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How to play
The quiz covers all 50 state capitals in random order. Tap the right state: green means first try, yellow means found on a retry, red means missed. Use + or pinch to zoom into crowded areas.
Tips
- Many capitals aren't the biggest city: Albany not New York City, Sacramento not Los Angeles, Springfield not Chicago, Tallahassee not Miami.
- Group by theme: Jefferson City, Lincoln, Madison and Jackson are named after presidents; Columbus after the explorer.
- Print the US capitals map PDF and quiz yourself away from the screen.
Practise on paper
Print the blank map (PDF) and fill it in by hand, then check against the labelled map. Or make your own worksheet in the editable map.
Questions
How is the quiz scored?
Only a first-try answer counts as correct. After two misses you get a hint (two neighbours); after three the answer is shown in red. Your best percentage is saved in this browser only.
Which US state capitals are hardest to remember?
Commonly missed ones include Pierre (South Dakota), Montpelier (Vermont), Augusta (Maine), Frankfort (Kentucky), Olympia (Washington), Salem (Oregon) and Harrisburg (Pennsylvania), mostly because a bigger, better-known city is in the same state.
What is the smallest state capital?
Montpelier, Vermont, is the least populous US state capital, with about 8,000 residents in the 2020 census.
Are there two capitals with the same name?
No two states share a capital name, but several are easy to confuse: Columbia (South Carolina) and Columbus (Ohio); Charleston is the capital of West Virginia, not South Carolina; and Springfield is the capital of Illinois even though Missouri and Massachusetts have large Springfields too.