Civics question 62 of 128
What is the capital of your state?
Official answer
- Answers will vary.
District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. is not a state and does not have a capital. Residents of U.S. territories should name the capital of the territory.
Your answer depends on where you live. Pick your state to see its capital: answers by state.
Source: official USCIS question list for the 2025 version of the civics test. This site is independent and not affiliated with USCIS.
Background
The answer depends on which state you live in, and unlike the officeholder questions it does not change, so it is worth memorizing now. Use the list linked above to find yours. Residents of the District of Columbia should answer that D.C. is not a state and has no state capital. One point surprises many applicants: a state capital is often not the state's largest city. Albany, Sacramento, Springfield, Annapolis, and Tallahassee are all smaller than the best-known city in their state, because nineteenth-century legislatures frequently chose a central or compromise location over the dominant commercial one. Only about a third of state capitals are the biggest city in their state. The capital is where the legislature meets, where the governor's office sits, and usually where the state's highest court hears cases.
This background section is written by US Citizenship Test Practice to explain the civics fact. It is not part of the USCIS question list, and the official answer above is the one to give at the interview.
Where this question sits
It is part of System of Government, inside the American Government section of the test.
Related questions
- 32. Who elects U.S. senators?
- 33. Who does a member of the House of Representatives represent?
- 34. Who elects members of the House of Representatives?
- 35. Some states have more representatives than other states. Why?
- 36. The President of the United States is elected for how many years?
- 37. The President of the United States can serve only two terms. Why?