US State Abbreviations: 2-Letter Codes for All 50 States
Every US state abbreviation in one place. The table lists the 50 states from A to Z with their official two-letter postal code, capital and Census region. Type in the box to filter it, or jump to the list grouped by region.
Most looked-up codes: Missouri = MO, Maryland = MD, Minnesota = MN, Michigan = MI, Massachusetts = MA, Maine = ME, Mississippi = MS, Montana = MT, Delaware = DE, Connecticut = CT, Kentucky = KY, Iowa = IA, Illinois = IL, Nevada = NV, Washington = WA.
All 50 state abbreviations, A to Z
Listed by state name. Use the button to re-sort by code if you have a code and need the state.
| State | Abbreviation | Capital | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | AL | Montgomery | South |
| Alaska | AK | Juneau | West |
| Arizona | AZ | Phoenix | West |
| Arkansas | AR | Little Rock | South |
| California | CA | Sacramento | West |
| Colorado | CO | Denver | West |
| Connecticut | CT | Hartford | Northeast |
| Delaware | DE | Dover | South |
| Florida | FL | Tallahassee | South |
| Georgia | GA | Atlanta | South |
| Hawaii | HI | Honolulu | West |
| Idaho | ID | Boise | West |
| Illinois | IL | Springfield | Midwest |
| Indiana | IN | Indianapolis | Midwest |
| Iowa | IA | Des Moines | Midwest |
| Kansas | KS | Topeka | Midwest |
| Kentucky | KY | Frankfort | South |
| Louisiana | LA | Baton Rouge | South |
| Maine | ME | Augusta | Northeast |
| Maryland | MD | Annapolis | South |
| Massachusetts | MA | Boston | Northeast |
| Michigan | MI | Lansing | Midwest |
| Minnesota | MN | Saint Paul | Midwest |
| Mississippi | MS | Jackson | South |
| Missouri | MO | Jefferson City | Midwest |
| Montana | MT | Helena | West |
| Nebraska | NE | Lincoln | Midwest |
| Nevada | NV | Carson City | West |
| New Hampshire | NH | Concord | Northeast |
| New Jersey | NJ | Trenton | Northeast |
| New Mexico | NM | Santa Fe | West |
| New York | NY | Albany | Northeast |
| North Carolina | NC | Raleigh | South |
| North Dakota | ND | Bismarck | Midwest |
| Ohio | OH | Columbus | Midwest |
| Oklahoma | OK | Oklahoma City | South |
| Oregon | OR | Salem | West |
| Pennsylvania | PA | Harrisburg | Northeast |
| Rhode Island | RI | Providence | Northeast |
| South Carolina | SC | Columbia | South |
| South Dakota | SD | Pierre | Midwest |
| Tennessee | TN | Nashville | South |
| Texas | TX | Austin | South |
| Utah | UT | Salt Lake City | West |
| Vermont | VT | Montpelier | Northeast |
| Virginia | VA | Richmond | South |
| Washington | WA | Olympia | West |
| West Virginia | WV | Charleston | South |
| Wisconsin | WI | Madison | Midwest |
| Wyoming | WY | Cheyenne | West |
State abbreviations by region
The same 50 codes, grouped into the four US Census regions. Learning them region by region is easier than going through 50 codes alphabetically. The South has the most states (16), the Northeast the fewest (9).
- 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 memorizing:
| Careful with | Because |
|---|---|
| AL vs AK | AL is Alabama, AK is Alaska. Think of the K in Alaska. |
| 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, more than 2,000 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 licenses, license 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 Post Office introduced two-letter codes in 1963, Americans used longer forms that you still meet in print and in older documents: Calif. for California, Mass. for Massachusetts, Fla. for Florida, Penn. or Pa. for Pennsylvania, Conn. for Connecticut. Newspapers following AP style still use many of them, and spell out eight state names in full: Alaska, Hawaii, 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.
Is MS Mississippi or Missouri?
MS is Mississippi. Missouri is MO. Both states begin with M, so the second letter is the one to remember: S for Mississippi, O for Missouri.
What is the 2-letter abbreviation for Missouri?
MO. MS is Mississippi, MI is Michigan and MN is Minnesota.
What is the abbreviation for Washington, D.C.?
DC, with no periods on an address. WA means the state of Washington on the Pacific coast, so mail for the capital needs DC.
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