List of U.S. states by traditional abbreviation

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U.S. states

The traditional abbreviations for U.S. states and territories were widely used in mailing addresses prior to the introduction of two-letter U.S. postal abbreviations. The traditional abbreviations are still commonly used for other purposes (such as legal citation), and are still recognized (though discouraged) by the postal service.

Prior to 1987, when the U.S. Secretary of Commerce approved the two-letter codes for use in government documents, the United States Government Printing Office (GPO) suggested a specific set of abbreviations, with some states being left unabbreviated.

Additionally, the AP Stylebook, the usage guide for most United States newspapers, counsels the use of abbreviations for most state names, when appended to a city name (for example, "Miami, Fla."). AP suggests spelling out "Alaska," "Hawaii," and all state names with five or fewer letters; and, unlike the GPO, AP suggests spelling out the names of all non-state territories, with the exception of the District of Columbia (D.C.).

Below are listed the GPO abbreviations for U.S. states and territories; the AP abbreviations for states; and other abbreviations that are or have been commonly used.

State or Territory	GPO	AP	Other
Alabama	Ala.	Ala.
Alaska	Alaska	Alaska	Alas.
American Samoa	A.S.
Arizona	Ariz.	Ariz.
Arkansas	Ark.	Ark.
Canal Zone	C.Z.
California	Calif.	Calif.	Cal.
Colorado	Colo.	Colo.	Col.
Connecticut	Conn.	Conn.
Delaware	Del.	Del.
District of Columbia	D.C.	D.C.
Florida	Fla.	Fla.	Flor.
Georgia	Ga.	Ga.
Guam	Guam
Hawaii	Hawaii	Hawaii	H.I.
Idaho	Idaho	Idaho	Id. or Ida.
Illinois	Ill.	Ill.
Indiana	Ind.	Ind.
Iowa	Iowa	Iowa	Ia.
Kansas	Kans.	Kan.
Kentucky	Ky.	Ky.	Ken. or Kent.
Louisiana	La.	La.
Maine	Maine	Maine	Me.
Maryland	Md.	Md.
Massachusetts	Mass.	Mass.
Michigan	Mich.	Mich.
Minnesota	Minn.	Minn.
Mississippi	Miss.	Miss.
Missouri	Mo.	Mo.
Montana	Mont.	Mont.
Nebraska	Nebr.	Neb.
Nevada	Nev.	Nev.
New Hampshire	N.H.	N.H.
New Jersey	N.J.	N.J.
New Mexico	N. Mex.	N.M.	New M.
New York	N.Y.	N.Y.	N. York
North Carolina	N.C.	N.C.	N. Car.
North Dakota	N. Dak.	N.D.
Northern Mariana Islands	M.P.
Ohio	Ohio	Ohio	O.
Oklahoma	Okla.	Okla.
Oregon	Oreg.	Ore.
Pennsylvania	Pa.	Pa.	Penn. or Penna.
Puerto Rico	P.R.
Rhode Island	R.I.	R.I.
South Carolina	S.C.	S.C.	S. Car.
South Dakota	S. Dak.	S.D.
Tennessee	Tenn.	Tenn.
Texas	Tex.	Texas
Utah	Utah	Utah
Vermont	Vt.	Vt.
Virginia	Va.	Va.
Virgin Islands	V.I.		U.S.V.I.
Washington	Wash.	Wash.
West Virginia	W. Va.	W.Va.	W.V.
Wisconsin	Wis.	Wis.	Wisc.
Wyoming	Wyo.	Wyo.