List of U.S. state capitals
Appearance
This is a list of United States state capital cities. Each has a capital building that acts as the center of government for its state. The capital city with the fewest people is Montpelier, Vermont,[1] while the capital city with the most people is Phoenix, Arizona.
The dates listed in the following table indicate the years it has continuously served as the state's sole capital. Most states have changed their capital city at least once. In the case of the thirteen bottom states, "statehood" in the table refers to its date of ratification of the United States Constitution.
State | Abr. | State-hood | Capital | Capital since | Area (mi²) | Population (2018) | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
City | Metropolitan | Rank in state | Rank in US | |||||||
Alabama | AL | 1819 | Montgomery | 1846 | 159.8 | 198,218 | 373,903 | 2 | 119 | |
Alaska | AK | 1959 | Juneau | 1906 | 2716.7 | 31,275 | 2 | Largest capital by municipal land area. | ||
Arizona | AZ | 1912 | Phoenix | 1889 | 517.6 | 1,660,272 | 4,857,962 | 1 | 5 | Largest capital by population. |
Arkansas | AR | 1836 | Little Rock | 1821 | 116.2 | 193,524 | 699,757 | 1 | 117 | |
California | CA | 1850 | Sacramento | 1854 | 97.9 | 508,529 | 2,345,210 | 6 | 35 | |
Colorado | CO | 1876 | Denver | 1867 | 153.3 | 716,492 | 2,932,415 | 1 | 19 | |
Connecticut | CT | 1788 | Hartford | 1875 | 17.3 | 124,775 | 1,212,381 | 3 | 199 | |
Delaware | DE | 1787 | Dover | 1777 | 22.4 | 36,047 | 162,310 | 2 | Longest-serving capital in terms of statehood. | |
Florida | FL | 1845 | Tallahassee | 1824 | 95.7 | 181,376 | 367,413 | 7 | 125 | |
Georgia | GA | 1788 | Atlanta | 1868 | 133.5 | 498,044 | 5,949,951 | 1 | 37 | Largest capital by metropolitan area population. |
Hawaii | HI | 1959 | Honolulu | 1845 | 68.4 | 359,870 | 953,207 | 1 | 56 | |
Idaho | ID | 1890 | Boise | 1865 | 63.8 | 205,671 | 616,561 | 1 | 103 | |
Illinois | IL | 1818 | Springfield | 1837 | 54.0 | 116,250 | 210,170 | 6 | 221 | |
Indiana | IN | 1816 | Indianapolis | 1825 | 361.5 | 867,125 | 2,004,230 | 1 | 16 | |
Iowa | IA | 1846 | Des Moines | 1857 | 75.8 | 203,433 | 569,633 | 1 | 105 | |
Kansas | KS | 1861 | Topeka | 1856 | 56.0 | 127,473 | 230,870 | 4 | 193 | |
Kentucky | KY | 1792 | Frankfort | 1792 | 14.7 | 25,527 | 70,758 | 14 | ||
Louisiana | LA | 1812 | Baton Rouge | 1880 | 76.8 | 225,374 | 830,480 | 2 | 99 | |
Maine | ME | 1820 | Augusta | 1832 | 55.4 | 19,136 | 117,114 | 8 | ||
Maryland | MD | 1788 | Annapolis | 1694 | 6.73 | 38,394 | 7 | Smallest capital by land area. | ||
Massachusetts | MA | 1788 | Boston | 1630 | 89.6 | 694,583 | 4,628,910 | 1 | 21 | Longest continuously serving capital. |
Michigan | MI | 1837 | Lansing | 1847 | 35.0 | 114,297 | 464,036 | 5 | 226 | |
Minnesota | MN | 1858 | Saint Paul | 1849 | 52.8 | 285,068 | 3,348,659 | 2 | 67 | |
Mississippi | MS | 1817 | Jackson | 1821 | 104.9 | 173,514 | 567,122 | 1 | 134 | |
Missouri | MO | 1821 | Jefferson City | 1826 | 27.3 | 43,079 | 149,807 | 15 | ||
Montana | MT | 1889 | Helena | 1875 | 14.0 | 28,190 | 74,801 | 6 | ||
Nebraska | NE | 1867 | Lincoln | 1867 | 74.6 | 258,379 | 302,157 | 2 | 72 | |
Nevada | NV | 1864 | Carson City | 1861 | 143.4 | 55,274 | 6 | |||
New Hampshire | NH | 1788 | Concord | 1808 | 64.3 | 42,695 | 146,445 | 3 | ||
New Jersey | NJ | 1787 | Trenton | 1784 | 7.66 | 84,913 | 366,513 | 10 | ||
New Mexico | NM | 1912 | Santa Fe | 1610 | 37.3 | 75,764 | 183,732 | 4 | Longest-serving capital. | |
New York | NY | 1788 | Albany | 1797 | 21.4 | 97,856 | 857,592 | 6 | ||
North Carolina | NC | 1789 | Raleigh | 1792 | 114.6 | 403,892 | 1,130,490 | 2 | 43 | |
North Dakota | ND | 1889 | Bismarck | 1883 | 26.9 | 61,272 | 108,779 | 2 | ||
Ohio | OH | 1803 | Columbus | 1816 | 210.3 | 892,553 | 2,078,725 | 1 | 14 | |
Oklahoma | OK | 1907 | Oklahoma City | 1910 | 620.3 | 649,021 | 1,396,445 | 1 | 27 | Shortest-serving current state capital. |
Oregon | OR | 1859 | Salem | 1855 | 45.7 | 154,637 | 390,738 | 3 | 149 | |
Pennsylvania | PA | 1787 | Harrisburg | 1812 | 8.11 | 49,528 | 647,390 | 9 | ||
Rhode Island | RI | 1790 | Providence | 1900 | 18.5 | 178,042 | 1,600,852 | 1 | 130 | |
South Carolina | SC | 1788 | Columbia | 1786 | 125.2 | 129,272 | 767,598 | 2 | 191 | |
South Dakota | SD | 1889 | Pierre | 1889 | 13.0 | 13,646 | 8 | |||
Tennessee | TN | 1796 | Nashville | 1826 | 525.9 | 691,243 | 1,903,045 | 1 | 24 | |
Texas | TX | 1845 | Austin | 1839 | 305.1 | 964,254 | 2,168,316 | 4 | 11 | Largest capital by population to not be the most populated city in its state. |
Utah | UT | 1896 | Salt Lake City | 1858 | 109.1 | 186,440 | 1,087,873 | 1 | 124 | |
Vermont | VT | 1791 | Montpelier | 1805 | 10.2 | 7,855 | 6 | Smallest capital by population. | ||
Virginia | VA | 1788 | Richmond | 1780 | 60.1 | 204,214 | 1,208,101 | 4 | 104 | |
Washington | WA | 1889 | Olympia | 1853 | 16.7 | 46,478 | 234,670 | 24 | ||
West Virginia | WV | 1863 | Charleston | 1885 | 31.6 | 51,400 | 304,214 | 1 | Smallest capital by population to also be the most populated city in its state. | |
Wisconsin | WI | 1848 | Madison | 1838 | 68.7 | 233,209 | 605,435 | 2 | 82 | |
Wyoming | WY | 1890 | Cheyenne | 1869 | 21.1 | 59,466 | 91,738 | 1 |
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Montpelier Vermont Lodging Real Estate History Vermont Living Magazine". 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07.