Why the code is NJ
New Jersey is one of the straightforward ones. When a state name is two words, the code takes the initial of each word. New Jersey gives N and J. Ten state names run to two words, and all ten codes are built this way: NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, SC, SD, RI and WV.
Because of that rule, New Jersey never had to compromise. Only one state name pairs the word New with a J, so nothing collided and nothing had to be broken. Before the Post Office Department issued its two-letter list in October 1963, clerks and printers wrote N.J. with periods. New Jersey lost the periods and the lowercase j, and that was the whole change. Single-word states had a rougher time. Nebraska was issued NB in that first list and had it swapped for NE in 1969.
The reason the question still gets asked is the N block. Eight codes start with N, tied with M for the largest cluster in the system: NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY. Four of them are New states, and in every one of those four the second letter does all the work. Spanish-language sources add one more wrinkle by writing Nueva Jersey, but the abbreviation is built from the English name, so it stays NJ.
Codes people confuse with NJ
| Code | State | Why the mix-up happens |
|---|---|---|
| NY | New York | Newark Liberty airport serves New York City, the two states share a port, and the Giants and Jets play on the New Jersey side under New York names. |
| NH | New Hampshire | Both are small Northeast New states whose codes are N plus the initial of the second word. They also sit next to each other in alphabetical dropdowns. |
| NM | New Mexico | Another two-word New state, formed identically, but in the Southwest and vastly larger in area. |
| NC | North Carolina | The N block splits into New states and North states. NC is North Carolina, not a New Carolina, which does not exist. |
| PA | Pennsylvania | The Philadelphia metro reaches across the river into South Jersey, so listings and mailing lists routinely swap the two states. |
Quick facts about New Jersey
| Capital | Trenton |
|---|---|
| Largest city | Newark |
| Region | Northeast, Mid-Atlantic |
| Statehood | 1787, the third state to ratify the Constitution |
| Population | Between 5 and 10 million |
| Area rank | 47th of 50, one of the smallest states |
| Nickname | The Garden State |
Where you will see NJ
The obvious place is the last line of an address, as in Trenton, NJ ahead of the ZIP Code. Plates carry the Garden State slogan, and the state's rail and bus operator puts the code straight into its own name: NJ Transit.
Team names are where the abbreviation gets strange. The New Jersey Devils are the only major-league franchise in the area that actually carries the state name. The Giants and the Jets play at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and are both named for New York. The Nets were the New Jersey Nets until they moved to Brooklyn in 2012 and became a New York team without moving far.
Crossword setters treat NJ as reliable short fill, usually clued through Trenton, the Turnpike or the Garden State. In Spanish-language reference material the state appears as Nueva Jersey while the two-letter code beside it stays NJ, which is exactly the pairing that sends people looking for an explanation.
Four New states, four second letters
NH, NJ, NM and NY separate cleanly once you drill them. Statedoku builds puzzles around exactly that distinction.
Play the abbreviations round →