The 50 US State Capitals: Complete Guide & Memory Tricks

Most American state capitals are not the largest city in the state. That fact alone explains why state-capital quizzes catch so many people out — the brain reaches for the obvious city and gets it wrong. Here are all 50, region by region, with the trick-question traps and the memory tricks that make them stick.

The pattern: capital ≠ biggest city

Of the 50 state capitals, only 17 are also the largest city in their state. The other 33 are smaller — sometimes much smaller — than at least one other city in the state. That's why "What's the capital of Illinois?" trips up almost everyone (it's Springfield, not Chicago), and why the same trap works for New York, California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Washington, Michigan, Nevada, Missouri, Kentucky, Alaska, and a dozen others.

The reason is historical: most capitals were chosen between 1776 and 1900, when transportation, defence, and political compromise mattered more than population. Capitals were placed inland (away from coastal vulnerabilities), centrally within the state (so all corners could reach them), or as a deliberate compromise between rival cities. By the time the great industrial cities of the 20th century grew up, the capital had already been chosen — and almost no state has moved its capital since.

New England (6)

• Maine — Augusta
• New Hampshire — Concord
• Vermont — Montpelier (the smallest state capital by population)
• Massachusetts — Boston (also the largest city)
• Rhode Island — Providence (also the largest city)
• Connecticut — Hartford

New England is unusual: three of the six capitals are also the largest city in the state (Boston, Providence, Hartford). Vermont's Montpelier is the runt of the litter at roughly 8,000 people — by far the smallest state capital in the country. The biggest city in Maine is Portland; the biggest in New Hampshire is Manchester; the biggest in Connecticut is Bridgeport (Hartford is third).

Mid-Atlantic (5)

• New York — Albany (NOT New York City)
• New Jersey — Trenton
• Pennsylvania — Harrisburg (NOT Philadelphia or Pittsburgh)
• Delaware — Dover
• Maryland — Annapolis

None of the Mid-Atlantic capitals is its state's largest city. Albany is the third-most-asked-wrong capital in the United States (after Springfield and Sacramento). Pennsylvania's Harrisburg is dwarfed by both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Annapolis is the home of the US Naval Academy and one of the most architecturally preserved colonial-era capitals.

Southeast (12)

• Virginia — Richmond
• West Virginia — Charleston
• North Carolina — Raleigh
• South Carolina — Columbia
• Georgia — Atlanta (also the largest city)
• Florida — Tallahassee (NOT Miami, Orlando or Jacksonville)
• Alabama — Montgomery
• Mississippi — Jackson
• Louisiana — Baton Rouge (NOT New Orleans)
• Arkansas — Little Rock
• Tennessee — Nashville (also the largest city)
• Kentucky — Frankfort (NOT Louisville or Lexington)

The Southeast has two of the most-missed state capitals in the country: Tallahassee (Florida) and Frankfort (Kentucky). Both are tiny compared to the famous cities in their states. Tallahassee was picked in 1824 as a midpoint between St Augustine and Pensacola, the two original Florida capitals; Frankfort was a compromise between Louisville and Lexington in 1792. The "two Charlestons" trip is also worth knowing — West Virginia's capital is Charleston, while Charleston, South Carolina, is famous historically but not the capital (that's Columbia).

Midwest (12)

• Ohio — Columbus (also the largest city)
• Michigan — Lansing (NOT Detroit)
• Indiana — Indianapolis (also the largest city)
• Illinois — Springfield (NOT Chicago — the most-missed state capital in the US)
• Wisconsin — Madison (NOT Milwaukee)
• Minnesota — Saint Paul (Minneapolis is bigger but is a separate city; the two are the "Twin Cities")
• Iowa — Des Moines (also the largest city)
• Missouri — Jefferson City (NOT Kansas City or St Louis)
• North Dakota — Bismarck
• South Dakota — Pierre (pronounced "PEER", and the second-smallest state capital)
• Nebraska — Lincoln (Omaha is bigger)
• Kansas — Topeka

The Midwest contains the single most-missed state capital in the country: Springfield, Illinois. Almost everyone says Chicago. (Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States; Springfield is the 124th.) Springfield was Abraham Lincoln's home town and was picked as the capital in 1837. Other Midwest traps: Lansing (Michigan, not Detroit), Madison (Wisconsin, not Milwaukee), and Jefferson City (Missouri, not Kansas City or St Louis).

Texas, Oklahoma & the South Central (2)

• Texas — Austin (NOT Houston, Dallas or San Antonio — all of which are bigger)
• Oklahoma — Oklahoma City (also the largest city)

Texas's Austin is the capital despite being only the fourth-largest city in the state — Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas all have more residents. Austin was picked in 1839 as a compromise between rival Texan cities and was on the western frontier of the Republic of Texas at the time. Oklahoma City is one of the rare cases where the capital is also the largest city in the state.

Mountain West (8)

• Montana — Helena
• Wyoming — Cheyenne
• Colorado — Denver (also the largest city)
• New Mexico — Santa Fe (the oldest state capital in the US, founded 1610)
• Arizona — Phoenix (also the largest city; the largest state capital in the US)
• Utah — Salt Lake City (also the largest city)
• Nevada — Carson City (NOT Las Vegas or Reno)
• Idaho — Boise

Santa Fe is the oldest state capital in the United States, founded by Spanish colonists in 1610 — a decade before the Mayflower landed at Plymouth. Phoenix is the largest state capital in the country at roughly 1.6 million people. Nevada's Carson City is one of the classic traps: Las Vegas and Reno are both far larger and more famous, but neither is the capital.

West Coast (3)

• Washington — Olympia (NOT Seattle)
• Oregon — Salem (NOT Portland)
• California — Sacramento (NOT Los Angeles or San Francisco)

None of the three West Coast capitals is its state's largest or best-known city. Sacramento was selected as California's permanent capital in 1854 because of its central location in the agricultural Central Valley and its rivers connecting to San Francisco Bay. Olympia's name is borrowed from the Olympic Mountains across Puget Sound. Salem's name was chosen by missionaries in the 1840s and means "peace" — derived from the Hebrew shalom.

Alaska & Hawaii (2)

• Alaska — Juneau (the most isolated state capital — no roads connect it to the rest of the state or country)
• Hawaii — Honolulu (also the largest city)

Juneau is the only US state capital that cannot be reached by road. The city sits between mountains and the sea and is accessible only by boat or plane. Anchorage is far larger but has never been the capital — Juneau has held the role since the territorial era in 1906. Honolulu, on the island of Oʻahu, has been Hawaii's capital since 1845 and is the largest city in the Pacific.

Two extras worth knowing

Washington, D.C. — the federal capital of the United States — is not a state capital; it sits in a federal district between Maryland and Virginia. Puerto Rico's capital is San Juan; Puerto Rico is a US commonwealth, not a state, but its capital is sometimes asked in geography quizzes about US territories.

State-capital extremes

• Largest state capital: Phoenix, Arizona (~1.6 million).
• Smallest state capital: Montpelier, Vermont (~8,000).
• Oldest: Santa Fe, New Mexico (founded 1610).
• Newest as a capital: Honolulu became Hawaii's state capital in 1959 when Hawaii achieved statehood.
• Highest by altitude: Santa Fe (~2,194 m).
• Most isolated: Juneau, Alaska (no road access).
• Northernmost: Juneau (58.3°N).
• Southernmost: Honolulu (21.3°N).