Article Summary
What this article covers: The 7 letter states in America, which are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, New York, Vermont and Wyoming, with capitals, nicknames and places to visit.
Who this is for: Crossword and quiz players who need a quick answer, and travellers choosing which of the nine states to visit.
Key takeaway: Nine US states are 7 letter states, if you ignore the space in New York. Several details online are out of date, including which city is the largest in Alabama.
Expert insight:
Seven letters gives you nine states and almost every kind of trip, from the Everglades to Glacier and from Savannah’s squares to the Adirondacks. I’d pick one state and spend a week there rather than try to sample all nine.
Ciaran Connolly, Founder of ConnollyCove
Quick facts:
- The 7 letter states are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, New York, Vermont and Wyoming
- Huntsville, not Birmingham, has been Alabama’s largest city since the 2020 Census
- Yellowstone, home of Old Faithful, lies mostly in Wyoming and only partly in Montana
Table of Contents
The 7 letter states in America are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, New York, Vermont and Wyoming. That makes nine in total, and they stretch from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. ConnollyCove, an Ireland-based travel and culture platform, rebuilt this guide with checked facts, including corrections to several details that circulate online. If you’re working through other lengths, ConnollyCove also has a guide to states with 5 letters.
Below you’ll find a quick-answer table for the 7 letter states, then a section on each state with its main attractions.
The Nine 7 Letter States
Here’s the short version: the nine 7 letter states are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, New York, Vermont and Wyoming. The table gives each state’s capital, largest city, entry date and best-known nickname, and the sections after it cover where to go.
Quick Answers for Puzzles
Crossword setters usually clue these states through capitals, nicknames and geography. The table lists the key facts for all 7 letter states in one place, and it’s easy to scan on a phone.
| State | Capital | Largest city | Admitted | Nickname | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Montgomery | Huntsville | 1819 (22nd) | Heart of Dixie | Civil rights history and Gulf beaches |
| Arizona | Phoenix | Phoenix | 1912 (48th) | Grand Canyon State | Desert scenery and canyons |
| Florida | Tallahassee | Jacksonville | 1845 (27th) | Sunshine State | Beaches and theme parks |
| Georgia | Atlanta | Atlanta | 1788 (4th) | Peach State | Historic cities and music |
| Indiana | Indianapolis | Indianapolis | 1816 (19th) | Hoosier State | Motor racing and state parks |
| Montana | Helena | Billings | 1889 (41st) | Treasure State | Mountains and wilderness |
| New York | Albany | New York City | 1788 (11th) | Empire State | Museums and city life |
| Vermont | Montpelier | Burlington | 1791 (14th) | Green Mountain State | Hiking and autumn colour |
| Wyoming | Cheyenne | Cheyenne | 1890 (44th) | Cowboy State | National parks and Western heritage |
Counting New York
New York only counts as one of the 7 letter states if you ignore the space, because N-e-w-Y-o-r-k has seven letters. Most puzzle lists include it, but some don’t. Without New York, there would be eight 7 letter states.
Other Name Lengths
Eight letters is the most common length, with 11 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Virginia. The 7 letter states come second, with nine. Only three states have 4 letters and three have 5, counting two-word names without the space. That’s a handy check if a puzzle gives you a letter count.
The Southeast: Alabama, Florida, and Georgia
Three of the 7 letter states sit in the Southeast, and they’re very different trips. Alabama is built around civil rights history, Florida around the coast, and Georgia around its historic cities.
Alabama: The Heart of Dixie
Montgomery is the capital, and it’s central to the story of the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks’s refusal to give up her bus seat in 1955 sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Visitors can see the Rosa Parks Museum, the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. ConnollyCove’s Alabama travel guide covers more of the state.
Huntsville is now the largest city. The 2020 Census counted 215,006 people there against 200,733 in Birmingham, though the Birmingham metro area is still larger. Huntsville is home to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, and the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area offers white sand beaches and the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. In Mobile, the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park and the Mobile Carnival Museum celebrate the city’s naval and Mardi Gras history.
Florida: The Sunshine State
Florida is best known for its coastline, with beaches at Miami Beach, Clearwater Beach and Daytona Beach. The Everglades are a UNESCO World Heritage site, and you’ll explore them by airboat, kayak or on foot. Tallahassee is the capital, but Jacksonville is the largest city.
The theme parks make it a family favourite, and you’ll find Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando in Orlando and Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay. The Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg suits art lovers, and Kennedy Space Center on the Space Coast covers NASA’s launch history. The old claim that Florida is one of the only states with a tourable NASA site doesn’t hold, because Alabama and Texas have space attractions too.
Georgia: The Peach State
Savannah is known for its squares and oak-lined streets, and Atlanta, the capital and largest city, has the High Museum of Art, the Georgia Aquarium and the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Our guide to the Peach State covers more of Georgia. The coast has Jekyll Island and St. Simons Island, while the Blue Ridge foothills hold mountain towns such as Helen.
Macon is the centre of Georgia’s music story. Little Richard was born there, and Otis Redding was born in Dawson but raised in Macon. The Allman Brothers Band Museum at the Big House is the main music attraction there now. The Georgia Music Hall of Fame closed on 12 June 2011, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, so don’t expect to find it.
The West: Arizona, Montana, and Wyoming
The three western 7 letter states are built around national parks, wide landscapes and Native American and cowboy heritage. Two of them share Yellowstone, which is often misattributed.
Arizona: The Grand Canyon State
Phoenix is both the capital and the largest city, and the state’s best-known sight is the Grand Canyon. Sedona is popular for hiking among red rock formations, and you’ll find Saguaro National Park near Tucson, which protects the tall cacti that symbolise the desert. Monument Valley straddles the Arizona and Utah border within the Navajo Nation.
Tucson hosts the annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, and Scottsdale is known for resorts and galleries. For Native American history, Montezuma Castle National Monument has ancient cliff dwellings, and the Navajo Nation Museum is in Window Rock.
Montana: The Treasure State
Montana is called Big Sky Country, and Helena is the capital while Billings is the largest city. Glacier National Park offers alpine scenery, and you’ll want a full day for the Going-to-the-Sun Road. ConnollyCove’s guide to Montana covers the state in more depth.
Yellowstone is often listed as a Montana attraction, but Old Faithful is in the Wyoming part of the park. Yellowstone lies mostly in Wyoming and only partly in Montana and Idaho. The Museum of the Rockies is in Bozeman and holds one of the world’s largest collections of dinosaur fossils.
Wyoming: The Cowboy State
Wyoming is nicknamed both the Cowboy State and the Equality State, and Cheyenne is its capital and largest city. Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 as America’s first national park. It spans Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, and it preserves Old Faithful and many other geysers and hot springs.
Grand Teton National Park has dramatic peaks and lakes, and you’ll find skiing at Jackson Hole and the Snowy Range. Cody, named after William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, is home to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, which has five museums under one roof. Cheyenne Frontier Days is billed as the world’s largest outdoor rodeo, so it’s one to plan around.
The Midwest and Northeast
The last three of the 7 letter states are Indiana in the Midwest and New York and Vermont in the Northeast. They’re very different trips, from motor racing to city breaks and mountain hiking.
Indiana: The Hoosier State
Indianapolis is the capital and largest city, and it hosts the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway each May. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is billed as the world’s largest, and Newfields, the campus that houses the Indianapolis Museum of Art, adds gardens and a park. ConnollyCove’s Indiana guide has more ideas.
Indiana Dunes became the state’s first and only national park in February 2019, covering about 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. State parks such as Brown County, Turkey Run and Clifty Falls suit hikers, and Conner Prairie is a living history museum. If you’re a motor racing fan, the Speedway is the obvious stop, and Indiana Hoosiers basketball, the Pacers and the Colts give the state a strong sports culture.
New York: The Empire State
Albany is the capital, but New York City is the largest city, and it’s the main draw. It has Times Square, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. Our guide to things to do in New York State looks beyond the city.
Outside the city, the Adirondack Mountains offer hiking and winter sports, and Niagara Falls is shared with Canada. The Hudson Valley and the Finger Lakes are known for farm-to-table food, and Seneca Falls is the site of the 1848 women’s rights convention. The Erie Canal and the Revolutionary War battlefields near Saratoga are further stops for history fans.
Vermont: The Green Mountain State
Vermont joined the Union in 1791 as the 14th state, and Montpelier is the least populous state capital in the country. Burlington is the largest city, on the shore of Lake Champlain. The Long Trail runs 272 miles along the Green Mountains from the Massachusetts border to Quebec.
Vermont is the largest US producer of maple syrup, so you’ll see farm shops and sugarhouses on most visits. Stowe, Woodstock and Manchester are popular small towns, and autumn brings red, orange and gold to the hills. ConnollyCove’s Vermont guide covers the state in more depth.
The Short Answer
The 7 letter states are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, New York, Vermont and Wyoming, and each is worth a visit for different reasons. Pick one for a week rather than trying to see all nine, because the distances aren’t small.
ConnollyCove produces in-depth guides to destinations across the world, and its YouTube channel documents authentic travel experiences. If you want to plan a trip to the United States, read our guide to holiday destinations in the USA, or watch our YouTube channel for more.
FAQs
How many states have 7 letters?
Nine states have 7 letters, if you ignore the space in New York. They are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, New York, Vermont and Wyoming. Without New York, there are eight.
What are the 7 letter states in the US?
The 7 letter states are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, New York, Vermont and Wyoming. Their capitals are Montgomery, Phoenix, Tallahassee, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Helena, Albany, Montpelier and Cheyenne.
Does New York count as a 7 letter state?
Yes, it counts if you ignore the space, because “NewYork” has seven letters. Most puzzle lists include it, but it doesn’t count if the puzzle counts spaces.
Which of the 7 letter states has the biggest city?
New York City is the biggest city among the 7 letter states. Atlanta, Phoenix, Indianapolis and Jacksonville are also large. In Alabama, Huntsville has been the largest city since the 2020 Census, ahead of Birmingham.
Which 7 letter states joined the Union first?
Georgia joined first, in 1788 as the fourth state, followed by New York in 1788 as the 11th and Vermont in 1791 as the 14th. Arizona was the last of the nine, joining in 1912 as the 48th state.
Which 7 letter states have national parks?
Arizona has the Grand Canyon and Saguaro National Park, and Montana has Glacier. Wyoming has Yellowstone, which is shared with Montana and Idaho, and Grand Teton. Indiana has Indiana Dunes, its only national park, designated in 2019.
Is Old Faithful in Montana?
No, Old Faithful isn’t in Montana. It’s in Yellowstone National Park, in the Wyoming section of the park. Yellowstone lies mostly in Wyoming, with smaller parts in Montana and Idaho. It was established in 1872 as America’s first national park.
What are the nicknames of the 7 letter states?
Alabama is the Heart of Dixie, Arizona the Grand Canyon State, Florida the Sunshine State and Georgia the Peach State. Indiana is the Hoosier State, Montana the Treasure State, New York the Empire State, Vermont the Green Mountain State and Wyoming the Cowboy State.
