US States Quiz

US States Quiz is a free US states game and state capitals game built on an interactive map of all 50 states. It runs in the browser on desktop and phone, with no download or sign-up.

Game modes

• Find the state: the quiz names a state and you click or tap it on the map.
• Name the state: one state is highlighted in yellow and you name it. The wrong choices are nearby states, so you need to know the shape, not just the general area.
• State capitals: the quiz names a state, highlights it, and asks for its capital.
• Capital to state: the reverse. You see a capital such as Pierre or Montpelier and tap the state it belongs to.
• Learn: no score. Every state shows its two-letter postal abbreviation. Hover or tap a state to see its full name, its capital and its region.

Name the state and State capitals can be answered with 4 choices or by typing. Typing ignores capital letters and punctuation, forgives one small typo on longer answers, accepts “St. Paul” for Saint Paul, and accepts postal codes such as TX in Name the state.

Regions, rounds and the timed challenge

The region menu follows the four regions the US Census Bureau uses: the Northeast (9 states), the Midwest (12), the South (16) and the West (13). Picking a region zooms the map to it and grays out the rest.

Each round is either 10 questions or every state in the region against the clock, which means all 50 for the whole country. Finished timed runs go on a top-5 scoreboard for that mode and region, ranked by correct answers and then by time. Press P or Esc to pause.

Small states and zooming

The eight smallest eastern states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland) each get a small box out in the Atlantic, joined to the state by a thin line. Tapping the box is the same as tapping the state. In quiz modes the boxes carry no label, so they don’t give the answer away.

You can also drag to pan, pinch or scroll to zoom, or use the + and − buttons. NE jumps to the Northeast and FIT shows the whole map. A drag only moves the map, so you won’t answer by accident. Alaska and Hawaii appear as insets in the lower left, and Alaska is drawn smaller than its true size.

Scoring and progress

A right answer turns the state green. After a miss, your pick turns red and the right state is shown in green with a ring. In 10-question rounds the game waits for Next after a miss. The end screen lists every state you missed, and tapping one shows it on the map. Best scores, scoreboards and lifetime stats (accuracy and the states you miss most) are saved in your browser.

Tips for learning the 50 states

• Go region by region before trying all 50.
• Watch out for the capitals that trip people up. Many capitals are not the biggest city. Albany, not New York City, is the capital of New York. Springfield is the capital of Illinois, Harrisburg of Pennsylvania, Sacramento of California and Tallahassee of Florida.
• Learn pairs that sound alike. Charleston is the capital of West Virginia, while Columbia is the capital of South Carolina. Concord is New Hampshire’s capital, and Columbus is Ohio’s.
• Use shapes. Michigan is the two peninsulas by the Great Lakes, Tennessee is the long thin state, and Colorado and Wyoming are both near-rectangles, with Wyoming directly north of Colorado.

For the rest of the world, try our Flag Quiz. If typing out capitals is slowing you down, Typing Test helps with speed.

FAQ

Is Washington, D.C. in the quiz?

No. Washington, D.C. is drawn on the map, and tapping it tells you it is a federal district, not a state.

Where do the capitals and regions come from?

The capitals match the state capitals table in Wikipedia’s List of capitals in the United States, and the regions follow the Census Bureau regions in List of regions of the United States.

Where does the map come from?

The state borders come from Natural Earth, a public domain map dataset, and are simplified to keep the game fast. A few far-out islands, such as the western end of the Aleutians and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, are left off the insets.

Can I play on a phone?

Yes. Tap to answer, use the ocean boxes for the small states, and pinch to zoom.

Looking for more? See our list of the best browser games to learn geography.