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The 50 States: Capitals, Statehood Dates and Size

Every state in order of admission, from Delaware in 1787 to Hawaii in 1959, with its capital and size.

The United States began with 13 states and reached 50 in 1959. The first 13 joined by ratifying the Constitution, starting with Delaware on December 7, 1787, and ending with Rhode Island on May 29, 1790, more than a year after George Washington took office. Every state after that was admitted by Congress.

Most of the 37 later states began as federal territories. Residents organized a government, Congress passed an enabling act or accepted a proposed constitution, and the state was admitted on an equal footing with the rest. A few skipped the territorial stage. Vermont had been an independent republic, Kentucky and Maine were carved out of Virginia and Massachusetts, Texas was an independent nation, California went from military rule straight to statehood, and West Virginia split from Virginia during the Civil War.

Alaska (January 3, 1959) and Hawaii (August 21, 1959) were the last to join. December is the busiest month on the statehood calendar: nine states date their admission to it, from Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 1787 to Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Texas and Iowa. The list below runs in order of statehood, with each state’s capital and total area.

#PlaceWhy it's here
1 Delaware
Delaware 		No. 1 - ratified Dec 7, 1787. Capital: Dover. 2,489 sq mi.
2 Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania 		No. 2 - ratified Dec 12, 1787. Capital: Harrisburg. 46,054 sq mi.
3 New Jersey
New Jersey 		No. 3 - ratified Dec 18, 1787. Capital: Trenton. 8,722 sq mi.
4 Georgia
Georgia 		No. 4 - ratified Jan 2, 1788. Capital: Atlanta. 59,425 sq mi.
5 Connecticut
Connecticut 		No. 5 - ratified Jan 9, 1788. Capital: Hartford. 5,543 sq mi.
6 Massachusetts
Massachusetts 		No. 6 - ratified Feb 6, 1788. Capital: Boston. 10,554 sq mi.
7 Maryland
Maryland 		No. 7 - ratified Apr 28, 1788. Capital: Annapolis. 12,406 sq mi.
8 South Carolina
South Carolina 		No. 8 - ratified May 23, 1788. Capital: Columbia. 32,021 sq mi.
9 New Hampshire
New Hampshire 		No. 9 - ratified Jun 21, 1788. Capital: Concord. 9,349 sq mi.
10 Virginia
Virginia 		No. 10 - ratified Jun 25, 1788. Capital: Richmond. 42,775 sq mi.
11 New York
New York 		No. 11 - ratified Jul 26, 1788. Capital: Albany. 54,555 sq mi.
12 North Carolina
North Carolina 		No. 12 - ratified Nov 21, 1789. Capital: Raleigh. 53,819 sq mi.
13 Rhode Island
Rhode Island 		No. 13 - ratified May 29, 1790. Capital: Providence. 1,545 sq mi.
14 Vermont
Vermont 		No. 14 - admitted Mar 4, 1791. Capital: Montpelier. 9,616 sq mi.
15 Kentucky
Kentucky 		No. 15 - admitted Jun 1, 1792. Capital: Frankfort. 40,408 sq mi.
16 Tennessee
Tennessee 		No. 16 - admitted Jun 1, 1796. Capital: Nashville. 42,144 sq mi.
17 Ohio
Ohio 		No. 17 - admitted Mar 1, 1803. Capital: Columbus. 44,826 sq mi.
18 Louisiana
Louisiana 		No. 18 - admitted Apr 30, 1812. Capital: Baton Rouge. 52,378 sq mi.
19 Indiana
Indiana 		No. 19 - admitted Dec 11, 1816. Capital: Indianapolis. 36,419 sq mi.
20 Mississippi
Mississippi 		No. 20 - admitted Dec 10, 1817. Capital: Jackson. 48,432 sq mi.
21 Illinois
Illinois 		No. 21 - admitted Dec 3, 1818. Capital: Springfield. 57,913 sq mi.
22 Alabama
Alabama 		No. 22 - admitted Dec 14, 1819. Capital: Montgomery. 52,420 sq mi.
23 Maine
Maine 		No. 23 - admitted Mar 15, 1820. Capital: Augusta. 35,380 sq mi.
24 Missouri
Missouri 		No. 24 - admitted Aug 10, 1821. Capital: Jefferson City. 69,707 sq mi.
25 Arkansas
Arkansas 		No. 25 - admitted Jun 15, 1836. Capital: Little Rock. 53,179 sq mi.
26 Michigan
Michigan 		No. 26 - admitted Jan 26, 1837. Capital: Lansing. 96,714 sq mi.
27 Florida
Florida 		No. 27 - admitted Mar 3, 1845. Capital: Tallahassee. 65,758 sq mi.
28 Texas
Texas 		No. 28 - admitted Dec 29, 1845. Capital: Austin. 268,596 sq mi.
29 Iowa
Iowa 		No. 29 - admitted Dec 28, 1846. Capital: Des Moines. 56,273 sq mi.
30 Wisconsin
Wisconsin 		No. 30 - admitted May 29, 1848. Capital: Madison. 65,496 sq mi.
31 California
California 		No. 31 - admitted Sep 9, 1850. Capital: Sacramento. 163,695 sq mi.
32 Minnesota
Minnesota 		No. 32 - admitted May 11, 1858. Capital: Saint Paul. 86,936 sq mi.
33 Oregon
Oregon 		No. 33 - admitted Feb 14, 1859. Capital: Salem. 98,378 sq mi.
34 Kansas
Kansas 		No. 34 - admitted Jan 29, 1861. Capital: Topeka. 82,278 sq mi.
35 West Virginia
West Virginia 		No. 35 - admitted Jun 20, 1863. Capital: Charleston. 24,230 sq mi.
36 Nevada
Nevada 		No. 36 - admitted Oct 31, 1864. Capital: Carson City. 110,572 sq mi.
37 Nebraska
Nebraska 		No. 37 - admitted Mar 1, 1867. Capital: Lincoln. 77,348 sq mi.
38 Colorado
Colorado 		No. 38 - admitted Aug 1, 1876. Capital: Denver. 104,093 sq mi.
39 North Dakota
North Dakota 		No. 39 - admitted Nov 2, 1889. Capital: Bismarck. 70,698 sq mi.
40 South Dakota
South Dakota 		No. 40 - admitted Nov 2, 1889. Capital: Pierre. 77,116 sq mi.
41 Montana
Montana 		No. 41 - admitted Nov 8, 1889. Capital: Helena. 147,040 sq mi.
42 Washington
Washington 		No. 42 - admitted Nov 11, 1889. Capital: Olympia. 71,298 sq mi.
43 Idaho
Idaho 		No. 43 - admitted Jul 3, 1890. Capital: Boise. 83,569 sq mi.
44 Wyoming
Wyoming 		No. 44 - admitted Jul 10, 1890. Capital: Cheyenne. 97,813 sq mi.
45 Utah
Utah 		No. 45 - admitted Jan 4, 1896. Capital: Salt Lake City. 84,897 sq mi.
46 Oklahoma
Oklahoma 		No. 46 - admitted Nov 16, 1907. Capital: Oklahoma City. 69,899 sq mi.
47 New Mexico
New Mexico 		No. 47 - admitted Jan 6, 1912. Capital: Santa Fe. 121,590 sq mi.
48 Arizona
Arizona 		No. 48 - admitted Feb 14, 1912. Capital: Phoenix. 113,990 sq mi.
49 Alaska
Alaska 		No. 49 - admitted Jan 3, 1959. Capital: Juneau. 665,384 sq mi.
50 Hawaii
Hawaii 		No. 50 - admitted Aug 21, 1959. Capital: Honolulu. 10,932 sq mi.

How states joined the Union

Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to admit new states and forbids carving a state out of another without the consent of both that state’s legislature and Congress. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set the template: once a territory reached 60,000 free inhabitants, it could seek admission “on an equal footing with the original States.” Politics often set the timing. Maine (1820) and Missouri (1821) came in as a free-and-slave pair under the Missouri Compromise, and North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington all joined within nine days in November 1889. President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the two Dakota proclamations so no one would know which he signed first, and North Dakota is counted 39th only because it comes first alphabetically.

State capitals

The smallest capital by population is Montpelier, Vermont, with 8,074 residents in the 2020 census. The largest is Phoenix, with 1,608,139, the only capital over a million. Just 17 capitals are also their state’s largest city, among them Boston, Denver and Honolulu. The other 33 sit in smaller cities, often picked for a central location or as a compromise between rivals, which is why Albany, Sacramento and Tallahassee govern their states. The oldest, Santa Fe, has been a seat of government since about 1610.

Questions people ask

Which was the first state?

Delaware, whose convention ratified the Constitution unanimously on December 7, 1787. Its capital is Dover.

Which state was last?

Hawaii, admitted August 21, 1959, about seven months after Alaska. Their capitals are Honolulu and Juneau.

How many states have a capital that is not their largest city?

Thirty-three, counting city-limits population. Springfield trails Chicago, Austin trails Houston, San Antonio and Dallas, and Harrisburg trails Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

What is the newest state capital?

Oklahoma City, chosen by a statewide vote on June 11, 1910, to replace Guthrie. No state has moved its capital since.

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