50 questions · two-letter code shown, click the state · score tracked
US state abbreviations quiz
A two-letter postal code such as "MO" appears; click the matching state. All 50 codes are asked once in random order and your score is tracked.
How the quiz works
Each question shows one of the 50 two-letter USPS codes. Click the state on the map. Green means correct, and the next code appears. A wrong click counts as a miss; after three misses the right state is highlighted and the quiz moves on. The score counter shows correct answers out of questions asked, and Play again reshuffles the set. The codes tested are the postal abbreviations adopted in 1963, not the older AP-style ones (Calif., Mass., Penn.), which are no longer used on maps.
Study list: all 50 codes
The table sorts codes by state name and notes the pattern each one follows. Nineteen codes are simply the first two letters of the name; ten are the initials of a two-word name; the remaining twenty-one pick the first letter and one later letter (Alaska AK, Iowa IA, Missouri MO), and those twenty-one cause almost all the mistakes.
| Code | State | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
AL | Alabama | first two letters |
AK | Alaska | first + later letter |
AZ | Arizona | first + later letter |
AR | Arkansas | first two letters |
CA | California | first two letters |
CO | Colorado | first two letters |
CT | Connecticut | first + later letter |
DE | Delaware | first two letters |
FL | Florida | first two letters |
GA | Georgia | first + later letter |
HI | Hawaii | first + later letter |
ID | Idaho | first two letters |
IL | Illinois | first two letters |
IN | Indiana | first two letters |
IA | Iowa | first + later letter |
KS | Kansas | first + later letter |
KY | Kentucky | first + later letter |
LA | Louisiana | first + later letter |
ME | Maine | first + later letter |
MD | Maryland | first + later letter |
MA | Massachusetts | first two letters |
MI | Michigan | first two letters |
MN | Minnesota | first + later letter |
MS | Mississippi | first + later letter |
MO | Missouri | first + later letter |
MT | Montana | first + later letter |
NE | Nebraska | first two letters |
NV | Nevada | first + later letter |
NH | New Hampshire | initials |
NJ | New Jersey | initials |
NM | New Mexico | initials |
NY | New York | initials |
NC | North Carolina | initials |
ND | North Dakota | initials |
OH | Ohio | first two letters |
OK | Oklahoma | first two letters |
OR | Oregon | first two letters |
PA | Pennsylvania | first + later letter |
RI | Rhode Island | initials |
SC | South Carolina | initials |
SD | South Dakota | initials |
TN | Tennessee | first + later letter |
TX | Texas | first + later letter |
UT | Utah | first two letters |
VT | Vermont | first + later letter |
VA | Virginia | first + later letter |
WA | Washington | first two letters |
WV | West Virginia | initials |
WI | Wisconsin | first two letters |
WY | Wyoming | first two letters |
The codes people mix up
- The M states. Eight states start with M and only Maine can use MA-style logic without a clash. ME = Maine, MD = Maryland, MA = Massachusetts, MI = Michigan, MN = Minnesota, MS = Mississippi, MO = Missouri, MT = Montana. Remember: MI is Michigan (not Mississippi), MS is Mississippi (the two S's in the name), MO is Missouri (the O in the middle).
- AL / AK / AR / AZ. AL is Alabama, AK Alaska, AR Arkansas, AZ Arizona. Alaska takes the K because AL was taken alphabetically first.
- IA / ID / IL / IN. Iowa is IA (I-A from IowA), Idaho ID, Illinois IL, Indiana IN.
- NE and NV. NE is Nebraska, NV is Nevada. NE also looks like "New England", which it is not.
- The four "New" states. NH, NJ, NM, NY — the second letter is always the second word.
- The paired states. NC/SC, ND/SD, WA/WV/WI/WY. Washington is WA, West Virginia WV, Wisconsin WI, Wyoming WY.
- CO and CT. Colorado is CO; Connecticut is CT because CO was already used.
Related pages
- State abbreviations list — the full table with the older forms.
- Printable abbreviations map — codes printed on each state.
- Map with state names as the answer key.