State capitals are home to the offices and meeting places of state governments. The word capital is derived from the Latincaput , meaning "head." In the United States, the related term "capitol" refers to the building where government business is chiefly conducted.
All current state capitals were established by 1910.[1] [2] [3]
States selected their capitals for a variety of reasons, including: the presence of a large population; a desire to drive settlement and economic growth to an area; historical significance, such as the first area settled; or perceived safety from historical military threats.[3]
List of capitals in the United States The following table lists capitals for all 50 states. Click on the names of capitals to learn more about each capital's government structure, current leadership, recent and upcoming elections, and demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Ballotpedia'scoverage scope includes elections for mayor, city council, and district attorney in each state capital.
State capitals States A-K States L-N States O-W Montgomery, Alabama Baton Rouge, Louisiana Columbus, Ohio Juneau, Alaska Augusta, Maine Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Phoenix, Arizona Annapolis, Maryland Salem, Oregon Little Rock, Arkansas Boston, Massachusetts Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Sacramento, California Lansing, Michigan Providence, Rhode Island Denver, Colorado St. Paul, Minnesota Columbia, South Carolina Hartford, Connecticut Jackson, Mississippi Pierre, South Dakota Dover, Delaware Jefferson City, Missouri Nashville, Tennessee Tallahassee, Florida Helena, Montana Austin, Texas Atlanta, Georgia Lincoln, Nebraska Salt Lake City, Utah Honolulu, Hawaii Carson City, Nevada Montpelier, Vermont Boise, Idaho Concord, New Hampshire Richmond, Virginia Springfield, Illinois Trenton, New Jersey Olympia, Washington Indianapolis, Indiana Santa Fe, New Mexico Charleston, West Virginia Des Moines, Iowa Albany, New York Madison, Wisconsin Topeka, Kansas Raleigh, North Carolina Cheyenne, Wyoming Frankfort, Kentucky Bismarck, North Dakota
State and capital populations
Did you know? As of the 2020 census,17 capitals were the largest cities in their states by population.
Phoenix, Arizona Little Rock, Arkansas Denver, Colorado Atlanta, Georgia Honolulu, Hawaii Boise, Idaho Indianapolis, Indiana Des Moines, Iowa Boston, Massachusetts Jackson, Mississippi Columbus, Ohio Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Providence, Rhode Island Nashville, Tennessee Salt Lake City, Utah Charleston, West Virginia Cheyenne, Wyoming Largest and smallest capitals by population:
Phoenix, Arizona , was thelargest capital by population , with 1.6 million residents as of April 1, 2020.[4] Montpelier, Vermont , was thesmallest capital by population , with 8,074 residents as of April 1, 2020.[5] Largest and smallest capitals by land area:
Juneau, Alaska , is thelargest capital by land area , at 3,255 square miles.[6] fifth smallest by population , with 32,255 residents as of April 1, 2020.[7] Annapolis, Maryland , is thesmallest capital by land area , encompassing 6.73 square miles.[8] seventh smallest by population , with 40,812 residents as of April 1, 2020.[9] 2026 legislative sessions What's happening in your state capital? Click your state on the map below to navigate to relevant legislative information.
Choose your state... Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington, D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
http://ballotpedia.org/2026_STATE_legislative_session
See also Footnotes
↑ World Atlas , "Capital Cities Of The 50 U.S. States," updated April 25, 2017↑ One World Nations Online , "Capital Cities of the USA," accessed February 4, 2019↑3.0 3.1 International Business Times , "States Of The Union: The Weird, Bizarre, Fascinating World Of State Capitals," February 13, 2013↑ United States Census Bureau , "QuickFacts Phoenix city, Arizona," accessed October 18, 2021↑ United States Census Bureau , "QuickFacts Montpelier city, Vermont," accessed October 18, 2021↑ Travel Juneau , "Fast Facts," accessed February 4, 2019↑ United States Census Bureau , "QuickFacts Juneau city and borough, Alaska," accessed October 18, 2021↑ World Atlas , "The 10 Least Populated State Capitals," accessed February 4, 2019↑ United States Census Bureau , "QuickFacts Annapolis city, Maryland," accessed October 18, 2021Editorial Content
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Josh Altic, Director of Content •
Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data •
Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features •
Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures •
Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News •
Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion •
Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections •
Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law •
Joel Williams, Managing Editor of Events •
Joseph Greaney, Managing Editor of Policy •
Andrew Bahl •
Jaclyn Beran •
Marielle Bricker •
Joseph Brusgard •
Emma Burlingame •
Kelly Coyle •
Jon Dunn •
Victoria Edwards •
Thomas Ellis •
Nicole Fisher •
Thomas Grobben •
Brianna Hosea •
Molly Kehoe •
Tyler King •
Glorie Martinez •
Norm Leahy, Senior Editor •
Nathan Maxwell •
Jimmy McAllister •
Brandon McCauley •
Andrew McNair •
Ellie Mikus •
Mackenzie Murphy •
Kaley Platek •
Samantha Post •
Adam Powell •
Annelise Reinwald •
Spencer Richardson •
Victoria Rose •
Briana Ryan •
Myj Saintyl •
Maddy Salucka •
Emma Soukup •
Alexis Thacker •
Mina Vogel •
Samuel Wonacott •
Trenton Woodcox 
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