Do You Know All 50 State Slogans? The Full License-Plate List
Each of the 50 states has a slogan associated with it, which you'll often find on license plates. Does your state have a fitting moniker? See the list!
State Slogans at a Glance
- Oldest still in use: Virginia’s “Old Dominion,” dating to King Charles II in 1660.
- Most contested: Florida (“Sunshine State”), California (“Golden State”), New York (“Empire State”), all earned via tourism boards and license-plate history.
- Most literal: Idaho (“Gem State”), Nevada (“Silver State”), Montana (“Treasure State”), all named for actual mineral deposits.
- Most mysterious: Indiana (“Hoosier State”), origin of the word “Hoosier” still genuinely unknown after 200 years.
- Two-slogan states: Wyoming carries both “Equality State” and “Cowboy State.”
Here’s a list of the fifty state slogans associated with each U.S. state, many of which appear on license plates. Do you think your state has a fitting slogan?
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, most state slogans (technically state nicknames) were popularized by 19th- and early-20th-century tourism boards, news columnists, and license-plate designers, not by formal legislation. A handful are constitutional (“Virginia, Old Dominion”). The rest are folklore that stuck.
The 50 States, Nickname and Plate Side by Side
Here is every state, its nickname, and what is actually stamped on the standard passenger plate you would see in traffic today. The two are the same in only 19 cases. Seven states run a plate with no slogan at all, and 24 put something on the plate that has nothing to do with the nickname.
| State | Nickname | On the standard plate today |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Yellowhammer State | Heart of Dixie |
| Alaska | The Last Frontier | Same as the nickname |
| Arizona | The Grand Canyon State | Same as the nickname |
| Arkansas | The Natural State | Same as the nickname |
| California | The Golden State | dmv.ca.gov |
| Colorado | The Centennial State | No slogan on the current plate |
| Connecticut | The Constitution State | Same as the nickname |
| Delaware | The First State | Same as the nickname |
| Florida | The Sunshine State | Same as the nickname |
| Georgia | The Peach State | Same as the nickname |
| Hawaii | The Aloha State | Same as the nickname |
| Idaho | The Gem State | Famous Potatoes |
| Illinois | The Prairie State | Land of Lincoln |
| Indiana | The Hoosier State | No slogan on the current plate |
| Iowa | The Hawkeye State | No slogan on the current plate |
| Kansas | The Sunflower State | To the Stars |
| Kentucky | The Bluegrass State | Same as the nickname (with “In God We Trust”) |
| Louisiana | The Pelican State | Sportsman’s Paradise |
| Maine | The Pine Tree State | Vacationland |
| Maryland | The Old Line State | No slogan on the current plate |
| Massachusetts | The Bay State | The Spirit of America |
| Michigan | The Great Lakes State | Pure Michigan |
| Minnesota | The North Star State | 10,000 Lakes |
| Mississippi | The Magnolia State | No slogan on the current plate |
| Missouri | The Show Me State | Same as the nickname |
| Montana | The Treasure State | Same as the nickname |
| Nebraska | The Cornhusker State | No slogan on the current plate |
| Nevada | The Silver State | Home Means Nevada |
| New Hampshire | The Granite State | Live Free or Die |
| New Jersey | The Garden State | Same as the nickname |
| New Mexico | The Land of Enchantment | Same as the nickname |
| New York | The Empire State | Excelsior |
| North Carolina | The Tar Heel State | First in Flight |
| North Dakota | The Peace Garden State | Same as the nickname (with “Legendary”) |
| Ohio | The Buckeye State | Birthplace of Aviation |
| Oklahoma | The Sooner State | Imagine That |
| Oregon | The Beaver State | No slogan on the current plate |
| Pennsylvania | The Keystone State | Let Freedom Ring |
| Rhode Island | The Ocean State | Same as the nickname |
| South Carolina | The Palmetto State | Where the Revolutionary War Was Won |
| South Dakota | Mount Rushmore State | Great Faces. Great Places. |
| Tennessee | The Volunteer State | Same as the nickname |
| Texas | The Lone Star State | Same as the nickname |
| Utah | The Beehive State | Life Elevated (the ski plate reads “Greatest Snow on Earth”) |
| Vermont | The Green Mountain State | Same as the nickname |
| Virginia | The Old Dominion State | Virginia is for Lovers |
| Washington | The Evergreen State | Same as the nickname |
| West Virginia | The Mountain State | Wild, Wonderful |
| Wisconsin | The Badger State | America’s Dairyland |
| Wyoming | The Equality State or The Cowboy State | That’s WY (with “travelwyoming.com”) |
Nickname or Plate? They Are Not the Same Thing
A state nickname and a state licence plate legend are two different things that happen to overlap sometimes. The nickname is folklore and tourism, often a century old and rarely voted on by anybody. The plate legend is a design decision made by a legislature or a motor vehicles department, and it changes whenever the plate is redesigned.
Some of the results are a long way apart. California’s plate reads dmv.ca.gov, a web address. New York’s reads Excelsior, the state motto rather than the nickname. Oklahoma went with Imagine That in 2024, South Carolina adopted Where the Revolutionary War Was Won in January 2026, and Wyoming’s carries That’s WY alongside a tourism web address. Idaho, famously, went with Famous Potatoes.
Seven states put no slogan on the plate at all: Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska and Oregon. Iowa uses the space for the county name instead.
Alabama is the one that catches people out most often, and a reader wrote in about exactly this. The nickname is the Yellowhammer State, after the state bird, but the plate has read Heart of Dixie since 1955. A 1951 law added the small heart and the phrase, which the Alabama Chamber of Commerce had coined to argue the state was the commercial centre of the South, and the design first went out on the 1954 to 1955 issue. It is still on standard plates, though since 2024 anyone buying a personalised or vanity plate can ask for it to be left off.
Five State Slogans With Surprising Origins
| State and nickname | Where it came from |
|---|---|
| Missouri, The Show Me State | Usually credited to Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver, who told a Philadelphia club in 1899: “I’m from Missouri. You have to show me.” The phrase was already circulating in the 1890s, so he probably popularised it rather than coined it |
| Oklahoma, The Sooner State | From the “sooner clause” of the Indian Appropriation Act of March 2, 1889. When the Land Run opened at noon on April 22, some settlers had already slipped across the line. It began as an accusation of cheating and was later worn with pride |
| Utah, The Beehive State | Deseret means honeybee in the Book of Mormon. The beehive became the emblem of the provisional State of Deseret in 1848 and stayed on the state seal at statehood in 1896, standing for industriousness |
| Indiana, The Hoosier State | Nobody actually knows. The Indiana Historical Bureau lists several theories; one traces it to hoozer in the Cumberland dialect of England, from Anglo-Saxon hoo, meaning high or hill, and so a hill dweller |
| North Carolina, The Tar Heel State | From the tar, pitch and turpentine the state produced from its longleaf pines. A Civil War story, told rather than documented, has North Carolina troops holding their ground as though they had tar on their heels |
Make it a game. This is also a great list with which to quiz your kids, friends, and other family members.
Ever wonder how many of these state slogans and nicknames originated? Read about it here.
Frequently Asked Questions About State Slogans
How many state nicknames actually appear on the license plate?
Nineteen of the fifty. In the other 31 states the plate says something else, or says nothing at all. Seven states run a standard plate with no slogan: Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska and Oregon. The remaining 24 carry a legend unrelated to the nickname, such as California’s “dmv.ca.gov” or New York’s “Excelsior”.
Does the Alabama license plate say “Yellowhammer State”?
No. Alabama’s nickname is the Yellowhammer State, after the state bird, but the licence plate reads “Heart of Dixie” and has done since 1955. A 1951 law added the heart symbol and the phrase, which the Alabama Chamber of Commerce had coined to promote the state as the commercial heart of the South. It remains on standard-issue plates, although since 2024 buyers of personalised and vanity plates may request that it be omitted.
Are state slogans the same as state mottos?
Not quite. A state motto is a formal Latin or English phrase adopted by the legislature (Michigan’s “Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice”). A state slogan or nickname is informal and usually marketing-driven (“The Great Lakes State”). License plates almost always carry the slogan, not the motto.
Which states have officially adopted their slogan?
Most states have adopted their nickname or slogan by statute or proclamation at some point, even if the phrase started informally. Connecticut formally adopted “The Constitution State” in 1959; Texas adopted “The Lone Star State” much earlier through state symbol legislation.
What does “Hoosier” actually mean?
Genuinely nobody is sure. The word has been used for Indiana residents since at least the 1830s, but historians have not settled on whether it came from a Cumberland-dialect English word, an Anglo-Saxon root, a contractor named Hoosier on the Ohio River, or some other source. It is the only state slogan whose own state cannot definitively explain.
Why is New York called the Empire State?
The nickname is generally credited to George Washington, who is said to have referred to New York as “the seat of empire” because of its strategic and economic importance. The phrase was already in common use by the 1820s and was adopted formally in the 19th century.
Has any state changed its slogan?
Yes. New Hampshire’s license plates carried “Live Free or Die” (the state motto) for decades; Idaho switched from “Famous Potatoes” to “Scenic Idaho” and back; Connecticut moved from “The Nutmeg State” to “The Constitution State.” Tourism boards drive most of the changes.
Why does Wyoming have two slogans?
“Equality State” refers to Wyoming being the first U.S. state or territory to grant women the right to vote (1869). “Cowboy State” captures the cattle-ranching heritage and the bucking-horse logo on the license plate. Wyoming uses both at official discretion.
What’s the most disputed state slogan?
“The First State” (Delaware) is sometimes argued by Pennsylvania, which seated its delegates earlier; “The Constitution State” is claimed by Connecticut and contested in spirit by Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Florida and California have competed for “Sunshine” branding in tourism for over a century.
For more state-and-region reading, see our favorite fish by region guide, the Kentucky Derby, and the year without a summer.
This article was published by the Staff at FarmersAlmanac.com. Any questions? Contact us at [email protected].
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
No where will you find on an Alabama license plate ‘Yellowhammer State. Since the 1950s the slogan on the plate is Heart of Dixie.
These aren’t slogans. They’re nicknames. For example, New Hampshire is the Granite State but it’s slogan is Live Free Or Die.
Wait these aren’t slogans these are official nicknames. Illinois is the prairie State but it’s slogan is land of Lincoln.
I love it here my people do to so
cool
He stupid
Texas=The No Grid State
North Carolina is also First in Freedom
Nebraska=The give us three we’ll set you free State.
Nebraska=Why go to the Penn when you can send your best friend.
I.O.W.A.=Idiots Out Wandering Around