Spell out the names of the 50 United States when they stand alone in text.
Right: Most students come from Georgia.
Wrong: We have 50 Students from Fla.
When referencing a city and a state together, do not use postal abbreviations in your text. Use the following AP abbreviations. Note that some states must always be spelled out.
| Ala. | Hawaii | Mass. | N.M. | S.D. |
| Alaska | Idaho | Mich. | N.Y. | Tenn. |
| Ariz. | Ill. | Minn. | N.C. | Texas |
| Ark. | Ind. | Miss. | N.D. | Utah |
| Calif. | Iowa | Mo. | Ohio | Vt. |
| Colo. | Kan. | Mont. | Okla. | Va. |
| Conn. | Ky. | Neb. | Ore. | Wash. |
| Del. | La. | Nev. | Pa. | W.Va. |
| Fla. | Maine | N.H. | R.I. | Wis. |
| Ga. | Md. | N.J. | S.C. | Wyo. |
Right: The conference is in Macon, Ga.
Wrong: The conference is in Macon, GA.
Use “Washington, D.C.” Don’t abbreviate to “D.C.” or, worse, “DC.”
Do not use states with these U.S. cities:
| Atlanta | Detroit | Minneapolis | San Antonio |
| Baltimore | Honolulu | New Orleans | San Diego |
| Boston | Houston | New York City | San Francisco |
| Chicago | Indianapolis | Oklahoma City | Seattle |
| Cincinnati | Las Vegas | Philadelphia | St. Louis |
| Cleveland | Los Angeles | Phoenix | |
| Dallas | Miami | Pittsburgh | |
| Denver | Milwaukee | Salt Like City |
You must specify a city’s state on first reference, but you may drop it in subsequent references.
Always spell out a state name if it’s part of a title or name, such as “The Georgia Department of Education.”
For more information, see City, County and State under Capitalization and City, State in the Punctuation Primer.