All 50 US State Abbreviations Printable List for Kids

Are your children learning how to address letters? Before they can start addressing envelopes they should have their state abbreviations memorized. A state abbreviations printable list and worksheets are a great way to help your kids get a head start on addressing envelopes correctly.

All 50 US State Abbreviations Printable List for Kids

State names and their postal abbreviations are usually taught in a geography unit in the 3rd grade, the 4th grade, and the 5th grade in school.

As a homeschooler, you may want to begin introducing the states and their abbreviations in the earlier grades, like kindergarten, 1st grade or 2nd grade.

I like to make sure that my children have them memorized completely by the time they reach middle school.

Scroll down to the bottom of this post to get our state abbreviations worksheet pack to add to your geography lesson plans!

Who determined state abbreviations?

On July 1st, 1963, the United States Postal Service introduced the 5 digit zip codes. Most printing and addressing equipment only had the ability to add 23 total characters to the bottom line of an address. In order to make room for the full mailing addresses with the zip code, the states needed to be abbreviated.

The Post Office Department provided postal abbreviations, but many of them were 3 -5 letters, which was still too long. In October, 1963, they came up with 2 letter state abbreviations which we still use to this day.

These 2 letter state abbreviations do not have periods after the letters, and these are called the state postal codes.

Are the traditional and standard state abbreviations the same?

Traditional abbreviations are also called standard abbreviations. Yes, they are the same thing. These were original shortened version of the state names that the Post Office first came up with when they realized they needed to shorten the state names.

Some examples of traditional and standard state abbreviations are: 

• Alabama – Ala.
• Alaska – Alaska
• Arizona – Ariz.
• Arkansas – Ark.
• California – Calif.
• Colorado – Colo.
• Hawaii – Hawaii

What are the rules of traditional state abbreviations?

There are eight states that are never abbreviated in datelines or when you are writing papers. These eight states are: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.

These states that are never to be abbreviated (besides addressing envelopes) are the states that have 5 or fewer letters in their names. These also include the states: Alaska and Hawaii.

What are the 50 states postal abbreviations?

These are the postal code state abbreviations that we currently use today. This is state abbreviations list of the states in the United States of America in alphabetical order.

Alabama AL Alaska AK Arizona AZ Arkansas AR California CA Colorado CO Connecticut CT Delaware DE Florida FL Georgia GA Hawaii HI Idaho ID Illinois IL Indiana IN Iowa IA Kansas KS Kentucky KY Louisiana LA Maine ME Maryland MD Massachusetts MA Michigan ME Mississippi MS Missouri MO

Montana MT Nebraska NE Nevada NV New Hampshire NH New Jersey NJ New Mexico NM New York NY North Carolina NC North Dakota ND Ohio OH Oklahoma OK Oregon OR Pennsylvania PA Rhode Island RI South Carolina SC South Dakota SD Tennesee TN Texas TX Utah UT Vermont VT Virginia VA Washington WA West Virginia WV Wisconsin WI Wyoming WY

Learning State Abbreviations as a Life Skill

Learning the abbreviations of each state is a life skill that is very important to teach our kids. Children need to be able to quickly read and identify the abbreviation of a state on a piece of mail.

This will help them to understand and recognize the difference between Paris, TX and Paris, France or Orange County, California and Orange County, Florida.

State abbreviations don’t just show up on mailing addresses. They are listed in many academic textbooks, research papers and on paper maps.

Learning state abbreviations will help your children with addressing envelopes, geographic awareness, critical thinking skills, map practice and navigation!

State Abbreviations Printable List with Map Practice

Learning the abbreviations of 50 different states can feel like a daunting task. Some kids can get confused when the letters are so similar and some of the states look like they would have the same abbreviation, but they don’t.

We have created a pdf file of worksheets to help your children practice matching the state abbreviations to the states that they belong to.

What’s included in the printable:

• State and State Abbreviation Matching – Write the state’s 2 letter abbreviation next to the state name. A word bank is included for extra help.
• Map Skills – Correctly place each state abbreviation on the blank map of the United States.
• Answer Keys – An answer key is included for each worksheet. If your children need some extra help, they can reference the map with the state names and abbreviations. This is also a great way for your kids to practice checking their own work.

How to use the State Abbreviations Printable Worksheets Pack

Our State Abbreviations printable worksheets pack can be used in a variety of ways:

State and State Abbreviation Matching – Use the state abbreviations worksheet on a large chalk board or dry erase board. Write the names of the state on the board and have your child write the abbreviation next to it. Younger children can do this in a salt or sand tray for extra fine motor practice.

Map Skills Practice – Laminate the blank maps and use a dry erase marker to practice writing the state name and the abbreviations on the map. You can also laminate the answer key and hang it up. This can be used a quick reference tool for pointing out the names of the states and where they are located on the map.

Social Studies – Dig deeper into the history of the postal codes and when they were created. Your children can make a list of the traditional abbreviations and then compare them to the 2 letter postal code abbreviations that we use today.

Expand State Studies to include State Capitals – While you are working on memorizing the state abbreviations, you can also work on learning the capital cities of each state. We have a States and Capitals Study Sheets Quiz Pack  to help your children with memorization and taking quizzes.