You’d think it would be easy. Alabama comes first, Wyoming comes last, and everything else just falls into place between the As and the Ws. But honestly, sorting the United States in alphabetical order is one of those things that seems foolproof until you actually try to build a database or design a dropdown menu for a shipping address.
It’s messy.
The logic feels simple enough. Yet, the moment you hit the "M" states or try to figure out if North Dakota goes before or after New York, things get weird. We have fifty states, but we don't have a single "official" way to list them that everyone follows perfectly. Most people just wing it. They rely on whatever their Excel spreadsheet tells them to do, which—as it turns out—can vary depending on whether you’re counting spaces, capital letters, or the federal government's specific filing quirks.
The Chaos of the United States Alphabetical Order
If you start at the top, it’s a breeze. Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas. That’s four "A" states right out of the gate. But have you ever noticed how people pause when they get to the "N" states? There are eight of them. Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota.
Sorting these is where the "human" element usually fails. Most software uses ASCII-betical sorting. This is a technical way of saying the computer looks at every character—including the space between "New" and "York." In a standard computer sort, "New Hampshire" will always come before "New York" because "H" comes before "Y." But what about "North Carolina"? Since "o" (in North) comes after "e" (in New), the "New" states always cluster together first.
It sounds logical, but if you're handwriting a list, your brain might try to group them differently. You might think "North" comes before "New" because... well, maybe you’re just thinking about a compass. You’d be wrong, but it happens.
Why the "M" States Trip Everyone Up
Mississippi. Missouri. Montana. Michigan. Maryland. Massachusetts. Minnesota. Maine.
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There are eight of them. That's a lot of "M" names to keep straight. The most common mistake people make when trying to recall the United States alphabetical order is swapping Michigan and Minnesota or forgetting exactly where Maryland fits in the hierarchy. Actually, Maryland is the "M" leader. It’s M-a-r. Then comes Maine (M-a-i). Wait—no. See? Even experts blink.
Actually, it’s Maine, then Maryland, then Massachusetts, then Michigan. Alphabetically, "i" comes before "r." So Maine wins.
The Federal Standard vs. The Rest of Us
The United States Government Publishing Office (GPO) has its own Style Manual. It's a massive, dry document that dictates how federal agencies should print things. When they list the states, they stick to a rigid alphabetical sort based on the full name. However, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) lives in a world of two-letter abbreviations.
If you sort by abbreviation, the United States alphabetical order changes completely.
Think about it.
Alaska is AK.
Alabama is AL.
Arkansas is AR.
Arizona is AZ.
In this world, Alaska jumps ahead of Alabama. If you’re a web developer and you’re coding a state selection menu, you have to decide: are you sorting by the name the user sees, or the code the database reads? If you sort by the code (AK before AL), but display the full name, your user is going to be staring at "Alaska" appearing before "Alabama" and wondering if they forgot how the alphabet works. It’s a tiny UX (User Experience) nightmare that happens more often than you’d think.
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The Weird Case of the District of Columbia
Where does D.C. go?
Technically, it’s not a state. We know this. But for anyone living there, or for anyone mailing a package there, it has to exist in the list. Most people shove it between Delaware and Florida. Others put it at the very bottom, after Wyoming, in a sort of "miscellaneous" pile along with Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Honestly, putting D.C. after Delaware is the most "human" way to do it, but it technically breaks the 50-state count.
Sorting the "New" and "North" States
The "N" states are the heavy hitters of the United States alphabetical order. You have eight states starting with N, and they are almost all multi-word names.
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
Look at the "New" group. In a strict "dictionary" sort, you ignore the space. In a "word-by-word" sort, the space matters. Most modern systems use word-by-word. This means "New York" will always be grouped with its "New" siblings. If we ignored the space, "Newark" (the city) would come before "New York" (the state) because "a" comes before "y."
But since we are talking about states, the real competition is between the "News" and the "Norths." "New" (N-e-w) always beats "North" (N-o-r) because "e" comes before "o." This is why New York is always listed significantly higher than North Carolina, despite North Carolina being further east. Okay, that last bit doesn't matter for the alphabet, but people often conflate geography with list order in their heads.
The "S" and "W" Finish Line
By the time you get to South Dakota, you’re almost home.
South Carolina.
South Dakota.
Tennessee.
Texas.
Utah.
Vermont.
Virginia.
Washington.
West Virginia.
Wisconsin.
Wyoming.
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Notice West Virginia. It’s the "New York" of the Ws. Because of the space, it has to be handled carefully. In a list of the 50 states, it sits comfortably between Washington and Wisconsin. Why?
Washington: W-a-s-h
West Virginia: W-e-s-t
Wisconsin: W-i-s-c
"a" then "e" then "i." It’s a perfect alphabetical staircase.
Why Does This Actually Matter?
It’s not just for trivia. If you’re a data scientist or someone managing a massive mailing list, the United States alphabetical order is your bread and butter. If your list is sorted incorrectly, you get duplicate entries. If you have "West Virginia" and someone else entered "W. Virginia," your sorting algorithm might throw one to the bottom of the list while the other stays in the Ws.
Then there’s the psychological aspect. In political ballots, there’s a known phenomenon called "ballot order effect." While this usually applies to candidates, the way we categorize and list states in national reports can subtly influence how we perceive data. We see Alabama first so often that it becomes the "default" state in our minds for testing everything from tax software to census forms.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Don't trust "Auto-Sort" blindly.
If you’re using Google Sheets or Excel, "Sort A-Z" is usually fine, but it can get twitchy with leading spaces. If one of your state names has a hidden space before the "A" in Alabama, that state might jump to the very top or bottom depending on the program.
Also, watch out for the "The."
Technically, no state starts with "The," but people used to say "The Dakotas" or "The Carolinas." In a formal United States alphabetical order list, you always use the official name. No "The."
Actionable Steps for Perfect Sorting
If you need to organize a list of states for a project, a website, or just a really organized garage sale, follow these rules to keep it professional:
- Choose your primary key: Decide immediately if you are sorting by the full name (Alabama) or the postal abbreviation (AL). Never mix them.
- Handle the "New/North" cluster: Remember that "New" comes before "North." E before O.
- Address the "M" states carefully: Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana. This is the hardest section to get right from memory.
- Decide on D.C. and Territories: If it’s a shipping list, include D.C., Puerto Rico (PR), and Guam (GU). Usually, these are placed alphabetically within the 50 states or appended to the end to keep the "50" count clean.
- Trim your data: Before sorting in any software, use a "TRIM" function to remove accidental spaces at the beginning or end of the state names.
The United States alphabetical order is a standard, but it's a human one. It requires a bit of attention to detail to ensure that someone from Wisconsin isn't scrolling past Wyoming to find their home. Keep it clean, keep it consistent, and always double-check the "M" states.