Random State Generator
The random state generator draws from the 50 US states and shows each state's postal abbreviation and capital. Choose how many states you want, from 1 to 50, and press the button.
Updated
How the random state generator picks states
The page holds the 50 US states with their two-letter postal abbreviations and capitals. The list is shuffled and the first states are shown, as many as you asked for, so a draw never contains the same state twice.
Each state has the same chance, 1 in 50 for a single pick, whatever its size or population. Ask for all 50 and you get the whole list in random order. The District of Columbia and the territories are not on the list.
Where the state abbreviations and capitals come from
The abbreviations are the two-letter codes in USPS Publication 28, the Postal Service's addressing standard. The capitals were reviewed by hand when the page was rebuilt in October 2026.
Each pick is an unbiased draw from the browser's cryptographic random generator, as described in how our randomness works.
Ways to use a random state
- Quiz practice: draw five states and name each capital before you look.
- Road-trip games: draw a state and spot its licence plate first.
- School projects: let each student draw the state they will report on. To form groups first, use the team generator; for a city, the random US city generator.
- Beyond the US: the random country generator picks one of 195 countries, with a continent filter.
Questions about the random state generator
Can the same state come up twice?
Not within one draw: the list is shuffled and the first states are taken, so a draw of 10 gives 10 different states. Two separate presses are independent, so the next draw can repeat a state from the last one.
What are the odds of getting a particular state?
1 in 50 for a single pick. In a draw of 5 states, any given state is in it 5 times in 50, so one draw in ten.
Are Washington, D.C. and the territories included?
No. The list has the 50 states only. For a city, the random US city generator does include Washington, D.C.
Sources
- USPS Publication 28, Appendix B: state abbreviations — the two-letter postal codes shown for each state (checked October 16, 2026)