States and Capitals Quiz: Type All 50 Capitals

How the states and capitals quiz works

The quiz asks about all 50 states in a random order, so no two rounds are the same. In the default Type the name mode, one state is highlighted and you type its capital. That is the hardest and most useful format, because you have to pull the answer from memory instead of picking it from a list.

You can change the format at any time:

Each format keeps its own best score. Practice has no timer and brings each miss back a few turns later. Quiz is timed and scored on first tries. Challenge gives you 60 seconds and rewards streaks, so it's a fun way to finish a study session.

What counts as a correct answer?

The quiz is a geography test, not a spelling test, but it won't accept a different real answer. Here is how it judges typed answers:

• Capital letters, accents, extra spaces and punctuation don't matter.
• "St." and "Saint" are the same, so "St Paul" counts for Saint Paul.
• One wrong, missing or swapped letter is fine in names of five to eight letters, and two in longer names. "Sacremento" counts. "Cheyene" counts.
• Very short names must be exact.
• A typo that matches another capital is never accepted. Typing "Columbus" for South Carolina is wrong, because Columbus is the capital of Ohio.

If a typed answer is marked wrong, the feedback line shows what you typed, so you can see whether it was a slip or a real mix-up.

The capitals people miss most

Some capitals are hard because the state has a much more famous city. Others sound like a different capital. When you finish a round, compare your missed list with these common trouble spots:

1. Pierre, South Dakota. Small and hard to place. It's pronounced "peer."
2. Montpelier, Vermont. The smallest state capital by population.
3. Frankfort, Kentucky. Often confused with Louisville and Lexington, the state's biggest cities.
4. Olympia, Washington. Not Seattle. Olympia sits at the southern tip of Puget Sound.
5. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Not Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.
6. Tallahassee, Florida. Up in the Panhandle, far from Miami and Orlando.
7. Albany, New York. Not New York City.
8. Springfield, Illinois. Not Chicago, and there are Springfields in many other states.
9. Jefferson City, Missouri. Between Kansas City and St. Louis on the Missouri River.
10. Charleston and Columbia. Charleston is the capital of West Virginia; Columbia is the capital of South Carolina, which has a famous city named Charleston.

A good habit: after each round, write your missed capitals on a sticky note and put it somewhere you'll see it tomorrow.

A five-day plan for a states and capitals test

If your child has a test coming, short daily rounds work better than one long cram session. This plan assumes they know where most states are already.

If the day 4 score is under 80%, repeat day 3 before the test. For a smaller test that covers one region, use that region's page instead: Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest or West.

Why typing beats multiple choice for test prep

There are two ways to remember something. Recognition is spotting the right answer when you see it. Recall is producing it from memory with no hints. Multiple choice tests recognition, and it's a gentle place to start. Typing tests recall, which is what a written test, a geography bee or a conversation asks for.

Research on learning calls this the testing effect: pulling an answer out of memory strengthens it more than rereading a list. That's why the quiz starts in Type the name mode and why Practice brings missed capitals back a few turns later instead of right away.

If typing frustrates a younger child, turn on Hints in Map options. The first letter of the answer appears in the box, which is often enough to unlock the rest.

Turn it around: name the state

Knowing that the capital of Idaho is Boise is one skill. Knowing that Boise is in Idaho is another. Change Ask about to States and Quiz type to Click the map, or try the state capitals quiz, which gives you the capital and asks you to find its state on the map. Practicing both directions is the surest way to be ready for any question.

States and capitals at a glance

These are the capitals that most often show up on tests as "trick" questions because the state's best-known city isn't the capital.

The full list of all 50 states and capitals, with regions and postal codes, is on the states and capitals page.

Make it part of a bigger lesson

A capitals quiz builds a strong frame for American history: Boston, Philadelphia and Richmond each played a part in the country's founding, and many western capitals began as mining or railroad towns. History programs like Beautiful Feet Books and Notgrass tell those stories, and many families pay for programs like these with a state scholarship or education savings account. See what your state offers.