This is a list of capital cities of the United States, including places that serve or have served as federal, state, insular area, territorial, colonial and Native American capitals.
Washington, D.C. has been the federal capital of the United States since 1800. Each U.S. state has its own capital city, as do many of its insular areas. Most states have not changed their capital city since becoming a state, but the capital cities of their respective preceding colonies, territories, kingdoms, and republics typically changed multiple times. There have also been other governments within the current borders of the United States with their own capitals, such as the Republic of Texas, Native American nations, and other unrecognized governments.
National capitals
The buildings in cities identified in the chart below served either as official capitals of the United States under the United States Constitution, or, prior to its ratification, sites where the Second Continental Congress or Congress of the Confederation met. The United States did not have a permanent capital under the Articles of Confederation.
The U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1787, and gave the Congress the power to exercise "exclusive legislation" over a district that "may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States." The 1st Congress met at Federal Hall in New York. In 1790, it passed the Residence Act, which established the national capital at a site along the Potomac River that would become Washington, D.C. For the next ten years, Philadelphia served as the temporary capital. There, Congress met at Congress Hall. On November 17, 1800, the 6th United States Congress formally convened in Washington, D.C. Congress has met outside of Washington only twice since: on July 16, 1987, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of ratification of the Constitution; and at Federal Hall National Memorial in New York on September 6, 2002, to mark the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks. CityBuildingStart dateEnd dateDurationRefSecond Continental CongressPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania State HouseBaltimore, MarylandCongress HallPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania State HouseLancaster, PennsylvaniaLancaster County CourthouseYork, PennsylvaniaYork County CourthousePhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania's original College Hallsee also Pennsylvania State HouseCongress of the ConfederationPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania State HousePrinceton, New JerseyPrinceton University's Nassau HallAnnapolis, MarylandMaryland State HouseTrenton, New JerseyFrench Arms TavernNew York, New YorkNew York City Hall (later known as, Federal Hall)Fraunces TavernUnited States CongressNew York, New YorkFederal HallPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaCongress HallWashington, D.C.United States CapitolGeneral and City Post Office BuildingBrick CapitolUnited States Capitolpresent
State capitals
Each state has a capital that serves as the seat of its government. Ten of the thirteen original states and 15 other states have changed their capital city at least once; the last state to move its capital city was Oklahoma in 1910.
In the following table, the "Since" column shows the year that the city began serving as the state's capital (or the capital of the entities that preceded it). The MSA/μSA and CSA columns display the population of the metro area the city is a part of, and should not be construed to mean the population of the city's sphere of influence or that the city is an anchor for the metro area. Fields colored light yellow denote that the population is a micropolitan statistical area.
StateCapitalSinceAreaPopulation (2020 US Census)City rank in stateCityMSA/μSACSA AlabamaMontgomery1846200,603386,047476,2073 AlaskaJuneau190632,25532,2553 ArizonaPhoenix18891,608,1394,845,8324,899,1041 ArkansasLittle Rock1821202,591748,031912,6041 CaliforniaSacramento1854524,9432,397,3822,680,8316 ColoradoDenver1867715,5222,963,8213,623,5601 ConnecticutHartford1875121,0541,213,5311,482,0864 DelawareDover177739,403181,8517,379,7002 FloridaTallahassee1824196,169384,2988 GeorgiaAtlanta1868498,7156,089,8156,930,4231 HawaiiHonolulu1845350,9641,016,5081 IdahoBoise1865235,684764,718850,3411 IllinoisSpringfield1837114,394208,640308,5237 IndianaIndianapolis1825887,6422,111,0402,492,5141 IowaDes Moines1857214,133709,466890,3221 KansasTopeka1856126,587233,1525 KentuckyFrankfort179228,60275,393746,04515 LouisianaBaton Rouge1880227,470870,5692 MaineAugusta183218,899123,64212 MarylandAnnapolis169440,8122,844,5109,973,3837 MassachusettsBoston1630675,6474,941,6328,466,1861 MichiganLansing1847112,644541,2975 MinnesotaSaint Paul1849311,5273,690,2614,078,7882 MississippiJackson1864153,701591,978671,6071 MissouriJefferson City182643,228150,30915 MontanaHelena187532,09183,0586 NebraskaLincoln1867291,082340,217361,9212 NevadaCarson City186158,63958,639657,9586 New HampshireConcord180843,976153,8088,466,1863 New JerseyTrenton178490,871387,34023,582,64910 New MexicoSanta Fe161087,505154,8231,162,5234 New YorkAlbany179799,224899,2621,190,7276 North CarolinaRaleigh1792467,6651,413,9822,106,4632 North DakotaBismarck188373,622133,6262 OhioColumbus1816905,7482,138,9262,544,0481 OklahomaOklahoma City1910681,0541,425,6951,498,1491 OregonSalem1855175,535433,3533,280,7363 PennsylvaniaHarrisburg181250,099591,7121,295,2599 Rhode IslandProvidence1900190,9341,676,5798,466,1861 South CarolinaColumbia1786136,632829,470951,4122 South DakotaPierre188914,09120,7459 TennesseeNashville1826?689,4471,989,5192,118,2331 TexasAustin1836961,8552,283,3714 UtahSalt Lake City1858199,7231,257,9362,701,1291 VermontMontpelier18058,07459,807 285,3696 VirginiaRichmond1780226,6101,314,4344 WashingtonOlympia185355,605294,7934,953,42123 West VirginiaCharleston188548,864258,859779,9691 WisconsinMadison1838269,840680,796910,2462 WyomingCheyenne186965,132100,5121
Insular area capitals An insular area is a United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nation's federal district. Those insular areas with territorial capitals are listed below.
+ Capitals of United States Insular Areas Insular area Capital Since Pop. (2010) Notes American Samoa Pago Pago 1899 3,656 Pago Pago refers to both a village and a group of villages, one of which is Fagatogo, the official seat of government stated in the territory's constitution. Guam Hagåtña 1898 1,051 Dededo is the area's largest village. Northern Mariana Islands Saipan 1947 48,220 Since the entire island, of , is organized as a single municipality, most publications designate the whole of Saipan as the Commonwealth's capital. Most government functions are based in the Capitol Hill village, except for the judicial branch which is located in Susupe. Puerto Rico San Juan 1898 395,326 The oldest continuously inhabited U.S. state or territorial capital, San Juan was originally called Puerto Rico while the island was called San Juan Bautista. U.S. Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie 1917 18,481 Like the rest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Charlotte Amalie (located on the island of Saint Thomas) has no local government and is directly administered by the territorial government. However, it has boundaries defined by the Virgin Islands Code and is recognized as a town by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Former national capitals Four of the 50 U.S. states—Hawaii, Texas, California, and Vermont—were once de jure sovereign states with diplomatic recognition from the international community. California did not have a capital during its time as a sovereign nation.
Hawaii During its history as a sovereign nation (Kingdom of Hawaii, 1795–1893; Republic of Hawaii, 1894–1898), five sites served as the capital of Hawaii:
Waikīkī, 1795–1796 Hilo, 1796–1803 Honolulu, 1803–1812 Kailua-Kona, 1812–1820 Lahaina, 1820–1845 Honolulu, 1845–1898 Annexed by the United States in 1898, Honolulu remained the capital, first of the Territory of Hawaii (1900–1959), and then of the state (since 1959).
Texas During its history as a sovereign nation (Republic of Texas, 1836–1845), seven sites served as the capital of Texas: Washington (now Washington-on-the-Brazos), 1836 Harrisburg (now part of Houston), 1836 Galveston, 1836 Velasco, 1836 West Columbia, 1836 Houston, 1837–1839 Austin, 1839–1845 Annexed by the United States in 1845, Austin remains the capital of the state of Texas.
Vermont Three sites have served as the capital of the Vermont Republic: Westminster, 1777 Windsor, 1777–1791 Castleton, 1791 When the state was admitted to the Union in 1791, Burlington was chosen to be the capital and it remained as such until 1805, when it was changed to Montpelier, where it remains today.
Native American capitals
Some Native American tribes, in particular the Five Civilized Tribes, organized their states with constitutions and capitals in Western style. Others, like the Iroquois, had long-standing, pre-Columbian traditions of a 'capitol' longhouse where wampum and council fires were maintained with special status. Since they did business with the U.S. Federal Government, these capitals can be seen as officially recognized in some sense.
Cherokee Nation New Echota 1825–1832 New Echota, now near Calhoun, Georgia, was founded in 1825, realizing the dream and plans of Cherokee Chief Major Ridge. Major Ridge chose the site because of its centrality in the historic Cherokee Nation which spanned parts of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama, and because it was near the confluence of the Conasauga and Coosawattee rivers. The town's layout was partly inspired by Ridge's many visits to Washington D.C. and to Baltimore, but also invoked traditional themes of the Southeastern ceremonial complex. Complete with the Council House, Supreme Court, Cherokee syllabary printing press, and the houses of several of the Nation's constitutional officers, New Echota served as the capital until 1832 when the state of Georgia outlawed Native American assembly in an attempt to undermine the Nation. Thousands of Cherokee would gather in New Echota for the annual National Councils, camping along the nearby rivers and holding long stomp dances in the park-like woods that were typical of many Southeastern Native American settlements.
Red Clay 1832–1838 The Cherokee National council grounds were moved to Red Clay, Tennessee, on the Georgia state line, in order to evade the Georgia state militia. The log cabins, limestone springs, and park-like woods of Red Clay served as the capital until the Cherokee Nation was removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) on the Trail of Tears. Tahlequah 1839–1907, 1938–present Tahlequah, in present-day Oklahoma, served as the capital of the original Cherokee Nation after Removal. After the Civil War, a turbulent period for the Nation which was involved in its own civil war resulting from pervasive anger and disagreements over removal from Georgia, the Cherokee Nation built a new National Capitol in Tahlequah out of brick. The building served as the capitol until 1907, when the Dawes Act finally dissolved the Cherokee Nation and Tahlequah became the county seat of Cherokee County, Oklahoma. The Cherokee National government was re-established in 1938 and Tahlequah remains the capital of the modern Cherokee Nation; it is also the capital of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. Cherokee 20th century–present (Eastern Band of Cherokee)