Memorizing the 50 states is half the work. The capitals are harder because most are not the biggest city. California's capital is Sacramento, not LA. Florida's is Tallahassee, not Miami. New York's is Albany, not NYC. That's where 90% of capital-quiz mistakes happen.
This guide is structured the same way as our learn the 50 states guide: by region, with one capital per state. Once you can name the states, you only need to attach the capital. We'll flag the tricky ones.
Northeast capitals
New England (6 capitals)
- ▸Maine → Augusta
- ▸New Hampshire → Concord
- ▸Vermont → Montpelier
- ▸Massachusetts → Boston
- ▸Rhode Island → Providence
- ▸Connecticut → Hartford
Mid-Atlantic (3 capitals)
- ▸New York → Albany ⚠️
- ▸New Jersey → Trenton
- ▸Pennsylvania → Harrisburg ⚠️
South capitals
South Atlantic (8)
- ▸Delaware → Dover
- ▸Maryland → Annapolis ⚠️
- ▸Virginia → Richmond
- ▸West Virginia → Charleston
- ▸North Carolina → Raleigh
- ▸South Carolina → Columbia
- ▸Georgia → Atlanta
- ▸Florida → Tallahassee ⚠️
East South Central (4)
- ▸Kentucky → Frankfort ⚠️
- ▸Tennessee → Nashville
- ▸Alabama → Montgomery
- ▸Mississippi → Jackson
West South Central (4)
- ▸Arkansas → Little Rock
- ▸Louisiana → Baton Rouge ⚠️
- ▸Oklahoma → Oklahoma City
- ▸Texas → Austin
Midwest capitals
East North Central (5)
- ▸Wisconsin → Madison
- ▸Michigan → Lansing ⚠️
- ▸Illinois → Springfield ⚠️
- ▸Indiana → Indianapolis
- ▸Ohio → Columbus
Plains (7)
- ▸Minnesota → Saint Paul
- ▸Iowa → Des Moines
- ▸Missouri → Jefferson City ⚠️
- ▸North Dakota → Bismarck
- ▸South Dakota → Pierre ⚠️
- ▸Nebraska → Lincoln
- ▸Kansas → Topeka
West capitals
Mountain (8)
- ▸Montana → Helena
- ▸Idaho → Boise
- ▸Wyoming → Cheyenne
- ▸Nevada → Carson City ⚠️
- ▸Utah → Salt Lake City
- ▸Colorado → Denver
- ▸Arizona → Phoenix
- ▸New Mexico → Santa Fe
Pacific (5)
- ▸Washington → Olympia ⚠️
- ▸Oregon → Salem
- ▸California → Sacramento ⚠️
- ▸Alaska → Juneau ⚠️
- ▸Hawaii → Honolulu
Train your capitals daily
The Statedoku puzzle uses capitals as constraints on roughly 1 day in 4. Five minutes a day beats flashcards every time.
Play today's puzzle →Mnemonics for the 12 trickiest
- Pierre, SD, "Pierre is small like SD's population. Smallest capital city in the smallest non-Wyoming-Vermont state."
- Frankfort, KY, "Frankfort sounds German. Kentucky bourbon → German immigrants → frank → Frankfort."
- Tallahassee, FL, "Florida is huge, but its capital is tucked in the top-left panhandle. Tallahassee = 'too far' from the rest of Florida."
- Albany, NY, "Alban + y. Sounds British. The Dutch named it. Not NYC."
- Carson City, NV, "Kit Carson, the frontiersman. Not Vegas (Vegas didn't exist yet)."
- Olympia, WA, "Olympia → Olympic mountains. WA, not Seattle."
- Boise, ID, "ID = Idaho. Boise = 'Boy, See!' Bois (French for trees), French trappers named it."
- Jefferson City, MO, "Named after Thomas Jefferson, who signed the Louisiana Purchase that included MO. Not St. Louis."
- Annapolis, MD, "Anna + polis. US Naval Academy. Not Baltimore."
- Springfield, IL, "Where Lincoln practiced law. Not Chicago. (Also: 'The Simpsons' lives there in canon.)"
- Juneau, AK, "Joe-no. As in 'Joe, no, you can't drive there.' Only capital not road-connected."
- Sacramento, CA, "Sacramento sounds Spanish (it is). Spanish missions, gold rush. Not LA, not SF."
How to drill them
The fastest way to lock these in: draw the US map blank, write states first, then add capitals. Day 1: capitals you already know (Boston, Austin, Atlanta, about 20 freebies). Day 2: the easy ones with state names that match (Indianapolis, Oklahoma City, Honolulu). Day 3-5: the trickier mismatches (Annapolis, Pierre, Tallahassee, Frankfort). Day 7: full review of all 50 on a blank map.
Then play the daily Statedoku to keep recall fresh. Capitals come up as constraints roughly once a week.
→ The full 50-states guide
→ The 4 US regions explained
→ Quick capitals quiz
→ Browse all 50 state pages