US State Abbreviations
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40 free US State Abbreviations trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
Every American address ends with a two-letter state abbreviation, yet most people only know the handful they write often. The eight states that begin with M, the four that begin with A and the pairs that share their opening letters trip up almost everyone, which is why matching abbreviations to states makes such a good test. This quiz works in both directions. Some questions show a postal abbreviation and ask which state it belongs to; others name a state and ask for its two letters. Each one carries a clue, such as a capital, a landmark or a slice of history, so there is always something to reason from. A run of questions covers the story behind the abbreviations too: why the Post Office introduced them, how its earlier lists looked, which entries later changed, and how military mail and island possessions fit in. It suits students learning the fifty states, teachers who want a ready-made geography round, and anyone who addresses envelopes or fills in forms. Every answer comes with a short explanation, and the questions can be printed for use on paper.
30 of 40 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Two-letter state abbreviations arrived in 1963 to free up address-line space for which new postal feature?
ZIP Codes
ZIP Codes arrived on July 1, 1963, when most addressing machines could fit only 23 characters on the bottom line of an address. Shorter state names made room for the five new digits.
Q 02Which state swapped its postal code NB for a new one in 1969 to avoid confusion with New Brunswick?
Nebraska
Nebraska became NE because postal officials north of the border asked for NB to be left to their own province. It remains the only change made to a state's code since 1963.
Q 03MO is the two-letter postal code of which state, home to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis?
Missouri
Missouri borders eight different states, a figure equaled only by its neighbor Tennessee. Its abbreviation has barely moved in two centuries: the Post Office's 1831 list already had Mo.
Q 04MI is the two-letter postal code of which state, made up of two peninsulas bordering four Great Lakes?
Michigan
Michigan was given MI in October 1963, four months after a first Post Office list had tried MICH. Its two halves are split by the Straits of Mackinac.
Q 05AK is the two-letter postal code of which state, whose most populous city is Anchorage?
Alaska
Alaska first appeared as ALSK on the Post Office's June 1963 list, then took AK that October. The more obvious AL went to Alabama.
Q 06Which two-letter postal code belongs to Mississippi, the state named after the river on its western border?
MS
MS replaced MISS, the four-letter form on the Post Office's first 1963 list. Back in 1831 the department had shortened Mississippi to Mi.
Q 07Which two-letter postal code belongs to Arkansas, the Southern state whose capital is Little Rock?
AR
AR is a cut-down ARK, the three-letter form on the Post Office's first 1963 list. Little Rock has been the seat of government there since 1821.
Q 08Which two-letter postal code belongs to Connecticut, the New England state that is home to Yale University?
CT
CT skips straight from the first letter of Connecticut to the last. The Post Office's 1831 list had the same idea with Ct., before the lists of 1874 and 1943 switched to Conn.
Q 09IA is the two-letter postal code of which Midwestern state, whose capital and largest city is Des Moines?
Iowa
Iowa only needed a short form once space ran tight: the Post Office's first 1963 list still printed all four letters, IOWA, before IA arrived that October.
Q 10MD is the two-letter postal code of which state, whose most populous city is Baltimore?
Maryland
Maryland has one of the longest-serving abbreviations of all: Post Office lists of 1831, 1874 and 1943 each gave the state as Md.
Q 11WI is the postal code of which state, a leading dairy producer particularly famous for its cheese?
Wisconsin
Wisconsin had been Wis. on Post Office lists since 1874, and the first 1963 list simply capitalized it as WIS before WI won out that October.
Q 12Which two-letter postal code belongs to Kansas, home to the geographic center of the lower 48 states?
KS
KS trimmed down KANS, the Post Office's first 1963 attempt. Boats registered in Kansas carry KA instead, because the Coast Guard keeps its own list of state codes.
Q 13Which two-letter postal code belongs to Tennessee, whose capital and most populous city is Nashville?
TN
TN beat two earlier ideas for Tennessee. The Post Office's 1831 list had preferred Te., and its first 1963 list tried TENN.
Q 21Which two-letter postal code belongs to Montana, the state unofficially known as Big Sky Country?
MT
MT replaced MONT, the four letters on the Post Office's first 1963 list. The tempting MO was never available: it had stood for a different state since 1831.
Q 22Which two-letter postal code belongs to Massachusetts, where the Pilgrims founded Plymouth Colony in 1620?
MA
MA replaced MASS, the four letters on the Post Office's first 1963 list. Plymouth was only the start: Massachusetts is now the most populous state in New England.
Q 23Which two-letter postal code belongs to Idaho, the northwestern state best known for its potato crop?
ID
ID replaced IDA, the three letters on the Post Office's first 1963 list. Idaho's farms grow around a third of the potatoes harvested in the United States.
Q 14Which two-letter postal code belongs to Nevada, the driest US state and home to Las Vegas?
NV
NV replaced NEV, the three letters on the Post Office's first 1963 list. Dropping the E matters, because NE sends a letter to a different state entirely.
Q 15Which two-letter postal code belongs to Minnesota, the state nicknamed the Land of 10,000 Lakes?
MN
MN replaced MINN, the form on the Post Office's first 1963 list. The nickname undersells Minnesota, which has 11,842 lakes of more than ten acres.
Q 16Which two-letter postal code belongs to Delaware, the first state to ratify the US Constitution?
DE
DE brought back an old idea: the Post Office's 1831 list had De., which the lists of 1874 and 1943 lengthened to Del.
Q 17Florida appeared as 'Fl. T.' on the Post Office's 1831 list of abbreviations; what did the T stand for?
Territory
Territory was the right label in 1831: Florida had been organized under US rule in 1822 but was not admitted to the Union as a state until 1845.
Q 18Before its two-letter codes of 1963, how did the Post Office Department prefer state names to appear on mail?
Written out in full
Written out in full was the department's stated preference, to avoid confusion. It had recognized common short forms since 1831, but only because the public kept using them.
Q 19Which two-letter postal code belongs to Hawaii, the only US state that is an archipelago?
HI
HI replaced HAW, the three letters on the Post Office's first 1963 list. The Coast Guard went a different way and marks boats from Hawaii with HA.
Q 20Which two-letter postal code belongs to Vermont, which makes about half of America's maple syrup?
VT
VT is one of the great survivors: Post Office lists of 1831, 1874 and 1943 all gave Vermont as Vt., so the 1963 reform only had to drop the period and capitalize the T.
Q 24Which two-letter postal code belongs to Washington state, whose most populous city is Seattle?
WA
WA is the state; the national capital, named after the same president, uses DC. The Post Office's first 1963 list had tried WASH.
Q 25Which two-letter postal code belongs to Pennsylvania, where the Declaration of Independence was signed?
PA
PA marks the state where the Constitution was drafted too, in the same Philadelphia building, now known as Independence Hall.
Q 26Which two-letter postal code belongs to Kentucky, the state that makes most of the world's bourbon whiskey?
KY
KY has deep roots: Kentucky was already Ky. on the Post Office's 1831 list. The state turns out about 95% of the world's bourbon.
Q 27Which two-letter postal code belongs to Virginia, the state that has produced eight US presidents?
VA
VA is Virginia; VI, an easy slip, sends a letter to the US Virgin Islands instead. Four of the first five presidents were Virginians.
Q 28Which two-letter postal code belongs to Wyoming, home to Grand Teton and most of Yellowstone National Park?
WY
WY replaced WYO, the three letters on the Post Office's first 1963 list, by dropping the final O. Yellowstone lies mainly in Wyoming's northwest corner.
Q 29Which state is one of eight whose names are never abbreviated under Associated Press style?
Utah
Utah is spared, as are Ohio and Texas. Associated Press style shortens most other names to forms such as Nev. and Kan. rather than to two-letter postal codes.
Q 30The Coast Guard's two-letter state codes mostly match the postal ones, but boats from which state carry CF?
California
California is one of twelve places where the Coast Guard's code differs from the postal one. Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia use the same two letters on both lists.