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US States Trivia Questions
A round about the fifty states that goes beyond naming capitals: nicknames, Latin mottos, official birds and flowers, landmarks and admission dates. All of it settled.
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Everybody has tried to learn the fifty state capitals at some point, and most people remember about thirty of them. This round is broader than that. It asks which state calls itself the Beehive State, which one entered the Union in 1791 after the original thirteen, which state chose a roadrunner as its bird, and which one holds Crater Lake.
The appeal is that all of it is fixed. Capitals change only once in a generation, mottos and nicknames are written into statute, and admission dates are historical fact. That makes the round reliable for a quiz night and genuinely learnable. The mix of geography, symbols and history also means the questions land with different people around the table rather than rewarding one specialist.
Capitals: us states trivia questions
Austin serves as the capital of which state?
Answer: Texas EasyHouston and Dallas are both larger, but the seat of government sits in Austin.
Denver is the capital of which state?
Answer: Colorado EasyIt sits at roughly a mile above sea level, hence the Mile High City nickname.
Honolulu is the capital of which state?
Answer: Hawaii EasyIt sits on the island of Oahu, not the largest island in the chain.
Frankfort is the capital of which state?
Answer: Kentucky MediumLouisville and Lexington are both far larger cities.
Pierre is the capital of which state?
Answer: South Dakota MediumIt is one of the least populous state capitals in the country.
Salem is the capital of which state?
Answer: Oregon MediumPortland is much bigger, but the legislature meets in Salem.
Montpelier is the capital of which state?
Answer: Vermont HardIt is the least populous state capital in the country.
Augusta is the capital of which state?
Answer: Maine HardGeorgia has a city called Augusta too, but its capital is Atlanta.
Jefferson City is the capital of which state?
Answer: Missouri HardIt was named for Thomas Jefferson and laid out specifically to be a capital.
Nicknames and mottos: us states trivia questions
Which state is nicknamed the Sunshine State?
Answer: Florida EasyThe nickname has been on Florida licence plates since the 1940s.
The Golden State is a nickname for which state?
Answer: California EasyIt refers to the 1849 gold rush and to the state's golden poppies.
The Lone Star State is which state?
Answer: Texas EasyThe single star comes from its flag as an independent republic in the 1830s.
The Empire State is a nickname for which state?
Answer: New York EasyThe nickname predates the skyscraper that borrowed it.
Which state is known as the Show-Me State?
Answer: Missouri MediumThe phrase suggests a stubborn insistence on proof rather than talk.
Which state's motto is Live Free or Die?
Answer: New Hampshire MediumThe words come from a toast written by a Revolutionary War general in 1809.
The Bay State is a nickname for which state?
Answer: Massachusetts MediumIt refers to Massachusetts Bay, around which the original colony was settled.
The Peach State is a nickname for which state?
Answer: Georgia MediumThe peach appears on the state's licence plates and its quarter.
Which state has the one-word motto Eureka?
Answer: California HardThe Greek word means I have found it, a nod to the gold rush.
The Beehive State is a nickname for which state?
Answer: Utah HardThe beehive stands for industry and appears on the state flag and seal.
Which state's motto is Ad astra per aspera?
Answer: Kansas HardIt translates as to the stars through difficulties.
The Ocean State is a nickname for which state?
Answer: Rhode Island HardNarragansett Bay reaches deep inland, so no part of the state is far from salt water.
Order of admission: us states trivia questions
Which state was the most recent to be admitted to the Union?
Answer: Hawaii EasyHawaii became the fiftieth state in 1959, a few months after Alaska.
Which state was the first to ratify the United States Constitution?
Answer: Delaware EasyDelaware ratified in December 1787, which is why it calls itself the First State.
Which state joined the Union in 1845 as the twenty-eighth state?
Answer: Texas MediumIt had spent the previous nine years as an independent republic.
Which state was admitted as the forty-ninth state?
Answer: Alaska MediumAlaska joined in January 1959, ahead of Hawaii later the same year.
Which state was admitted in 1912 as the forty-eighth state?
Answer: Arizona HardIt completed the contiguous forty-eight, decades before Alaska and Hawaii.
Which state entered the Union as the forty-seventh state, weeks before its neighbour?
Answer: New Mexico HardNew Mexico joined in January 1912 and Arizona followed in February.
Which state was admitted in 1791 as the fourteenth state, the first after the original thirteen?
Answer: Vermont HardIt had governed itself as an independent republic for fourteen years beforehand.
Geography and landmarks: us states trivia questions
The Grand Canyon lies almost entirely within which state?
Answer: Arizona EasyThe Colorado River cut the canyon through the northern Arizona plateau.
Which state covers the largest area?
Answer: Alaska EasyAlaska is more than twice the size of Texas.
Which state has the smallest area?
Answer: Rhode Island EasyDespite the name it is not an island; the state is mostly mainland.
Mount Rushmore was carved in which state?
Answer: South Dakota EasyThe four presidential heads are cut into a granite face in the Black Hills.
Which state shares a land border with only one other state?
Answer: Maine EasyMaine touches only New Hampshire; its other land border is with Canada.
Most of Yellowstone National Park lies within which state?
Answer: Wyoming MediumSmall slivers of the park extend into Montana and Idaho.
Death Valley lies mostly within which state?
Answer: California MediumA small eastern portion of the national park crosses into Nevada.
Acadia National Park is located in which state?
Answer: Maine HardIt sits largely on Mount Desert Island along the Atlantic coast.
Crater Lake is found in which state?
Answer: Oregon HardIt fills the caldera of a collapsed volcano and is the deepest lake in the country.
State symbols: us states trivia questions
The greater roadrunner is the official state bird of which state?
Answer: New Mexico MediumMost states pick a songbird; New Mexico chose a fast-running desert cuckoo.
The sunflower is the official state flower of which state?
Answer: Kansas MediumIt was adopted in 1903 and also appears on the state flag.
The American alligator is the official state reptile of which state?
Answer: Florida MediumLouisiana chose it too, but as the state reptile it belongs to Florida.
The Chesapeake Bay retriever is the official state dog of which state?
Answer: Maryland HardThe breed was developed along the bay to retrieve waterfowl in cold water.
The bluebonnet is the official state flower of which state?
Answer: Texas HardIt is a lupine that carpets roadsides across the state each spring.
Answer key
- Florida
- California
- Texas
- Arizona
- Alaska
- Rhode Island
- Texas
- South Dakota
- Colorado
- Hawaii
- Delaware
- New York
- Maine
- Hawaii
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- Wyoming
- New Hampshire
- Texas
- Massachusetts
- New Mexico
- South Dakota
- California
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Alaska
- Oregon
- Florida
- Vermont
- Maine
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- California
- Utah
- Missouri
- Maine
- Maryland
- Vermont
- Kansas
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Texas
How to play
- Pick a mode: multiple choice, true or false, a 60-second sprint, or the daily quiz.
- Answer with a tap, or press 1 to 4 on a keyboard. The right answer appears straight away with a line explaining it.
- Finish the round to see your score, copy the result grid, and step up a difficulty.
- Hosting a night? The full us states list and a separate answer key are printed below, and the print layout drops the game and keeps the paper.
Tiebreaker questions
Closest guess wins. Read one out when two tables finish level.
How many states are in the United States?
Answer: 50 states The number has stood since Hawaii joined in 1959.
In what year did Alaska become a state?
Answer: 1959 It was admitted in January, with Hawaii following in August of the same year.
In what year did Delaware ratify the Constitution to become the first state?
Answer: 1787 It ratified on 7 December, five days ahead of Pennsylvania.
Common mistakes in us states trivia
- The largest city in a state is usually its capital.
It often is not. Austin, Sacramento, Albany, Salem and Jefferson City are all smaller than the biggest city in their state.
- Rhode Island is an island.
The state is mostly mainland. The name comes from Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay.
- Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union in the same act.
They were separate admissions in 1959: Alaska in January, Hawaii in August.
- Delaware was the first state because it declared independence first.
It is called the First State because it was first to ratify the Constitution, in December 1787.
- Yellowstone National Park is in Montana.
The great majority of the park lies in Wyoming, with small portions crossing into Montana and Idaho.
Running this round at a quiz night
This round suits a mixed table because the knowledge is spread out: someone always knows the mottos, someone else knows the landmarks. Open with four nicknames, since they get everybody talking, then move to capitals and finish with two admission dates. Spell out the less familiar capitals as you read them, because Pierre and Montpelier are easy to mishear. Accept only the official nickname on the sheet and say so before you start, as several states have more than one in circulation. For a tiebreaker, ask the year Delaware ratified the Constitution and give it to the closest guess.
Frequently asked questions
Are these just the state capitals again?
No. Nine questions involve capitals, and the rest cover nicknames, mottos, official state symbols, landmarks and the order in which states joined the Union. If you only want capitals, the name-all list is a better fit.
How do I use this round with children?
Stick to the easy fourteen. Nicknames and landmarks work well with school-age players because the answers are visual, and they tend to stick afterwards, which makes the round quietly educational.
Do state nicknames ever change?
Officially adopted nicknames rarely change, though several states have more than one in circulation. Every nickname used here is the one written into state law or long-established official use, so the answer on the sheet is the one to accept.
Not in a quiz mood?
The question games are a different kind of round: no right answers, just prompts you read out and argue about. Would You RatherNever Have I EverTruth or DareThis or That