US States JSON Dataset

A complete dataset of all 50 US states with detailed information, perfect for testing, learning, or building applications.

Quick Stats

• 50 items (all US states)
• ~10 KB file size
• Fields: name, abbreviation, capital, founded, borders

Download

• Download JSON
• Open in JSONLint

Schema

Field	Type	Description	Example
name	string	Full state name	"California"
abbreviation	string	Two-letter postal code	"CA"
capital	string	State capital city	"Sacramento"
founded	string	Date admitted to Union (ISO 8601)	"1850-09-09"
borders	array	Names of bordering states	["Oregon", "Nevada", "Arizona"]

Sample Data

{
  "states": [
    {
      "name": "California",
      "abbreviation": "CA",
      "capital": "Sacramento",
      "founded": "1850-09-09",
      "borders": ["Oregon", "Nevada", "Arizona"]
    },
    {
      "name": "Texas",
      "abbreviation": "TX",
      "capital": "Austin",
      "founded": "1845-12-29",
      "borders": ["New Mexico", "Oklahoma", "Arkansas", "Louisiana"]
    }
  ]
}

Usage Examples

JavaScript / Node.js

// Fetch and use the dataset
const response = await fetch('https://jsonlint.com/datasets/us-states-with-detail.json');
const data = await response.json();

// Find a state by abbreviation
const california = data.states.find(s => s.abbreviation === 'CA');
console.log(california.capital); // "Sacramento"

// Get all state abbreviations
const codes = data.states.map(s => s.abbreviation);
console.log(codes); // ["AL", "AK", "AZ", ...]

// Find states that border Texas
const texasBorders = data.states
  .find(s => s.name === 'Texas')
  .borders;
console.log(texasBorders); // ["New Mexico", "Oklahoma", ...]

Python

import requests

data = requests.get('https://jsonlint.com/datasets/us-states-with-detail.json').json()

# Create a lookup dictionary
states_by_abbr = {s['abbreviation']: s for s in data['states']}
print(states_by_abbr['NY']['capital'])  # "Albany"

# Find landlocked states (no coastal or international borders)
# Note: This is simplified - actual determination needs more data

cURL / Command Line

# Download the dataset
curl -O https://jsonlint.com/datasets/us-states-with-detail.json

# Pretty print with jq
curl -s https://jsonlint.com/datasets/us-states-with-detail.json | jq '.states[0]'

# Get all state names
curl -s https://jsonlint.com/datasets/us-states-with-detail.json | jq '.states[].name'

Use Cases

Form Validation

Use the abbreviations and names to populate and validate state dropdowns in forms.

Geographic Applications

The borders array enables building maps, calculating routes, or creating geography quizzes.

Educational Projects

Great for teaching data structures, array methods, or building practice apps.

Testing

Consistent, realistic test data for applications that handle US addresses.

Data Notes

• Founded dates use ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)
• Borders only includes US states, not countries or bodies of water
• Alaska and Hawaii have empty borders arrays (no land borders with other states)
• District of Columbia is not included (it's not a state)

Source

This dataset is maintained by JSONLint. Data compiled from public sources including the US Census Bureau and National Archives.

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