US State Abbreviations
Every state has an official two-letter postal abbreviation set by the U.S. Postal Service. The map shows each code in place; the table adds the AP style abbreviation used in news writing and the federal FIPS code used in data.
List of state abbreviations
| State | USPS code | AP style | FIPS code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | AL | Ala. | 01 |
| Alaska | AK | Alaska | 02 |
| Arizona | AZ | Ariz. | 04 |
| Arkansas | AR | Ark. | 05 |
| California | CA | Calif. | 06 |
| Colorado | CO | Colo. | 08 |
| Connecticut | CT | Conn. | 09 |
| Delaware | DE | Del. | 10 |
| Florida | FL | Fla. | 12 |
| Georgia | GA | Ga. | 13 |
| Hawaii | HI | Hawaii | 15 |
| Idaho | ID | Idaho | 16 |
| Illinois | IL | Ill. | 17 |
| Indiana | IN | Ind. | 18 |
| Iowa | IA | Iowa | 19 |
| Kansas | KS | Kan. | 20 |
| Kentucky | KY | Ky. | 21 |
| Louisiana | LA | La. | 22 |
| Maine | ME | Maine | 23 |
| Maryland | MD | Md. | 24 |
| Massachusetts | MA | Mass. | 25 |
| Michigan | MI | Mich. | 26 |
| Minnesota | MN | Minn. | 27 |
| Mississippi | MS | Miss. | 28 |
| Missouri | MO | Mo. | 29 |
| Montana | MT | Mont. | 30 |
| Nebraska | NE | Neb. | 31 |
| Nevada | NV | Nev. | 32 |
| New Hampshire | NH | N.H. | 33 |
| New Jersey | NJ | N.J. | 34 |
| New Mexico | NM | N.M. | 35 |
| New York | NY | N.Y. | 36 |
| North Carolina | NC | N.C. | 37 |
| North Dakota | ND | N.D. | 38 |
| Ohio | OH | Ohio | 39 |
| Oklahoma | OK | Okla. | 40 |
| Oregon | OR | Ore. | 41 |
| Pennsylvania | PA | Pa. | 42 |
| Rhode Island | RI | R.I. | 44 |
| South Carolina | SC | S.C. | 45 |
| South Dakota | SD | S.D. | 46 |
| Tennessee | TN | Tenn. | 47 |
| Texas | TX | Texas | 48 |
| Utah | UT | Utah | 49 |
| Vermont | VT | Vt. | 50 |
| Virginia | VA | Va. | 51 |
| Washington | WA | Wash. | 53 |
| West Virginia | WV | W.Va. | 54 |
| Wisconsin | WI | Wis. | 55 |
| Wyoming | WY | Wyo. | 56 |
D.C., territories and military codes
| Place | USPS code |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | DC |
| Puerto Rico | PR |
| Guam | GU |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | VI |
| American Samoa | AS |
| Northern Mariana Islands | MP |
| Armed Forces Americas (except Canada) | AA |
| Armed Forces Europe, Middle East, Africa, Canada | AE |
| Armed Forces Pacific | AP |
Abbreviations people mix up
- The four A’s: AL is Alabama, AK is Alaska, AZ is Arizona and AR is Arkansas.
- The eight M’s: ME Maine, MD Maryland, MA Massachusetts, MI Michigan, MN Minnesota, MS Mississippi, MO Missouri and MT Montana.
- The four I’s: IA is Iowa, ID is Idaho, IL is Illinois and IN is Indiana.
- The N’s: NE is Nebraska and NV is Nevada; NC/ND and NH/NJ/NM/NY follow the two-word names.
How to write state abbreviations
Postal codes are always two capital letters with no periods (WA, NY, TX). Use them in mailing addresses, forms, tables and maps. The Postal Service introduced the two-letter codes in 1963, a few months after ZIP codes; Nebraska’s code changed from NB to NE in 1969 to avoid confusion with New Brunswick, Canada.
AP style (Associated Press) spells out state names in the body of a news story. Its traditional abbreviations, such as Calif., Fla. and Mass., appear in datelines, lists and party affiliations. Eight states are never abbreviated in AP style: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.
FIPS codes are two-digit numbers used by the Census Bureau and other agencies to identify states in datasets. They are mostly alphabetical, with gaps (03, 07, 14, 43, 52) once reserved for territories.
Frequently asked questions
Is it MI or MS for Mississippi?
MS is Mississippi. MI is Michigan, and MN is Minnesota.
What is the abbreviation for Washington state?
WA. Washington, D.C., is DC, which is why addresses in the capital end in “Washington, DC.”
Should state abbreviations have periods?
Not the two-letter postal codes. Periods appear only in traditional abbreviations such as N.Y. or Mass. used by AP style.