The 50 states use only 25 letters. Find out what letter is not in any state name.
Can You Guess What Letter Is Not in Any U.S. State Name?
Updated on Jun. 11, 2025
Ready for a quick language brain game? Run through the list of U.S. states in your mind—fast. We’re not going to ask you which state name starts with two vowels, but we will have you guess this: What letter is not in any state name?
Ahead, we’ll reveal the one letter that never appears and the quirky trivia behind the letters that make only a few appearances.
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What letter is not in any state name?
Ready with your guess? Well, my trivia-savvy friends, the answer is … Q. That’s right: 50 different names, and not one of them contains the letter Q. Every other letter of our alphabet shows up at least once.
If you guessed J or Z, you were close—and probably don’t live in New Jersey or Arizona, since those are the only states that contain J and Z, respectively. There are a couple of other rare letters that show up only twice. No states except Alabama and Nebraska have a B in their name, and California and Florida are the only state names that contain F. If X was your guess, you were also close—the rare letter makes an appearance in only New Mexico and Texas.
The only other letter with fewer than five appearances might surprise you: P! Can you guess the U.S. states with the letter? It’s in only Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Mississippi (the double-P in the Magnolia State bumps it up to four appearances, even though it’s in just three state names).
What else should you know about the U.S. states?
There’s more to the states than just their names. From symbolic foods to forgotten borders, certain astonishing facts about the 50 states go well beyond the basics.
Q might be missing from the map, but when it comes to state name trivia, it definitely makes its mark.
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