US states and capitals: The full list of 50 states, their capital cities, and the right terms for DC, commonwealths, and territories

The United States has 50 states, and each one has a capital city where its government sits [1]. The country also has a federal district, four states officially called “commonwealths,” and several territories with their own capitals. This article gives the full list and explains which word fits which place. It also separates documented facts from common myths.

The short answer

Each state has a state capital. Washington, D.C. is a federal district and is not a state [6, 7]. Five inhabited territories each have a capital of their own [1, 8]. The word commonwealth appears in the names of four states, and it changes nothing legally for them [4, 5]. It has a real meaning only for two territories, which are covered below.

All 50 states and their capitals

The list below follows the widely used reference table of US capitals [1, 2]. The four states marked “Commonwealth” are explained in the next section.

State	Capital
Alabama	Montgomery
Alaska	Juneau
Arizona	Phoenix
Arkansas	Little Rock
California	Sacramento
Colorado	Denver
Connecticut	Hartford
Delaware	Dover
Florida	Tallahassee
Georgia	Atlanta
Hawaii	Honolulu
Idaho	Boise
Illinois	Springfield
Indiana	Indianapolis
Iowa	Des Moines
Kansas	Topeka
Kentucky (Commonwealth)	Frankfort
Louisiana	Baton Rouge
Maine	Augusta
Maryland	Annapolis
Massachusetts (Commonwealth)	Boston
Michigan	Lansing
Minnesota	Saint Paul
Mississippi	Jackson
Missouri	Jefferson City
Montana	Helena
Nebraska	Lincoln
Nevada	Carson City
New Hampshire	Concord
New Jersey	Trenton
New Mexico	Santa Fe
New York	Albany
North Carolina	Raleigh
North Dakota	Bismarck
Ohio	Columbus
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City
Oregon	Salem
Pennsylvania (Commonwealth)	Harrisburg
Rhode Island	Providence
South Carolina	Columbia
South Dakota	Pierre
Tennessee	Nashville
Texas	Austin
Utah	Salt Lake City
Vermont	Montpelier
Virginia (Commonwealth)	Richmond
Washington	Olympia
West Virginia	Charleston
Wisconsin	Madison
Wyoming	Cheyenne

Which word fits which place

Term	What it means	Examples
State	One of the 50 members of the union, with a capital city	Texas, Ohio
Commonwealth (state)	A state whose official name uses the word, with no legal difference [4, 5]	Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia
Federal district	Land under the exclusive control of Congress, not a state [6, 7]	District of Columbia
Territory (insular area)	A US territory that is not part of any state or of D.C. [1]	Guam, American Samoa
Commonwealth (territory)	A self-governing territory whose status Congress can still change [9, 10]	Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands

Note that “commonwealth” means two different things in the US. For states it is only part of the name. For territories it describes a political relationship with Congress.

Think of the United States like a big house with different kinds of rooms. They are all connected to the same house, but the rooms don’t all have the same rules.

Here is the easiest way to understand it:

🇺🇸 1. State = a full member of the USA

A state is like a full member of the American family.

There are 50 states.

Examples:

Texas
Ohio
California
New York

Each state has:

its own government
its own capital city
its own laws
representatives in the federal government

So you can think:

USA → State → City

For example:

USA → Texas → Austin

Austin is the capital of Texas.

🏛️ 2. Commonwealth (state) = just another name for a state

This one sounds complicated, but it is actually very simple.

Some states decided to put the word “Commonwealth” in their official name.

For example:

Commonwealth of Kentucky
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Commonwealth of Virginia

But here’s the important part:

They are still states.

There is no special extra power that comes from being called a Commonwealth.

So:

Commonwealth of Virginia = State of Virginia

It’s basically like someone being named “John Michael Smith” but everyone calling him “John Smith.”

The word “Commonwealth” is part of the official name, but it doesn’t turn the state into something different.

🏛️ 3. Federal district = Washington, D.C.

Now we have something different.

Washington, D.C. is not a state.

“D.C.” means District of Columbia.

Think of it as a special piece of land created to be the home of the U.S. federal government.

It contains places such as:

the White House
the U.S. Capitol
the Supreme Court

So:

Washington, D.C. ≠ State

It is a federal district.

A very simple way to remember it:

States are homes for state governments. D.C. is the special home of the U.S. federal government.

🌴 4. Territory = belongs to the USA, but isn’t a state

Now imagine the USA has some extra pieces of land that are connected to the United States but aren’t states.

These are called territories.

Examples include:

Guam
American Samoa
U.S. Virgin Islands

They are under U.S. sovereignty, but they are not part of the 50 states.

So:

USA
→ 50 States
→ D.C.
→ Territories

Think of a territory as:

“You’re part of the American family, but you’re not one of the 50 children called states.”

🏝️ 5. Commonwealth (territory) = a special kind of U.S. territory

This is where the word Commonwealth becomes confusing.

Remember: Commonwealth can mean two completely different things in the U.S.

For territories, it refers to a particular political relationship with the United States.

The two examples in the above table are:

Puerto Rico
Northern Mariana Islands

They are U.S. territories with commonwealth status.

They have their own local governments and substantial authority over local matters, while the U.S. Congress retains constitutional authority over their territorial status.

So you can think:

Commonwealth territory = a territory with a special self-government arrangement.

🧸 Now let’s make it REALLY simple

Imagine the USA is a giant school.

👦 States = regular students who are full members

Texas, Ohio, California, etc.

50 of them.

👦 Commonwealth states = regular students with a special name tag

Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

They are still states.

The “Commonwealth” label doesn’t give them a different level of membership.

🏫 D.C. = the principal’s office

Washington, D.C. is the special place where the national government is located.

It is not a state.

🧒 Territories = students who are part of the school community but aren’t in the regular 50-student group

Guam, American Samoa, etc.

They are under U.S. sovereignty but aren’t states.

🧒 Commonwealth territories = students with a special arrangement

Puerto Rico and Northern Mariana Islands have territorial status with a particular form of self-government.

The easiest chart to remember

Place	Is it a state?	What is it?	Example
State	✅ Yes	Full U.S. state	Texas
Commonwealth state	✅ Yes	A state that uses “Commonwealth” in its official name	Virginia
Federal district	❌ No	Special federal district	Washington, D.C.
Territory	❌ No	U.S. territory outside the states and D.C.	Guam
Commonwealth territory	❌ No	Territory with a special political/self-government arrangement	Puerto Rico

⭐ The BIG thing to remember

“Commonwealth” does NOT always mean the same thing.

When you see:

Commonwealth of Virginia → 🟢 It’s a state.

But:

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico → 🟠 It’s a territory, not a state.

So don’t look at the word Commonwealth by itself. Look at what comes after it and what political category that place belongs to.

50 states + Washington, D.C. + U.S. territories is the basic picture.

The four commonwealth states

Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia are officially commonwealths [4, 5]. The Library of Congress states plainly that there is no difference between these four and the other 46 states [4]. Britannica says the same [5].

The word comes from their constitutions. Virginia and Pennsylvania used it in their 1776 constitutions, and Massachusetts used it in 1780 [3]. Kentucky is also called a commonwealth in its full official name [3]. Britannica notes that in the three older states the word was documented as a form of protest against the British monarchy [5]. Merriam-Webster adds that the word also applies to two territories, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, but in a different sense [10].

Washington, D.C.: a district, not a state

The Constitution lets Congress create a district to serve as the seat of government. The Residence Act of 1790 placed that district on the Potomac River, on land given by Maryland and Virginia [6]. Congress gave itself exclusive jurisdiction over the district [6]. Congress first met in Washington on November 17, 1800 [1].

Since the Home Rule Act of 1973, residents elect a mayor and city council [6]. The Brennan Center explains that seats in Congress and votes in the Electoral College are allocated among states, and the district is not a state [7]. That is why D.C. lacks full voting representation in Congress.

Whether D.C. should become a state is an open political debate, and it is not settled fact. The Brennan Center, which supports statehood, argues that Congress can grant it by ordinary law [7]. It describes the opposing arguments as claims that the 23rd Amendment or the need for a constitutional amendment blocks statehood, and it rejects them [7]. Readers should treat that source as one side of the argument.

The territories and their capitals

The Congressional Research Service says the US has plenary authority over five major territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands [8]. Their capitals are listed below [1].

Territory	Capital
American Samoa	Pago Pago (the official seat of government is Fagatogo)
Guam	Hagåtña
Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan
Puerto Rico	San Juan
US Virgin Islands	Charlotte Amalie

The 2020 census counted 3,285,874 people in Puerto Rico, 153,836 in Guam, 49,710 in American Samoa, and 47,329 in the Northern Mariana Islands [8].

Puerto Rico’s constitution was ratified by its people and approved by Congress in 1952 [9]. Its residents are US citizens, but they cannot vote in presidential elections and have no voting representation in Congress [9]. Congress can change the commonwealth’s status, while the position of states in the union is constitutionally guaranteed [9]. Guam is an organized territory but is not a commonwealth [9].

Documented facts about state capitals

Boston has been a capital since 1630 and is the oldest continuously running capital in the US [1].
Santa Fe became a capital in 1610, which makes it the oldest capital city [1].
Ten of the original 13 states and 15 other states have moved their capital at least once, and Oklahoma was the last to do so, in 1910 [1].
Montpelier, Vermont, is the smallest capital, with 8,074 people in the 2020 census. Phoenix is the largest, with 1,608,139 [1].
Rhode Island’s official name changed in 2020 from “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations” to “State of Rhode Island” [1].

Myths versus documented facts

Claim	Status	What is documented
“The biggest city in a state is its capital.”	Myth	Many capitals are not the largest city. In 2020 Sacramento ranked 6th in California, Albany 6th in New York, and Olympia 23rd in Washington [1].
“New York City is the capital of New York.”	Myth	The capital is Albany [1].
“Commonwealth states have special powers.”	Myth	There is no legal difference from other states [4, 5, 10].
“D.C. is a state.”	Myth	It is a federal district under the authority of Congress [6, 7].
“Puerto Rico is a state.”	Myth	It is a territory, and Congress can redefine its status [8, 9].
“Washington has always been the US capital.”	Myth	Congress met in several cities before 1800, including Philadelphia and New York [1].
“D.C. should become a state.”	Debated opinion	This is a political argument with two sides, not a fact [7].

How other countries handle the same idea

Many federal countries separate the national capital from the states. Nigeria has 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory around Abuja. The territory is not a state and is run by a minister the president appoints [11]. Abuja replaced Lagos as the capital in December 1991 [11].

India has 28 states and 8 union territories. Delhi is a union territory with its own elected legislature, and Chandigarh is the shared capital of two states while also being a union territory [12]. So the US arrangement, with a special district for the capital, is one design among several. Readers in Africa or Asia may recognize their own country’s version of it.

Disclaimer

Political and legal statuses can change. The debates over D.C. statehood and territorial status are still ongoing, and the numbers here come from the sources listed below, mainly the 2020 US census. Some background sources are encyclopedic or advocacy-oriented, and they are labeled where that matters. If you spot an error or an outdated detail, please contact us with feedback or corrections, and we will review it.

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