The 50 U.S. states and their 50 capitals in one place. The states list includes each postal abbreviation, and the capitals list is shown both by capital name and by state, so you can look up either direction. Alphabetical order is the standard way these lists are studied, printed and entered into forms.
Studying for a geography quiz or building a dropdown for a form? Paste any custom list into the tool in either section to alphabetize it, or copy the sorted lists as they are.
The reason that you have found your way to this webpage is most likely because you're looking for a list of states in alphabetical order. The good news is that that's exactly what you'll find here and you can get it in a couple of different ways. If you already have a list of 50 US states but the list happens to not be in alphabetical order, you can use the alphabetizing tool on the main page to input your list. Once done, all you need to do is click on the button and your list will be instantly rendered into alphabetical order. If you're looking for a list of states already in alphabetical order, we have that for you as well. At the end of this page is a list of the 50 states in alphabetical order that you can simply copy or download. You can also find a list of 50 US state abbreviations in alphabetical order.
It's not always obvious to some why anyone would need a list of all the states in alphabetical order, but there are actually a few different groups who are looking for this information on a consistent. Below you'll find some of the more common reasons people come to this page.
Teachers looking to put together a lesson plan on the 50 states in the United States often need to have a list of these 50 states as part of the lesson plan. The U.S. Census Bureau maintains official state data that many educators reference when building geography curricula. Often the most convenient way to display the list to the students is to have a list of all 50 US states in alphabetical order. Having a place to create or copy this 50 state list makes creating the lesson plan a lot easier.
Students who are studying the 50 states in the US will need a convenient way to learn all the states. One of the best ways to do this is to get a blank map of the United States with all the states outlined, but not marked. The student can then take the list of the 50 states in alphabetical order and begin writing in the name of each state onto the map. Since the states aren't aligned on the map in alphabetical order, this is an excellent way for students to determine if they truly know where each state is on the map and it's an excellent way to study for US state tests.
If you're into games, and especially games about the states in the US, having a list of all the states in alphabetical order can be quite useful. Having this list will allow you to go through all the different states without accidentally forgetting any. It also allows you to go through the states one by one which can be convenient for a lot of different games. For example, if you're on a long road trip and you decide to play the license plate game where you try to find the license plates for every state in the US on the trip, having a list of the 50 states in alphabetical order is an easy and convenient way of keeping track of the state license plates you have already found and the ones that you still need to find.
If you have been looking for a list of 50 states in alphabetical order, you may also be interested in a list of the 50 US state abbreviations in alphabetical order. You can find this list below.
List of 50 US State Abbreviations in Alphabetical Order
If you're also looking for state capitals, check out our complete list of US state capitals in alphabetical order, which pairs each state with its capital city in a convenient reference table. Sports fans might also enjoy our list of NFL teams in alphabetical order, which includes the city and state for every franchise.
We hope that the list of 50 states in alphabetical order and the list of 50 state abbreviations in alphabetical order have been useful for whatever reason you've needed them. We're always looking to improve this page so we welcome any suggestions on how we can make this page more useful for you in the future. Please feel free to contact us with your suggestions or ideas on how we can improve this page and we'll do our best to implement any suggestions in future updates.
Whether you're studying for a geography test, building a trivia game, or just need a quick reference, having a list of all 50 US state capitals in alphabetical order is incredibly useful. On this page you'll find the complete list sorted two ways: capitals ordered alphabetically, and a full state-to-capital reference table. For the official federal directory, you can also visit USA.gov's guide to U.S. states and territories. Use the sorting tool above to alphabetize your own custom list of capitals.
State capitals are one of those things that most people learn at some point in school, but few can recall all 50 from memory as adults. That's exactly why having a well-organized reference list matters. Below you'll find a few common reasons people look up state capitals in alphabetical order.
One of the most common reasons people search for state capitals in alphabetical order is for school. Whether it's a middle school geography quiz or a college entrance exam, knowing your state capitals is a frequent requirement. Having the capitals listed alphabetically makes it easier to study them in a systematic way — you can work through the list from A to Z, quiz yourself on each one, and track which capitals you've already memorized. Many teachers hand out alphabetical capital lists specifically because the structure helps students organize their studying.
State capitals are a staple of trivia competitions. If you're hosting a trivia night or building a quiz for friends, an alphabetical list of capitals makes it simple to pull questions in order without accidentally repeating any. It's also helpful for games like "Name the Capital" where one person reads a state and the other guesses the capital — having the answer key sorted alphabetically means you can quickly verify answers. Board games, pub trivia, and family game nights all benefit from having a clean, complete reference list.
Many people are surprised to learn that a state's capital is rarely its largest or most well-known city. For example, the capital of New York is Albany — not New York City. The capital of California is Sacramento, not Los Angeles or San Francisco. Illinois has Springfield as its capital, not Chicago. This pattern holds across most of the country: according to the Wikipedia list of U.S. state capitals, only 17 of the 50 state capitals are also the largest city in their state. The reason is largely historical — many capitals were chosen because of their central geographic location within the state, not because they were the biggest population center.
Here are a few more facts that might surprise you:
Below is the complete list of all 50 US state capitals sorted alphabetically by the capital city name. Each capital is listed with its corresponding state for easy reference.
If you prefer to look up capitals by state name instead, here is the full list organized alphabetically by state. This format is especially useful for studying, since you can cover the right column and test yourself on each state's capital.
| # | State | Capital |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | Montgomery |
| 2 | Alaska | Juneau |
| 3 | Arizona | Phoenix |
| 4 | Arkansas | Little Rock |
| 5 | California | Sacramento |
| 6 | Colorado | Denver |
| 7 | Connecticut | Hartford |
| 8 | Delaware | Dover |
| 9 | Florida | Tallahassee |
| 10 | Georgia | Atlanta |
| 11 | Hawaii | Honolulu |
| 12 | Idaho | Boise |
| 13 | Illinois | Springfield |
| 14 | Indiana | Indianapolis |
| 15 | Iowa | Des Moines |
| 16 | Kansas | Topeka |
| 17 | Kentucky | Frankfort |
| 18 | Louisiana | Baton Rouge |
| 19 | Maine | Augusta |
| 20 | Maryland | Annapolis |
| 21 | Massachusetts | Boston |
| 22 | Michigan | Lansing |
| 23 | Minnesota | St. Paul |
| 24 | Mississippi | Jackson |
| 25 | Missouri | Jefferson City |
| 26 | Montana | Helena |
| 27 | Nebraska | Lincoln |
| 28 | Nevada | Carson City |
| 29 | New Hampshire | Concord |
| 30 | New Jersey | Trenton |
| 31 | New Mexico | Santa Fe |
| 32 | New York | Albany |
| 33 | North Carolina | Raleigh |
| 34 | North Dakota | Bismarck |
| 35 | Ohio | Columbus |
| 36 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma City |
| 37 | Oregon | Salem |
| 38 | Pennsylvania | Harrisburg |
| 39 | Rhode Island | Providence |
| 40 | South Carolina | Columbia |
| 41 | South Dakota | Pierre |
| 42 | Tennessee | Nashville |
| 43 | Texas | Austin |
| 44 | Utah | Salt Lake City |
| 45 | Vermont | Montpelier |
| 46 | Virginia | Richmond |
| 47 | Washington | Olympia |
| 48 | West Virginia | Charleston |
| 49 | Wisconsin | Madison |
| 50 | Wyoming | Cheyenne |
There are several practical ways to use these state capital lists:
You may also find our list of all 50 US states in alphabetical order helpful, which includes state abbreviations. For more alphabetically sorted reference lists, check out our pages on countries of the world, US presidents, and periodic table elements — all available in alphabetical order.
We're always working to make this site more useful. If you have suggestions for other lists you'd like to see in alphabetical order, please reach out and let us know.