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List of U.S. state capitals

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

States (purple) whose capital is also that state's largest city by population (2016 estimate).

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 capitals of the United States
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]
  1. "Montpelier Vermont Lodging Real Estate History Vermont Living Magazine". 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07.