USPS Abbreviations Quiz
Match the 2-letter postal code to its US state. 20 rounds, multiple choice.
This quiz drills one narrow skill: seeing a two letter USPS code and naming the state behind it without stopping to think. Twenty codes per game, sampled fresh from all fifty, so a full round runs about ninety seconds.
How to play
A code fills the navy card. Four state names sit underneath it. Tap the one that matches.
- Twenty rounds per game, drawn without repeats from the fifty states, so each game hands you a fresh set of twenty codes.
- One point per correct answer, added the moment you tap.
- Three lives. A wrong tap turns your choice red, turns the correct name green, and costs a heart.
- Lose all three hearts and the game ends early, before round twenty.
- Stars follow your percentage: 18 out of 20 earns three stars, 12 earns two, 6 earns one.
- Your best score and your day to day streak live in your own browser. No account, no sign in.
The eight M states decide most games
Eight states begin with M and their codes are not in alphabetical order. Because the three wrong choices are drawn at random from the other 49 states, an M code often lands next to a second M state, and that is where the hearts go.
| Code | State | Which letter the code takes |
|---|---|---|
| MA | Massachusetts | Second letter |
| MD | Maryland | The D of Maryland |
| ME | Maine | The final E of Maine |
| MI | Michigan | Second letter |
| MN | Minnesota | The N of Min |
| MO | Missouri | The O of Missouri |
| MS | Mississippi | The S of Miss |
| MT | Montana | The T of Montana |
Cut the eight in half. MA and MI take the second letter of the name, MD and ME take a later one: the D of Maryland and the final E of Maine. MN, MS and MT reach further in for a consonant, and MO takes the O of Missouri. Three other clusters cost almost as much. Alabama holds AL while Alaska, admitted 140 years later in 1959, takes AK. Nebraska is NE and Nevada is NV, so hang the V on Las Vegas. Arizona is AZ and Arkansas is AR, where the rare Z does all the work.
All 50 codes grouped by first letter
Learn the buckets and the four button grid stops feeling random. M and N carry eight states each, about a third of the deck between them.
| Letter | Codes | How many |
|---|---|---|
| A | AL, AK, AZ, AR | 4 |
| C | CA, CO, CT | 3 |
| I | ID, IL, IN, IA | 4 |
| K | KS, KY | 2 |
| M | ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT | 8 |
| N | NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND | 8 |
| O | OH, OK, OR | 3 |
| S, T, V | SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA | 2 each |
| W | WA, WV, WI, WY | 4 |
| D, F, G, H, L, P, R, U | DE, FL, GA, HI, LA, PA, RI, UT | 1 each |
The N group splits cleanly. NH, NJ, NM and NY take the first letter of the second word. NC and ND take the first letter of Carolina and Dakota. Only Nebraska and Nevada break the pattern, which is exactly why they are the pair people miss.
Keep drilling
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All 50 USPS codes explainedLast updated: