US State Capitals Quiz

Can you name all 50 state capitals? Each question gives four capitals from the same region of the country, so you have to really know it: Sacramento or Salem, Albany or Harrisburg? This us state capitals quiz also has the quiz in a printable form and tables that sort the 50 capitals by region, named person and city size.

Us state capitals quiz to print (PDF)

The four printable pages below are a multiple-choice sheet, a write-in sheet, the answer key and a black-and-white version. Click a picture for the PDF.

How to play the us state capitals quiz

• Pick the options above the quiz (questions, timer) and answer each question by tapping an answer, or press 1 to 4 on a keyboard.
• A correct answer moves on by itself; a wrong one shows the right answer so you learn it.
• At the end you get your score, stars and your best score so far, plus a list of the answers to learn.
• Press Challenge a friend to send a link with exactly the same questions, or Practice the ones I missed to go again.

State capitals that surprise people

• California: Sacramento, not Los Angeles
• New York: Albany, not New York City
• Texas: Austin, not Houston
• Florida: Tallahassee, not Miami
• Illinois: Springfield, not Chicago
• Pennsylvania: Harrisburg, not Philadelphia
• Washington: Olympia, not Seattle
• Nevada: Carson City, not Las Vegas

Want worksheets and maps? Try the states and capitals worksheet maker.

US state capitals quiz: 50 capitals by region

The US state capitals quiz uses the same four regions as the Census Bureau, and every question gives four capitals from the same region as the answer. Learning the capitals one region at a time is the easiest way to get to 50 out of 50. The table shows the capitals of each region:

The South has the most states (16) and the Northeast the fewest (9), so the South takes the longest to learn. Each region also has its own quiz page, with a worksheet and an answer key: Northeast, Midwest, South, West.

State capitals quiz: capitals named after people

A good trick for the state capitals quiz is to remember who the capital is named for. These 15 capitals are named after a person, and many of them are famous presidents and explorers:

50 states and capitals quiz: where the capital is not the biggest city

In the 50 states and capitals quiz, the most common mistake is to answer with the largest city. In more than half of the states the capital is a smaller city, often chosen because it was in the middle of the state or because it was a compromise between two big cities. Here are 24 examples:

The capital and the largest city are the same in states such as Massachusetts (Boston), Georgia (Atlanta), Colorado (Denver), Arizona (Phoenix) and Indiana (Indianapolis).

Only 4 states have a capital that starts with the same letter as the state:

State capitals test: a five-day plan

To get ready for a state capitals test, work through one region a day and finish with the whole quiz. This plan has 5 days and takes about 10 minutes a day:

For a full list with the dates and the order in which each state joined the Union, see Wikipedia’s list of capitals in the United States.

States and capitals game: how to play in class

The states and capitals game works well for a class of up to 30 students. Print one write-in sheet per student, or show the quiz on a screen and ask teams to answer in turn. Give one point for every correct capital, and add a bonus point for the state that was admitted to the Union first, Delaware, and for the largest state by area, Alaska. The quiz maker below can print 10 to 50 questions with an answer key.

Print this us state capitals quiz

Make a printable version with an answer key: 10 to 30 questions, as multiple choice or write-in answers.

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