Arizona); and the four states starting with New, which use NH, NJ, NM and NY.
Where does the abbreviation go in a US address?
On the last line, between the city and the ZIP code: city, then a comma, then the two-letter code, then the ZIP. For example: New York, NY 10118.
Related tools:
Related articles: