Illinois(capital: Springfield)The capital is Springfield, in the state's middle. It is not Chicago, up in the northeast corner. Illinois became the 21st state on December 3, 1818.
Indiana(capital: Indianapolis)The capital is Indianapolis, also the largest city. It is close to the state's center. Indiana became the 19th state: December 11, 1816.
Michigan(capital: Lansing)The capital is Lansing, in the mitten's south-central part, not Detroit. Michigan became the 26th state: January 26, 1837. The Mackinac Bridge joins its two peninsulas.
Ohio(capital: Columbus)The capital is Columbus, the state's largest city. Only two state capitals in the country have more people. Ohio counts as the 17th state, with its date set as March 1, 1803.
Wisconsin(capital: Madison)The capital is Madison, the second-largest city after Milwaukee. Wisconsin became the 30th state on May 29, 1848.
West North Central 7
Iowa(capital: Des Moines)The capital is Des Moines, the largest city. It is in the state's middle. Iowa became the 29th state on December 28, 1846. No other state has rivers as almost all of its east and west borders.
Kansas(capital: Topeka)The capital is Topeka, in the northeast of the state. The largest city is Wichita. Kansas became the 34th state on January 29, 1861. The 48 contiguous states' center is near Lebanon, Kansas.
Minnesota(capital: Saint Paul)The capital is Saint Paul, right beside Minneapolis, the largest city. Together they are called the Twin Cities. Minnesota became the 32nd state on May 11, 1858.
Missouri(capital: Jefferson City)The capital is Jefferson City, on the Missouri River. It is about midway between Kansas City and St. Louis, the two cities students guess first. Missouri became the 24th state on August 10, 1821.
Nebraska(capital: Lincoln)The capital is Lincoln, the second-largest city after Omaha. Nebraska became the 37th state (March 1, 1867) the same year lawmakers voted to move the capital out of Omaha.
North Dakota(capital: Bismarck)The capital is Bismarck, the second-largest city after Fargo. North Dakota became the 39th state on November 2, 1889, the same day as its twin to the south.
South Dakota(capital: Pierre)The capital is Pierre, said like the word peer. It is on the Missouri River near the middle of the state. The largest city is Sioux Falls. South Dakota became the 40th state on November 2, 1889.
How this list was compiled: State list and the two divisions: U.S. Census Bureau, Census Regions and Divisions of the United States, https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/maps/reference/us_regdiv.pdf, checked 2026-09-19 (Region 2 Midwest: Division 3 East North Central, Division 4 West North Central). Capitals and 2020 census populations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_capitals_in_the_United_States, checked 2026-09-19. Order and dates of admission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_date_of_admission_to_the_Union, checked 2026-09-19. Most populous city of each state: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_cities_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_population, checked 2026-09-19. Naming, founding, rivers and moves of each capital: the Wikipedia articles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield,_Illinois, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianapolis, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_Moines,_Iowa, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topeka,_Kansas, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lansing,_Michigan, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_City,_Missouri, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln,_Nebraska, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bismarck,_North_Dakota, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus,_Ohio, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre,_South_Dakota, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison,_Wisconsin, checked 2026-09-19. Borders, lakes and rivers in the state hints: the Wikipedia articles on each of the twelve states (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dakota, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin), checked 2026-09-19. Where two sources gave different years for a capital, the year is left out. Hints and detail lines written for this site. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site from U.S. Census Bureau 2023 cartographic boundary file cb_2023_us_state_5m (scale 1:5,000,000), https://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/GENZ2023/shp/cb_2023_us_state_5m.zip, downloaded 2026-09-19. Surrounding land from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_10m_admin_0_countries_lakes (scale 1:10,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_10m_admin_0_countries_lakes.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19. Albers equal-area conic projection, central meridian 91.7°W, standard parallels 38.2°N and 47.2°N. Outlines simplified; small islands are left out. Licence: public domain (work of the United States government, 17 U.S.C. 105): https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/data/tiger/tgrshp2023/TGRSHP2023_TechDoc_Ch1.pdf; public domain (Natural Earth terms of use: https://www.naturalearthdata.com/about/terms-of-use/)
How it works
This midwest states and capitals quiz lights one of the 12 states and asks two things: the state, then its capital. Both must be right to score. Missed states come back, and the map prints blank with a key.
Read the full guide
The 12 Midwest states
The list is the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwest region, called North Central until June 1984. East North Central is Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. West North Central is Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, and each division is a set under Start from that plays alone.
State first, capital second
Name the lit state with the buttons or with Type it, and the quiz then asks for its capital. Every answer is final. Name the state wrong and both answers show, and the state joins your missed states. All 12 pairs are listed under the quiz.
Only Indianapolis, Des Moines and Columbus are their state's largest city. Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and Minneapolis are traps.
Lincoln, Madison and Jefferson City carry presidents' names. Bismarck alone among state capitals honors a foreign statesman.
Drill the Dakotas as a pair: Bismarck goes with North and Pierre, said like peer, with South. B before P.
Questions and answers
Is there a Midwest states and capitals quiz PDF?
Yes. Press Print blank and choose Save as PDF in the print dialog. The sheet numbers the states 1 to 12, Illinois to Wisconsin, with one line each for the state and its capital. Print labelled makes the answer key the same way.
Is this a Midwest capitals quiz or a states quiz?
Both in one question. A lit state wants its name first and then its capital, which ties Lansing to the mitten and Pierre to the lower Dakota. For capitals alone, the state capitals quiz names the state for you, across all 50.
Do I have to type the capitals?
No. Rounds open with buttons, and the wrong choices are other capitals on this map, such as Lansing beside Lincoln. Type it is the harder round, and it forgives small slips: St. Paul counts for Saint Paul.