Image: Yuanshuai Si/Moment/Getty Images
About This Quiz
We've got big states and small ones. States that trend toward desert-like conditions and others that remain more temperate. States you shouldn't mess with and states with "so much to discover." Yet, as vast and as different as this country is, all 50 states share at least one commonality: They all have a state capital where the business of the people is done. State capitals are different from state capitols, but you'll find the latter in the former. A state capital is the city or town designated as the official "headquarters" of a state; a capitol is the building where people like governors, state senators and other legislators meet. So, you'll have a capitol in a capital, but never a capital in a capitol! Phew.
America has some pretty cool state capitals, to be honest. (And, some cool capitol buildings - see: West Virginia's gold leaf dome or Connecticut's castle-like structure.) Georgia's capital is not only the seat of state government, but home to roughly 20 Fortune 500 headquarters. California's state capital was not the first, second or even third to serve in that capacity. Some state capitals are pretty well-known (think Texas) while others might require a good hint (luckily, we have lots of those). So, come on! Make capital connections in this quiz between these important cities and their states. Do you know the difference between Trenton and Topeka? Hartford and Helena? It's time to see ... let's go!
Quahog
Springfield
Springfield is the capital of Illinois and also the name of the town where the cartoon family "The Simpsons" live. The only difference? The Springfield in the cartoon is in Oregon.
Aberdale
Arlen
Advertisement
Utah
Arizona
Hawaii
The newest of the 50 U.S. states, Hawaii joined the union in 1959. Its capital, Honolulu, is located on Oahu, the third-largest of Hawaii's eight islands. The largest is Hawaii, simply known as the Big Island.
Alaska
Advertisement
Michigan
Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa, has been the state's capital since the mid-1800s when it moved from Iowa City. Today, Des Moines also hosts the Iowa State Fair, which draws roughly 1 million visitors to this town of 200,000.
Indiana
Minnesota
Advertisement
Colorado
Wyoming
New Mexico
Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah, is home to the largest church of the Mormon faith, known as the Salt Lake Temple. As the city's capital, it is home to roughly 200,000 Utahans and the state's NBA team, the Utah Jazz.
Advertisement
Wisconsin
South Dakota
Minnesota
One of the most well-known cities in the state of Minnesota is Minneapolis, but that's not the state's capital. The nearby Saint Paul is. The two are commonly referred to as the "Twin Cities" due to their proximity and size.
Michigan
Advertisement
Portland
Cheyenne
The city of Cheyenne is not only Wyoming's capital, but also the most populous city in the entire state. Cheyenne is rich in Western history with museums dedicated to preserving historic artifacts.
Sonoma
Columbus
Advertisement
Salem
Topeka
Pierre
Little Rock
Little Rock serves as the capital city of Arkansas and the home of the governor. Clinton was governor of Arkansas from both 1979 to 1981 (the second youngest Arkansas governor ever) and from 1983 to 1992.
Advertisement
Maine
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania technically considers itself a Commonwealth, not a state, but it still has a capital known as Harrisburg. Harrisburg is moments from Hersheypark, a chocolate-themed amusement park.
Indiana
Ohio
Advertisement
North Carolina
Kentucky
Virginia
St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia, was the site of the speech with the iconic phrase, "Give me liberty or give me death." Richmond serves as Commonwealth of Virginia's capital.
West Virginia
Advertisement
Cheyenne
Boise
Boise is Idaho's state capital, and is also home to Boise State University, whose Broncos play on a blue field that has been affectionately dubbed "Smurf Turf." The blue field is located at Albertsons Stadium.
Pocatello
Bozeman
Advertisement
Indianaola
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the seat of government for Indiana, and is located nearly in the dead center of the state. The name of the city was decided by a judge who opted to simply pair the state's name with "polis," Greek for "city."
Indianana
Indianaville
Advertisement
Bridgeport
Boston
Boston is both the site of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' state government and the site of the infamous Boston Tea Party that took place at the Boston Harbor in 1773.
Worcester
Salem
Advertisement
Hartford
Harrisburg
PIerre
Topeka
From three words of the Kaw, Omaha, and Iowa tribes, the name "Topeka" loosely translates to "A good place to dig potatoes," according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Topeka has been the capital city of Kansas since 1861.
Advertisement
Cranston
Providence
Interesting tidbit: The official state name of Rhode Island is "The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." Providence Plantations was the original capital city's name.
Newport
Warwick
Advertisement
Missouri
Mississippi
Throughout Mississippi, music lovers can learn about the history of blues as it has impacted the state through the Mississippi Blues Trail. Jackson has roughly a dozen points along that trail.
Arkansas
South Dakota
Advertisement
Texas
Texas' capital has been Austin since 1839, though it was known as Waterloo for a period of time. It would later be renamed in honor of Stephen F. Austin, who Texans consider to be the founder or father of their state.
Utah
Wyoming
Arizona
Advertisement
Savannah
Duluth
Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia, has a lot going on. Not only is it the state capital, but it is home to numerous business headquarters including Coca-Cola and Chick-Fil-A. It also boasts one of the world's busiest airports.
Albany
Advertisement
Montana
Nevada
Carson City, Nevada, suffers from a bit of a complex. Not only does it consider itself an "unknown" state capital among the 50 states, but it also takes a backseat to Nevada's more popular locales like Vegas and Reno.
North Dakota
New Hampshire
Advertisement
Illinois
Missouri
Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri, known as the "Show Me State." The state earned that nickname, in part, due to a politician saying he needed to be shown proof rather than just receiving lip service.
Iowa
Arkansas
Advertisement
Charleston
Madison
It might seem unusual that Madison, Wisconsin's capital city, would choose a pink flamingo as its "official bird," but that's exactly what they did in 2009. The comical pick, a bird not indigenous to Wisconsin by any means, was an homage to a prank pulled on the University of Wisconsin-Madison's dean back in the 1970s.
Jackson
Manchester
Advertisement
Huntington
Charleston
The capital city of Charleston, West Virginia, is nestled alongside the Kanawha River. The capitol building's dome is made up of 23 1/2 carat gold leaf across its 293-ft. size.
Martingsburg
Bridgeport
Advertisement
Arizona
New Mexico
California
California had a bit of a capital "identity crisis," starting with Monterey in 1774, followed by San Jose, Vallejo, Benicia and San Francisco. They finally settled on Sacramento in 1869 and have stuck with it ever since.
Nevada
Advertisement
Aurora
Boulder
Denver
Denver is home to the NFL's Denver Broncos and the state of Colorado's capital. Denver's "Mile High" designation actually is measured from a specific point at the state capitol complex.
Colorado Springs
Advertisement
Raleigh
The state capital of North Carolina, Raleigh, was named for Sir Walter Raleigh, who was accused of treason in England and executed. Raleigh is part of an area in North Carolina known as the Research Triangle, for the vast number of well-known universities in the area.
Durham
Charlotte
Wilmington
Advertisement
Oklahoma
Oregon
Ohio
Located in central Ohio, Columbus is the third city to serve as the state's capital behind Chillicothe and Zanesville. Wendy's got its start in this capital city and is even today headquartered just outside the town.
Washington
Advertisement
Dover
Juneau
The city of Juneau ranks right up there with largest America cities in terms of size, and serves as the 49th state's capital. Juneau is located in the southeastern corner of the state.
Boise
Pierre
Advertisement
Gatlingburg
Nashville
Nashville is both the capital of Tennessee and home to a bevy of musical attractions including the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Nashville has actually been Tennessee's capital two different times.
Memphis
Knoxville
Advertisement
Washington
Lincoln
Nebraska's state capital is Lincoln, located in the eastern part of the state. Nebraska earned its nickname after it borrowed it from the state's flagship university, the University of Nebraska.
Jefferson
Monroe
Advertisement
South Dakota
Montana
Washington
Washington's capital, Olympia, didn't arrive at that title easily. Several other cities, including Seattle and Tacoma, put up a good fight to become the seat of the state's government.
Colorado
Advertisement
Rutland
Burlington
Montpelier
At last count, Montpelier, Vermont, had roughly 7,500 residents, making it the smallest of all state capitals by a decent amount. It's also pretty famous as being the headquarters of the sweet treat company, Ben & Jerry's.
Stowe
Advertisement
New Jersey City
Edison
Princeton
Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey, was the site of the very first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, even though Philadelphia gets most of the credit. The Trenton reading happened at the Hunterdon County Courthouse, where a plaque today marks the occurrence.
Advertisement
Bowling Green
Frankfort
Though the Commonwealth of Kentucky's state capital is Frankfort, is probably started as Frank's ford. An early settler named Stephen Frank was killed there and survivors began referring to it as Frank's ford.
Lexington
Ashland
Advertisement
Las Cruces
Puebla
Santa Fe
The city of Santa Fe is the seat of the state government in New Mexico and also home to the country's oldest church building, the San Miguel Church. That makes the city's meaning in Spanish that much more appropriate.
Albuequerque
Advertisement
Ocean City
Baltimore
Annapolis
Annapolis has a storied history that includes serving as the U.S. capital for a few years in the 1780s and serving as the home of the U.S. Naval Academy, where members of our U.S. military can receive a prestigious four-year degree.
Bethesda
Advertisement
Tallahassee
Tallahassee is the state capital of Florida, which earned its "Sunshine State" nickname for its subtropical climate, sunny days and hundreds of miles of beaches around the state.
Sacramento
Columbia
Austin
Advertisement
Shreveport
New Orleans
Baton Rouge
Louisiana earned the nickname the "Pelican State" in honor of the state's official bird. Though there are larger, more recognizable cities in the state, Baton Rouge became the state's capital in 1846, though the capital was briefly moved to New Orleans for a short time.
Lafayette
Advertisement
Little Rock
Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina, is home to the University of South Carolina, not Columbia University, which is in New York City. South Carolina was nicknamed the "Palmetto State" after the state tree, a sabal palmetto.
Raleigh
Athens
Advertisement
Salem
Located in the Pacific Northwest, Salem serves as the state capital for Oregon, dubbed the "Beaver State." The area now known as Salem began as a missionary post for providing food and medicine to fur traders.
Eugene
Bend
Medford
Advertisement
Montana
Idaho
North Dakota
A bismarck is both a type of pastry and the capital of North Dakota. North Dakota is home to an attraction known as the International Peace Garden, which bridges the border of the U.S. and Canada.
South Dakota
Advertisement
Bangor
Augusta
Maine is well-known for its pine trees and its cities including Portland and Bangor, but it is actually Augusta that serves as the state's capital. It is one of the least populated of all of the U.S. capital cities.
Portland
Sanford
Advertisement
You Got:
/40
