Skip to content
genspinner
en

Random State Generator

Pick one or more random US states, with capitals, nicknames and the year each joined the Union.

Pick states

Exclude statesNone
Exclude states

  1. Florida

    FL · Capital: Tallahassee · Sunshine State · Joined 1845

    South

  2. Louisiana

    LA · Capital: Baton Rouge · Pelican State · Joined 1812

    South

  3. Pennsylvania

    PA · Capital: Harrisburg · Keystone State · Joined 1787

    Northeast

  4. New York

    NY · Capital: Albany · Empire State · Joined 1788

    Northeast

  5. South Dakota

    SD · Capital: Pierre · Mount Rushmore State · Joined 1889

    Midwest

Ways to use a random state picker

  • Geography quizzes. Turn off “Show capital, nickname and year”, name the capital yourself, then turn the details back on to check.
  • Fair class assignments. Give every student a different state for a report. Exclude states that are already taken as you go.
  • Road trips and travel goals. Filter by region to pick your next weekend destination or a state to visit this year.
  • Games and challenges. Use it for state bingo, license plate games or a “cook a dish from this state” night.
  • Story settings. Set your next short story in a state you've never been to and research it as you write.

US regions used by the filter

Regions follow the US Census Bureau's four statistical regions. When included, Washington, D.C. is grouped with the South, as the Census Bureau does.

RegionStatesIncluded
Northeast9CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT
Midwest12IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI
South16AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV
West13AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY

How the randomizer works

The generator shuffles every state that matches your filters with a Fisher–Yates shuffle and takes the first few, so each eligible state has exactly the same chance of being picked.

With Allow duplicates on, every pick is independent, like rolling a 50-sided die, so the same state can come up more than once. Set the number to 50 with duplicates off to get all 50 states in a random order.

Frequently asked questions

Is Washington, D.C. included?
Not by default, because it is a federal district rather than a state. Turn on “Include Washington, D.C.” to add it to the pool.
Can I get all 50 states in random order?
Yes. Set the number of states to 50, keep duplicates off and choose “Random order”. You'll get a shuffled list of every state, which is handy for quizzes and class assignments.
What does the year next to each state mean?
It is the year the state was admitted to the Union. For the original 13 states, it is the year each ratified the US Constitution.
How do I leave out certain states?
Open “Exclude states” and tick the states you don't want. They stay excluded until you untick them or clear the list.

last updated