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US Geography Quiz: 50 States & Capitals

US Geography Quiz · Daily #19

Today's 10 questions — a mix of map taps and capitals, the same for everyone. Streak: 0.

In short: the United States has 50 states and 50 state capitals. This free quiz lets you tap states on a map, match every capital both ways, or type all 50 against the clock. The capitals players miss most are the ones that are not the biggest city: Albany (not New York City), Sacramento (not Los Angeles), Springfield (not Chicago), Olympia (not Seattle), Tallahassee (not Miami), Harrisburg (not Philadelphia), Carson City (not Las Vegas), plus Pierre, Montpelier, Frankfort and Juneau.

Five ways to play

  • Daily 10: a new set every day at 00:00 UTC, the same for everyone. Build a streak and share an emoji grid.
  • Find the state: tap the named state on the map. Eight small Northeast states have a zoom button and tap-friendly shortcuts.
  • State → capital: pick the capital from four choices.
  • Capital → state: the same, the other way round.
  • Type all 50: name every state from memory; found states light up on the map and a clock counts up.

All 50 states and capitals

A quick reference to study before you play. Regions follow the US Census Bureau.

StateAbbr.CapitalRegion
AlabamaALMontgomerySouth
AlaskaAKJuneauWest
ArizonaAZPhoenixWest
ArkansasARLittle RockSouth
CaliforniaCASacramentoWest
ColoradoCODenverWest
ConnecticutCTHartfordNortheast
DelawareDEDoverSouth
FloridaFLTallahasseeSouth
GeorgiaGAAtlantaSouth
HawaiiHIHonoluluWest
IdahoIDBoiseWest
IllinoisILSpringfieldMidwest
IndianaINIndianapolisMidwest
IowaIADes MoinesMidwest
KansasKSTopekaMidwest
KentuckyKYFrankfortSouth
LouisianaLABaton RougeSouth
MaineMEAugustaNortheast
MarylandMDAnnapolisSouth
MassachusettsMABostonNortheast
MichiganMILansingMidwest
MinnesotaMNSt. PaulMidwest
MississippiMSJacksonSouth
MissouriMOJefferson CityMidwest
MontanaMTHelenaWest
NebraskaNELincolnMidwest
NevadaNVCarson CityWest
New HampshireNHConcordNortheast
New JerseyNJTrentonNortheast
New MexicoNMSanta FeWest
New YorkNYAlbanyNortheast
North CarolinaNCRaleighSouth
North DakotaNDBismarckMidwest
OhioOHColumbusMidwest
OklahomaOKOklahoma CitySouth
OregonORSalemWest
PennsylvaniaPAHarrisburgNortheast
Rhode IslandRIProvidenceNortheast
South CarolinaSCColumbiaSouth
South DakotaSDPierreMidwest
TennesseeTNNashvilleSouth
TexasTXAustinSouth
UtahUTSalt Lake CityWest
VermontVTMontpelierNortheast
VirginiaVARichmondSouth
WashingtonWAOlympiaWest
West VirginiaWVCharlestonSouth
WisconsinWIMadisonMidwest
WyomingWYCheyenneWest

Tips for a perfect score

  • Learn by region. Twelve Midwest states, thirteen in the West, sixteen in the South and nine in the Northeast is far less daunting than fifty.
  • Use the Mississippi as a spine. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana all touch it.
  • Remember the rectangles. Colorado and Wyoming are almost perfect rectangles; Utah sits west of Colorado, New Mexico south of it.
  • Expect the big-city trap. In most states the capital is not the largest city, and that is where most wrong answers come from.

More geography games

Want a different kind of challenge? Try daily geography trivia, where the rarest correct answer scores most, or the Countries & Places pack for unlimited rounds. For a world map game, see Far Corners, or browse all daily games.

Questions people ask

How many states are in the US, and how many capitals?

There are 50 states, each with exactly one state capital, so 50 capitals. Washington, D.C. is the national capital but is not a state, so it is not part of this quiz.

What are the capitals people get wrong most often?

The big-city trap catches most players: the capital is not New York City (Albany), Los Angeles or San Francisco (Sacramento), Chicago (Springfield), Seattle (Olympia), Miami (Tallahassee), Philadelphia (Harrisburg), Las Vegas (Carson City) or Detroit (Lansing). Also commonly missed: Pierre (South Dakota), Montpelier (Vermont), Frankfort (Kentucky) and Juneau (Alaska).

What is the best way to learn all 50 states on the map?

Go region by region instead of all at once: West, Midwest, South, Northeast. Use Find the state until you stop misclicking, then switch to Type all 50 to test recall without any visual help. The Northeast is the hardest because eight small states share a tiny corner, so use the Zoom to Northeast button.

How does the daily US geography quiz work?

Every day at 00:00 UTC everyone gets the same 10 questions: a mix of tapping states on the map and matching states with capitals. Today is #19. Finish it to build a streak, which is saved in your browser, and share your emoji result with friends.

Which US state is the hardest to find on a map?

Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut are the usual culprits because they are tiny, and New Hampshire, Vermont and Maryland follow. Hawaii and Alaska trip people up too because they are shown in boxes below California rather than in their real positions.

Is the quiz free? Do I need an account?

It is free, with no account and no download. Scores and streaks are stored only in your browser. The quiz is part of Rarest Answer, a site of free daily games.

Why is Alaska drawn near California?

To fit the whole country on one screen, Alaska and Hawaii are shown as insets at the bottom left, scaled down from their real size. Alaska is in fact more than twice the size of Texas.

Today's challengeRarest Answer daily — 7 questions, the rarer your right answer the more you scorePlay today's questions →

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