Random State Generator

A random state generator for all 50 states

This random state generator spins a wheel loaded with all 50 US states and stops on one. The result shows the state name along with its region and its capital, so a spin that lands on Oregon also tells you “West. Capital: Salem”. Use it when you need a random US state for a road trip idea, a geography lesson, a trivia round or a writing prompt.

The list is built in. You do not have to type or paste anything.

How to use it

1. Press Spin in the center of the wheel. You can also click the wheel or press Ctrl + Enter.
2. The wheel slows down and the pointer on the right side lands on a state.
3. A result box shows the state, its region and its capital.
4. Pick “Done”, “Remove it” or “Spin again”.

“Remove it” hides that state so it cannot be picked twice. When you want the full list back, press the “Restore N removed” button that appears in the Options tab.

With all 50 states on the wheel the labels are small. They get bigger when you filter to one region.

Filter by region

The Options tab has four chips under US regions. They follow the four census regions:

• Northeast: 9 states
• Midwest: 12 states
• South: 16 states
• West: 13 states, including Alaska and Hawaii

All four are checked when you first open the page. Uncheck a chip to drop that region. Midwest plus South gives a 28-state wheel. The South follows the census definition, so it includes Delaware, Maryland, Oklahoma and Texas.

To drop single states, open “Choose items” in the same tab. Search the list, untick the states you want to skip, or use Select all and Clear all. States you have already removed stay off the wheel when you change filters.

States and provinces of other countries

The Country chips start with only United States checked. Check another country to add its divisions, or uncheck United States to spin the other country alone. There are 29 more countries to choose from. A few examples:

• Canada: 13 provinces and territories
• Mexico: 32 states, counting Mexico City
• India: 36 states and union territories
• Japan: all 47 prefectures
• Thailand: 76 provinces plus Bangkok
• Italy: 20 regions, and Spain: 17 autonomous communities plus Ceuta and Melilla
• Germany, Switzerland and Austria: their states and cantons

The rest are Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Indonesia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The result box tells you what kind of division you landed on, such as a union territory or an overseas region.

The US region chips only affect US states, so they never remove a Canadian province or an Indian state.

What people use a random US state for

Road trips and weekend plans

Filter to your own region and spin for a destination. “Spin again” is always there, but the game works best if everyone agrees to honor the first result.

The 50-state checklist

Working through all 50 states, whether you are visiting them, cooking a dish from each, or reading a book set in each? Turn on “Remove each winner automatically” in Settings. Every state comes up once, and the Results tab keeps the order.

Classroom capitals practice

Spin from your own laptop, read the state aloud, and let students call out the capital. The result shows the capital, so you can check the answer right away. Filter to one region when the class is studying that part of the map.

How random is it?

The winning state is chosen with your browser’s cryptographic random generator before the wheel starts turning, and the animation then plays out that result. Each state on the wheel has an equal chance. No state gets a bigger slice because of its size or population.

Everything runs free in your browser with no account. Your filters, removed states and settings are saved in local storage, so the wheel looks the same when you come back.

Related tools

For the whole world instead of one country, spin the random country generator. If you need to decide who gets which state, the random name picker can choose the person.