Midwest States and Capitals: Map and Quiz for All 12

The 12 Midwest states and capitals

The map above is cropped to the Midwest, with neighboring states in gray, so each state is big enough to tap easily. In Learn mode every state and capital is labeled. Turn the labels off in Map options when you want to test yourself.

How to learn the Midwest states

Twelve states is a good-sized group: enough to feel like an accomplishment, small enough to learn in a week. The Midwest splits neatly into two halves, which makes it easier:

The Great Lakes states (east). Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, plus Minnesota at the western tip of Lake Superior. Michigan is the easiest: it's the mitten, with a second piece, the Upper Peninsula, to the north.

The Plains states (west). North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas stack from north to south like blocks, with Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri along their eastern side. A handy rhyme: "North, South, Nebraska, Kansas, from Canada down to Oklahoma."

A good order to learn them:

1. Michigan (mitten) and Ohio (east end).
2. Indiana and Illinois, side by side below Lake Michigan.
3. Wisconsin, north of Illinois between two Great Lakes.
4. Minnesota and Iowa, west of Wisconsin and Illinois.
5. Missouri, the big state below Iowa.
6. The Plains stack: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas.

Midwest capitals memory tricks

Silly pictures make capitals stick. Try these, or have your child invent their own:

• Ohio, Columbus: Christopher Columbus sails his ship across Lake Erie, shouting "O-hi-o!"
• Michigan, Lansing: A mitten landing on a singing bird: Lansing.
• Indiana, Indianapolis: Easy: the capital is the state's name plus "-apolis," which means city.
• Illinois, Springfield: A spring bouncing across a cornfield in the middle of the state.
• Wisconsin, Madison: A badger named Madison eating cheese.
• Minnesota, Saint Paul: Paul Bunyan, the giant lumberjack of Minnesota legend, wearing a halo.
• Iowa, Des Moines: "Da moin" sounds like "the more," as in "I owe you more corn."
• Missouri, Jefferson City: Thomas Jefferson, who bought the land in the Louisiana Purchase, standing on the Missouri River.
• Kansas, Topeka: A toe peeking out of a sunflower.
• Nebraska, Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln husking corn.
• South Dakota, Pierre: A pier on the Missouri River, next to Mount Rushmore.
• North Dakota, Bismarck: A biscuit with a mark on it: Bismarck.

Midwest geography: lakes, rivers and plains

The Midwest is the country's heartland, and its geography explains a lot about its history:

The Great Lakes. Six of the 12 Midwest states touch the Great Lakes: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Michigan touches four of the five lakes. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake entirely inside the United States.

Two great rivers. The Mississippi River begins at Lake Itasca in Minnesota and forms borders for several Midwest states as it flows south. The Missouri River joins it near St. Louis, where the Gateway Arch stands as a monument to westward expansion. Bismarck, Pierre and Jefferson City all sit on the Missouri.

The Great Plains and prairies. West of the Mississippi, the land flattens into grasslands that once fed huge herds of bison. Today much of it is farmland. According to USDA statistics, Iowa and Illinois are usually the top two corn-producing states in the country.

The middle of the country. The USGS places the geographic center of the 48 connected states near Lebanon, Kansas. Add Alaska and Hawaii and the center moves to western South Dakota, near the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore.

How the Midwest became states

Most of the Midwest joined the country in two big steps. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 organized the land north of the Ohio River, which became Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota. Ohio was the first to become a state, in 1803. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 added the land west of the Mississippi, which became Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas and the rest of Minnesota.

North Dakota and South Dakota became states on the same day in November 1889. President Benjamin Harrison is said to have shuffled the papers so no one would know which he signed first; by tradition North Dakota is listed as the 39th state and South Dakota as the 40th because of alphabetical order.

National Geographic vs. Census Bureau regions

Different books divide the United States in different ways, which can confuse children when their textbook doesn't match a website. For the Midwest, the good news is that both common systems agree:

The differences show up in other regions: the Census Bureau has no Southwest, so it places Texas and Oklahoma in the South and Arizona and New Mexico in the West. If your child's book uses Census regions, the Midwest stays the same.

Make it part of a bigger lesson

The Midwest is full of stories: the voyageurs on the Great Lakes, the Oregon Trail leaving from Missouri, homesteaders on the prairie. Programs like Little Passports and Notgrass bring those stories to life, and many families pay for programs like these with a state scholarship or education savings account. See what your state offers, then try the Northeast states and capitals next.