state names

Spell out state names when the city or town is not in the same state as the dateline, or where necessary to avoid confusion: Portland, Oregon, or Portland, Maine.

Exceptions:

Use AP Style state abbreviations in the magazine and, if desired, in brochures, posters, etc. (See AP Stylebook for the list of those abbreviations.)
Use U.S. Postal Service abbreviations (listed below) when using complete addresses; e.g., The college is located at 14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave., Vancouver, WA 98686. (Note that area codes are necessary in online communications, such as email invitations, so that Google Maps can identify the location when a reader clicks on it.)
Post office abbreviations:

Post office abbreviations listed by state name and two letter abbreviation.

Other notes about state names:

  • Use a comma before and after the state; e.g., The event was held in Helena, Montana, on Nov. 15, 2010. They live in Washington, D.C., and work at the White House.
  • Do not include the state name for cities well known to our audiences, e.g., Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, and for other well-known cities nationwide. (See list below.)

U.S. cities that do NOT require a state name:

Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland (when it’s Oregon), Spokane, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver (when referring to the city in Washington state as opposed to the one in British Columbia).

International cities that do NOT require a country name:

Amsterdam, Baghdad, Bangkok, Beijing, Beirut, Berlin, Bagota, Brussels, Cairo, Copenhagen, Djibouti, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gibraltar, Guatemala City, Hamburg, Havana, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Kabul, Kuwait City, London, Luxembourg, Macau, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Monaco, Montreal, Moscow, Munich, New Delhi, Oslo, Ottawa, Panama City, Paris, Prague, Quebec City, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, San Marino, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Vatican City, Vienna, Zurich.