STUDY / Geography
US state abbreviations flashcards
Untangle the two-letter codes that are easy to mix up. Each round picks ten cards from a set covering all fifty states.
10 random cards per round · 50 to explore
Choosing your ten cards…
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Try the same topic in a ten-question scored round.
All 50 study questions
Open a question to check its answer.
Recall the state
01 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation AL?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Alabama. Alabama is AL; Alaska is AK. Both names begin with “Al,” so the second letter of the postal code is the useful distinction.
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03 / 50Which state uses AR?Reveal answerHide answer
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Arkansas. AR is Arkansas; Arizona is AZ.
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05 / 50Which state uses MD?Reveal answerHide answer
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Maryland. Maryland is MD, while Maine is ME and Massachusetts is MA. All three start with M, but their second letters identify different states.
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07 / 50Which state uses NE?Reveal answerHide answer
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Nebraska. NE is Nebraska. Nevada uses NV.
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09 / 50Which state uses CT?Reveal answerHide answer
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Connecticut. Connecticut uses CT. Colorado uses CO.
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11 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation AZ?Reveal answerHide answer
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Arizona. Arizona is AZ; Arkansas is AR. Both begin with “Ar,” so AZ is the useful exception to remember.
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13 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation CO?Reveal answerHide answer
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Colorado. Colorado is CO, using its first two letters. California is CA and Connecticut is CT.
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15 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation FL?Reveal answerHide answer
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Florida. Florida is FL. It is the only state whose name starts with F, so the opening “Fl” is a straightforward memory cue.
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17 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation HI?Reveal answerHide answer
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Hawaii. Hawaii is HI. HA and HW may look plausible, but neither is the USPS state abbreviation.
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19 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation IL?Reveal answerHide answer
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Illinois. Illinois is IL; Indiana is IN. Both begin with I, so look at the second letter before choosing.
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21 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation KS?Reveal answerHide answer
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Kansas. Kansas is KS; Kentucky is KY. Neither uses KA, even though that looks like the start of Kansas.
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23 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation LA?Reveal answerHide answer
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Louisiana. Louisiana is LA. In a state-code field, LA means Louisiana; the initials of Los Angeles do not change that.
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25 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation MI?Reveal answerHide answer
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Michigan. Michigan is MI; Minnesota is MN, Mississippi is MS, and Missouri is MO. Each has a different second letter.
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27 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation MS?Reveal answerHide answer
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Mississippi. Mississippi is MS; Missouri is MO. The shared “Miss” at the beginning does not make their postal codes interchangeable.
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29 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation NV?Reveal answerHide answer
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Nevada. Nevada is NV; Nebraska is NE. The V in Nevada separates two states whose names both start with “Ne.”
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31 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation NJ?Reveal answerHide answer
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New Jersey. New Jersey is NJ, using the first letter of each word. NH means New Hampshire, while NM means New Mexico.
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33 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation NY?Reveal answerHide answer
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New York. New York is NY, using the first letter of each word. The code applies to the state, not only New York City.
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35 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation ND?Reveal answerHide answer
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North Dakota. North Dakota is ND; South Dakota is SD. Both Dakota codes end in D and differ in the first letter.
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37 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation OK?Reveal answerHide answer
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Oklahoma. Oklahoma is OK, using its first two letters. Ohio is OH and Oregon is OR.
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39 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation PA?Reveal answerHide answer
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Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is PA. The first and last letters of its name provide a memory cue; PE and PN are not its state code.
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41 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation SC?Reveal answerHide answer
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South Carolina. South Carolina is SC; North Carolina is NC. The C distinguishes both from the Dakota codes, SD and ND.
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43 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation TN?Reveal answerHide answer
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Tennessee. Tennessee is TN; Texas is TX. The N in Tennessee helps separate the two states whose names begin with T.
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45 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation UT?Reveal answerHide answer
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Utah. Utah is UT, using the first two letters of its name. It is the only state whose name begins with U.
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47 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation VA?Reveal answerHide answer
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Virginia. Virginia is VA; West Virginia is WV. West Virginia has its own code, rather than a three-letter variation of VA.
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49 / 50Which state uses the postal abbreviation WI?Reveal answerHide answer
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Wisconsin. Wisconsin is WI; Washington is WA and Wyoming is WY. The second letter matters for all three.
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Recall the postal code
02 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Alaska?Reveal answerHide answer
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AK. Alaska is AK. AL is Alabama, while AS is American Samoa; neither is an alternative abbreviation for Alaska.
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04 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Maine?Reveal answerHide answer
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ME. Maine uses ME. MA belongs to Massachusetts.
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06 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Missouri?Reveal answerHide answer
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MO. Missouri uses MO. Mississippi uses MS.
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08 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Iowa?Reveal answerHide answer
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IA. Iowa is IA; Idaho is ID. The official codes use two letters, so the plausible-looking IO and IW are not Iowa’s postal abbreviation.
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10 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for West Virginia?Reveal answerHide answer
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WV. West Virginia uses WV; Virginia uses VA.
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12 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for California?Reveal answerHide answer
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CA. California is CA. Colorado is CO and Connecticut is CT; the second letter separates the three C-state codes.
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14 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Delaware?Reveal answerHide answer
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DE. Delaware is DE, using the first two letters of its name. It is the only state whose name starts with D.
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16 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Georgia?Reveal answerHide answer
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GA. Georgia is GA. The code uses the name’s first and last letters as a memory cue; it is not GE.
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18 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Idaho?Reveal answerHide answer
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ID. Idaho is ID, using its first two letters. Iowa is IA, while Illinois and Indiana use IL and IN.
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20 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Indiana?Reveal answerHide answer
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IN. Indiana is IN; Illinois is IL. The first two letters of Indiana also give its postal code.
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22 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Kentucky?Reveal answerHide answer
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KY. Kentucky is KY; Kansas is KS. Remember the final Y in Kentucky to distinguish the two K-state codes.
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24 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Massachusetts?Reveal answerHide answer
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MA. Massachusetts is MA. Maine is ME and Maryland is MD, two common sources of confusion among the M-state codes.
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26 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Minnesota?Reveal answerHide answer
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MN. Minnesota is MN; Michigan is MI. Minnesota’s repeated N is a helpful memory cue for its second code letter.
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28 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Montana?Reveal answerHide answer
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MT. Montana is MT; Minnesota is MN and Missouri is MO. The T in Montana helps distinguish its code.
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30 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for New Hampshire?Reveal answerHide answer
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NH. New Hampshire is NH, using the first letter of each word. The other New states use NJ, NM, and NY.
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32 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for New Mexico?Reveal answerHide answer
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NM. New Mexico is NM, using the two word initials. MN reverses those letters and means Minnesota.
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34 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for North Carolina?Reveal answerHide answer
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NC. North Carolina is NC; South Carolina is SC. The first letter gives the direction and the second identifies Carolina.
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36 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Ohio?Reveal answerHide answer
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OH. Ohio is OH, using its first two letters. Oklahoma is OK and Oregon is OR.
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38 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Oregon?Reveal answerHide answer
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OR. Oregon is OR, using its first two letters. Oklahoma is OK and Ohio is OH.
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40 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Rhode Island?Reveal answerHide answer
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RI. Rhode Island is RI, using the first letter of each word. The entire state name is represented by these two letters.
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42 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for South Dakota?Reveal answerHide answer
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SD. South Dakota is SD; North Dakota is ND. The D distinguishes Dakota from Carolina in the two-letter code.
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44 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Texas?Reveal answerHide answer
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TX. Texas is TX; Tennessee is TN. The distinctive X in Texas is a useful memory cue.
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46 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Vermont?Reveal answerHide answer
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VT. Vermont is VT; Virginia is VA. The final T in Vermont helps distinguish these two V-state codes.
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48 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Washington?Reveal answerHide answer
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WA. Washington is WA. Washington, DC uses DC and is a separate destination from Washington state.
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50 / 50What is the postal abbreviation for Wyoming?Reveal answerHide answer
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WY. Wyoming is WY, using its first two letters. Washington is WA and Wisconsin is WI.