List of U.S. states by traditional abbreviation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of traditional abbreviations for U.S. states and territories, which were widely used in mailing addresses prior to the introduction of two-letter U.S. postal abbreviations. The traditional abbreviations are still commonly used in contexts other than mailing addresses. According to the AP Stylebook, traditional abbreviations should be used in text when preceded by the city (for example, "Miami, Fla.") and in datelines. The United States Government Printing Office (GPO) used a specific set of abbreviations, with some states being unabbreviated, while some additional abbreviations were used by others, with varying degrees of popularity.

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

[edit] References

• The Riverside Publishing Company. (1984). Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary. ISBN 039533957X
• Chicago Manual of Style and AP Style Manual state abbreviations