States: Below, alphabetically, find (1) the standard abbreviations and (2) the postal codes. Standard abbreviations are what you find in newspapers and magazines. This is what the communications department uses in news releases and in Crossroads. In addresses always use the two-letter abbreviation, both upper case (no comma between city and state — see Addresses).
Postal codes should be used only in addresses — at the top of a business letter, on an envelope, and so on. In the body of a business letter, in official documents, etc., spell out all state names.
| STATE | IN TEXT | IN ADDRESS |
| Alabama | Ala. | AL |
| Alaska | Alaska | AK |
| Arizona | Ariz. | AZ |
| Arkansas | Ark. | AR |
| California | Calif. | CA |
| Colorado | Colo. | CO |
| Connecticut | Conn. | CT |
| District of Columbia | D.C. | DC |
| Delaware | Del. | DE |
| Florida | Fla. | FL |
| Georgia | Ga. | GA |
| Hawaii | Hawaii | HI |
| Idaho | Idaho | ID |
| Illinois | Ill. | IL |
| Indiana | Ind. | IN |
| Iowa | Iowa | IA |
| Kansas | Kan. | KS |
| Kentucky | Ky. | KY |
| Louisiana | La. | LA |
| Maine | Maine | ME |
| Maryland | Md. | MD |
| Massachusetts | Mass. | MA |
| Michigan | Mich. | MI |
| Minnesota | Minn. | MN |
| Mississippi | Miss. | MS |
| Missouri | Mo. | MO |
| Montana | Mont. | MT |
| Nebraska | Neb. | NE |
| Nevada | Nev. | NV |
| New Hampshire | N.H. | NH |
| New Jersey | N.J. | NJ |
| New Mexico | N.M. | NM |
| New York | N.Y. | NY |
| North Carolina | N.C. | NC |
| North Dakota | N.D. | ND |
| Ohio | Ohio | OH |
| Oklahoma | Okla. | OK |
| Oregon | Ore. | OR |
| Pennsylvania | Pa. | PA |
| Rhode Island | R.I. | RI |
| South Carolina | S.C. | SC |
| South Dakota | S.D. | SD |
| Tennessee | Tenn. | TN |
| Texas | Tex. | TX |
| Utah | Utah | UT |
| Vermont | Vt. | VT |
| Virginia | Va. | VA |
| Washington | Wash. | WA |
| Washington, D.C. | D.C. | DC |
| West Virginia | W.Va. | WV |
| Wisconsin | Wis. | WI |
| Wyoming | Wyo. | WY |
Within copy, spell out state names that stand by themselves. Within copy, use the abbreviations as listed in AP style after a city name: First letter upper case, subsequent letters lower case, followed by a period and comma (or semicolon).
Example: Development staff will travel this week to Bluffton, Ohio; Souderton, Pa.; Chesapeake, Va.; and Illinois. Next week's itinerary includes Hagertown, Md., and Hickory, N.C.
state names -- Spell out all names of states in sentences unless they are preceded by a city, county or military base name. Then, according to the chart on Page 195, you abbreviate all state names EXCEPT the two states outside the Lower 48 and all continental states that have five or fewer letters in their names. Examples: I lived in Oklahoma. I lived in Tulsa, Okla. I lived in Iowa. I lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
State names. When used alone spell out. Example: He comes from North Dakota, lucky guy. When used with city names, abbreviate according to the AP Stylebook. Examples: Minot, N.D. Hibbing, Minn. Rapid City, S.D. AP does not use postal abbreviations, although many other publications do. Names of large cities stand alone. Example: She goes to Minneapolis for the night life.