Delaware(capital: Dover)The capital is Dover, second in population after Wilmington. Delaware is nicknamed the First State: it ratified the Constitution before any other, on December 7, 1787.
Florida(capital: Tallahassee)The capital is Tallahassee, up in the Panhandle. The most populous city is Jacksonville, and Miami is the usual wrong guess. Florida became the 27th state: March 3, 1845.
Georgia(capital: Atlanta)The capital is Atlanta, which is also the most populous city. Georgia was the 4th state: it ratified the Constitution on January 2, 1788.
Maryland(capital: Annapolis)The capital is Annapolis, on Chesapeake Bay. It is not Baltimore, the most populous city. Maryland was the 7th state: it ratified the Constitution on April 28, 1788.
North Carolina(capital: Raleigh)The capital is Raleigh, the second most populous city after Charlotte. North Carolina was the 12th state: it ratified the Constitution on November 21, 1789.
South Carolina(capital: Columbia)The capital is Columbia, near the center of the state. Only Charleston has more people. South Carolina was the 8th state: it ratified the Constitution on May 23, 1788.
Virginia(capital: Richmond)The capital is Richmond, on the James River. Virginia Beach is the most populous city. Virginia was the 10th state: it ratified the Constitution June 25, 1788.
West Virginia(capital: Charleston)The capital is Charleston, which is also the most populous city. West Virginia broke away from Virginia during the Civil War and became the 35th state on June 20, 1863.
East South Central 4
Alabama(capital: Montgomery)The capital is Montgomery, on the Alabama River. The most populous city is Huntsville, and Birmingham and Mobile are common guesses too. Alabama became the 22nd state: December 14, 1819.
Kentucky(capital: Frankfort)The capital is Frankfort, a small city on the Kentucky River. It is not Louisville, the most populous city, or Lexington. Kentucky was part of Virginia until it became the 15th state on June 1, 1792.
Mississippi(capital: Jackson)The capital is Jackson, on the Pearl River. It is also the most populous city. Mississippi became the 20th state: December 10, 1817.
Tennessee(capital: Nashville)The capital is Nashville, the most populous city. It is on the Cumberland River in Middle Tennessee. Memphis is second and the usual wrong guess. Tennessee became the 16th state: June 1, 1796.
West South Central 4
Arkansas(capital: Little Rock)The capital is Little Rock, near the center of the state. It is also the most populous city. Arkansas became the 25th state: June 15, 1836.
Louisiana(capital: Baton Rouge)The capital is Baton Rouge, the second most populous city. It is on the Mississippi River's east bank. New Orleans is the biggest and the usual wrong guess. Louisiana became the 18th state on April 30, 1812.
Oklahoma(capital: Oklahoma City)The capital is Oklahoma City, in the state's central part. It is also the most populous city. Tulsa is second. Oklahoma became the 46th state on November 16, 1907.
Texas(capital: Austin)The capital is Austin, in Central Texas. The most populous city is Houston, and Dallas and San Antonio are common guesses too. Texas was a republic before it became the 28th state on December 29, 1845.
How this list was compiled: State list and the three 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 3 South: Division 5 South Atlantic, Division 6 East South Central, Division 7 West South Central; the Bureau has no region called Southeast, and the District of Columbia, which it lists in the South Atlantic, is not a state and is not an item here). 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 ratification or 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 and the second city where one is named: 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/Montgomery,_Alabama, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock,_Arkansas, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dover,_Delaware, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallahassee,_Florida, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfort,_Kentucky, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baton_Rouge,_Louisiana, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annapolis,_Maryland, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson,_Mississippi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh,_North_Carolina, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia,_South_Carolina, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville,_Tennessee, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin,_Texas, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond,_Virginia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston,_West_Virginia, checked 2026-09-19. Borders, coasts and rivers in the state hints: the Wikipedia articles on each of the sixteen states (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(U.S._state), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia), checked 2026-09-19. Where the list of capitals and a city article gave different years (Jackson, Austin, Nashville, Baton Rouge) the article's own dated event is used or the year is left out, and where the two lists gave different in-state ranks the rank is left out. Two shorter school lists of the Southeast, offered as the groups southeast-14 and southeast-12: National Geographic Education, United States Regions, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/united-states-regions/ (its Southeast is these 16 states without Oklahoma and Texas, which it puts in a Southwest with Arizona and New Mexico), and Ducksters, US Geographical Regions, https://www.ducksters.com/geography/us_states/us_geographical_regions.php (a Southeast of 12: the 14 without Delaware and Maryland, which it lists under its Northeast), both read 2026-09-19. Neither list is official, and the page says so. The Delmarva Peninsula shared by Delaware, Maryland and Virginia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delmarva_Peninsula, checked 2026-09-19. The two Gulf hints name no sea, because the name of that gulf is contested and the site takes no side. 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 86.1°W, standard parallels 27.2°N and 38°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 southeast states and capitals quiz fits the list your class uses. It opens on 16 states, Delaware to Texas, and two sets under Start from cut it to a Southeast of 14 or 12. Name the state, then its capital, to score.
Read the full guide
Which states are in a Southeast capitals quiz
No list is official: the U.S. Census Bureau has no Southeast, only a South of 16 states, and this page opens on those. Southeast, 14 states leaves out Texas and Oklahoma, which some school lists teach as the Southwest. Southeast, 12 states also drops Delaware and Maryland, which some lists put in the Northeast. The District of Columbia is background only.
Two answers for each state
A lit state wants its name, then its capital, and scores only when both are right. The three Census divisions are sets under Start from, and the 4 East South Central states make a short round.
Only 6 of the 16 capitals are their state's largest city: Atlanta, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Jackson and Charleston.
Charleston is West Virginia's capital. The larger Charleston is in South Carolina, whose capital is Columbia.
Three capitals are small: at the 2020 census Frankfort had 28,602 people, Dover 39,403 and Annapolis 40,812.
Questions and answers
My class list has 12 southeastern states. Does this page fit?
Yes. Pick Southeast, 12 states under Start from for Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Southeast, 14 states adds Delaware and Maryland. Neither list is official, so check your class list against the button first.
Can I print a blank Southeast states and capitals map?
Yes. Print blank numbers all 16, Alabama as 1 to West Virginia as 16, with a line each for state and capital, and Print labelled is the key. The sheet always carries all 16, so a shorter list leaves Oklahoma, Texas, Delaware or Maryland blank.
Is this also a southern states and capitals quiz?
Yes. South is the Census Bureau's own name for these 16 states, so the full round is the South, state by state. Maryland, Delaware, Oklahoma and Texas are the four that shorter Southeast lists drop.