State Capital Rankings

Compare all 50 U.S. state capitals by population, elevation, history, and architecture.

SuperlativesPopulationElevationHistoryArchitectureFull Table

Record Holders

The capitals that stand out from the rest.

🏛

Tallest Dome

Baton Rouge, LA

450 ft

📜

Oldest Capital

Santa Fe, NM

Since 1610

👥

Most Populous Capital

Phoenix, AZ

1,608,139

👥

Least Populous Capital

Montpelier, VT

8,074

⛰

Highest Elevation

Santa Fe, NM

7,199 ft

🌊

Lowest Elevation

Honolulu, HI

21 ft

🏢

Largest Building

Harrisburg, PA

647,000 sq ft

📜

Most Previous Capitals

Austin, TX

6 previous

Population

Capital cities ranked by city population.

Largest Capitals

  1. 1Phoenix, AZ1,608,139
  2. 2Austin, TX979,263
  3. 3Columbus, OH905,748
  4. 4Indianapolis, IN887,642
  5. 5Denver, CO713,252
  6. 6Nashville, TN683,622
  7. 7Oklahoma City, OK681,054
  8. 8Boston, MA675,647
  9. 9Sacramento, CA524,943
  10. 10Atlanta, GA498,715

Smallest Capitals

  1. 1Montpelier, VT8,074
  2. 2Pierre, SD14,091
  3. 3Augusta, ME19,136
  4. 4Frankfort, KY28,602
  5. 5Juneau, AK32,255
  6. 6Helena, MT32,315
  7. 7Dover, DE39,403
  8. 8Annapolis, MD40,812
  9. 9Jefferson City, MO43,228
  10. 10Concord, NH43,976

Elevation

From mountain cities to sea-level capitals.

Highest Capitals

  1. 1Santa Fe, NM7,199 ft
  2. 2Cheyenne, WY6,062 ft
  3. 3Denver, CO5,280 ft
  4. 4Carson City, NV4,802 ft
  5. 5Salt Lake City, UT4,226 ft
  6. 6Helena, MT4,068 ft
  7. 7Boise, ID2,730 ft
  8. 8Bismarck, ND1,686 ft
  9. 9Pierre, SD1,480 ft
  10. 10Oklahoma City, OK1,201 ft

Lowest Capitals

  1. 1Honolulu, HI21 ft
  2. 2Sacramento, CA30 ft
  3. 3Dover, DE36 ft
  4. 4Annapolis, MD39 ft
  5. 5Trenton, NJ50 ft
  6. 6Juneau, AK56 ft
  7. 7Baton Rouge, LA56 ft
  8. 8Hartford, CT59 ft
  9. 9Providence, RI75 ft
  10. 10Olympia, WA108 ft

History

When capitals were designated and buildings were constructed.

Oldest Capitals

  1. 1Santa Fe, NMSince 1610
  2. 2Boston, MASince 1630
  3. 3Annapolis, MDSince 1694
  4. 4Dover, DESince 1777
  5. 5Richmond, VASince 1780
  6. 6Columbia, SCSince 1786
  7. 7Trenton, NJSince 1790
  8. 8Frankfort, KYSince 1792
  9. 9Raleigh, NCSince 1792
  10. 10Albany, NYSince 1797

Newest Capitals

  1. 1Oklahoma City, OKSince 1910
  2. 2Juneau, AKSince 1906
  3. 3Providence, RISince 1900
  4. 4Phoenix, AZSince 1889
  5. 5Pierre, SDSince 1889
  6. 6Charleston, WVSince 1885
  7. 7Bismarck, NDSince 1883
  8. 8Baton Rouge, LASince 1880
  9. 9Hartford, CTSince 1875
  10. 10Helena, MTSince 1875

Oldest Buildings

  1. 1Annapolis, MDBuilt 1779
  2. 2Richmond, VABuilt 1788
  3. 3Trenton, NJBuilt 1792
  4. 4Boston, MABuilt 1798
  5. 5Concord, NHBuilt 1819
  6. 6Augusta, MEBuilt 1832
  7. 7Raleigh, NCBuilt 1840
  8. 8Montgomery, ALBuilt 1851
  9. 9Nashville, TNBuilt 1859
  10. 10Montpelier, VTBuilt 1859

Newest Buildings

  1. 1Tallahassee, FLBuilt 1977
  2. 2Honolulu, HIBuilt 1969
  3. 3Santa Fe, NMBuilt 1966
  4. 4Salem, ORBuilt 1938
  5. 5Bismarck, NDBuilt 1934
  6. 6Dover, DEBuilt 1933
  7. 7Baton Rouge, LABuilt 1932
  8. 8Lincoln, NEBuilt 1932
  9. 9Charleston, WVBuilt 1932
  10. 10Juneau, AKBuilt 1931

Architecture

Capitol buildings ranked by dome height and total area.

Tallest Domes

  1. 1Baton Rouge, LA450 ft
  2. 2Lincoln, NE400 ft
  3. 3Springfield, IL361 ft
  4. 4Austin, TX311 ft
  5. 5Topeka, KS304 ft
  6. 6Charleston, WV293 ft
  7. 7Olympia, WA287 ft
  8. 8Salt Lake City, UT285 ft
  9. 9Madison, WI284 ft
  10. 10Des Moines, IA275 ft

Largest Buildings

  1. 1Harrisburg, PA647,000 sq ft
  2. 2Atlanta, GA640,000 sq ft
  3. 3Tallahassee, FL630,000 sq ft
  4. 4Charleston, WV535,000 sq ft
  5. 5Columbus, OH519,000 sq ft
  6. 6Sacramento, CA500,000 sq ft
  7. 7Albany, NY500,000 sq ft
  8. 8Olympia, WA486,000 sq ft
  9. 9Indianapolis, IN477,000 sq ft
  10. 10Saint Paul, MN468,000 sq ft

All 50 Capitals

Click any column header to sort. Capital names link to individual pages.

CapitalStateRegionCity Pop.▼State Pop.Capital SinceElevation (ft)Year BuiltDome (ft)Area (sq ft)
PhoenixArizonaSouthwest1,608,1397,151,5021,8891,0861,901—85,000
AustinTexasSouthwest979,26329,145,5051,8394891,888311360,000
ColumbusOhioMidwest905,74811,799,4481,8169021,861—519,000
IndianapolisIndianaMidwest887,6426,732,2191,8257151,888234477,000
DenverColoradoWest713,2525,773,7141,8675,2801,894272233,000
NashvilleTennesseeSoutheast683,6226,910,8401,8265971,859170170,000
Oklahoma CityOklahomaSouthwest681,0543,959,3531,9101,2011,917155450,000
BostonMassachusettsNortheast675,6477,029,9171,6301411,798230110,000
SacramentoCaliforniaWest524,94339,538,2231,854301,874237500,000
AtlantaGeorgiaSoutheast498,71510,711,9081,8681,0501,889237640,000
RaleighNorth CarolinaSoutheast467,66510,439,3881,7923151,8409760,000
HonoluluHawaiiWest350,9641,455,2711,845211,969—68,000
Saint PaulMinnesotaMidwest311,5275,706,4941,8497801,905223468,000
LincolnNebraskaMidwest291,0821,961,5041,8671,1761,932400337,000
MadisonWisconsinMidwest269,8405,893,7181,8388731,917284448,000
BoiseIdahoWest235,6841,839,1061,8652,7301,920208201,000
Baton RougeLouisianaSoutheast227,4704,657,7571,880561,932450285,000
RichmondVirginiaSoutheast226,6108,631,3931,7801661,788—145,000
Des MoinesIowaMidwest214,1333,190,3691,8579551,886275272,000
Little RockArkansasSoutheast202,5913,011,5241,8213351,915230256,000
MontgomeryAlabamaSoutheast200,6035,024,2791,8462211,851119119,000
Salt Lake CityUtahWest200,1333,271,6161,8564,2261,916285404,000
TallahasseeFloridaSoutheast196,16921,538,1871,8242031,977—630,000
ProvidenceRhode IslandNortheast190,9341,097,3791,900751,904235157,000
SalemOregonWest175,5354,237,2561,8551711,938166233,000
JacksonMississippiSoutheast153,7012,961,2791,8213151,903180311,000
ColumbiaSouth CarolinaSoutheast136,6325,118,4251,7862921,907—225,000
TopekaKansasMidwest126,5872,937,8801,8619481,903304332,000
HartfordConnecticutNortheast121,0543,605,9441,875591,878257257,000
SpringfieldIllinoisMidwest114,39412,812,5081,8395971,888361464,000
LansingMichiganMidwest112,64410,037,2611,8478531,879267259,000
AlbanyNew YorkNortheast99,22420,201,2491,7971441,899—500,000
TrentonNew JerseyNortheast90,8719,288,9941,790501,792145148,000
Santa FeNew MexicoSouthwest87,5052,117,5221,6107,1991,966—64,000
BismarckNorth DakotaMidwest73,529779,0941,8831,6861,934242248,000
CheyenneWyomingWest65,132576,8511,8696,0621,890146106,000
Carson CityNevadaWest58,6393,104,6141,8614,8021,871—24,000
OlympiaWashingtonWest55,6057,614,8931,8531081,928287486,000
HarrisburgPennsylvaniaNortheast50,34913,002,7001,8123201,906272647,000
CharlestonWest VirginiaSoutheast48,0061,793,7161,8856011,932293535,000
ConcordNew HampshireNortheast43,9761,377,5291,8082881,819—48,000
Jefferson CityMissouriMidwest43,2286,154,9131,8266301,917262395,000
AnnapolisMarylandSoutheast40,8126,177,2241,694391,77919037,000
DoverDelawareSoutheast39,403989,9481,777361,933—120,000
HelenaMontanaWest32,3151,084,2251,8754,0681,902165117,000
JuneauAlaskaWest32,255733,3911,906561,931—65,000
FrankfortKentuckySoutheast28,6024,505,8361,7925101,910215233,000
AugustaMaineNortheast19,1361,362,3591,8321541,832185113,000
PierreSouth DakotaMidwest14,091886,6671,8891,4801,910161114,000
MontpelierVermontNortheast8,074643,0771,8055251,85913653,000