List of Flags of the U.S. states and territories

The flags of the U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia exhibit a variety of regional influences and local histories, as well as different styles and design principles. Nonetheless, the majority of the states’ flags share the same design pattern consisting of the state seal superimposed on a monochrome background, commonly a shade of blue, which remains a source of criticism from vexillologists. The most recently adopted state flag is that of Mississippi, adopted on January 11, 2021, while the most recently adopted territorial flag is that of the Northern Mariana Islands, adopted on July 1, 1985.

History

Modern U.S. state flags date from the turn of the 20th century, when states considered distinctive symbols for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. Most U.S. state flags were designed and adopted between 1893 and World War I.

According to a 2001 survey by the North American Vexillological Association, New Mexico has the best-designed flag of any U.S. state, U.S. territory, or Canadian province, while Georgia‘s state flag was rated the worst design (Georgia adopted a new flag in 2003; Nebraska’s state flag, whose design was rated second worst, remains in use).

Current state flags of the United States

Arranged in order of each state’s admission to the Union (and for the first thirteen, the order of their ratification of the Constitution):

Flag of Delaware (July 24, 1913)

Flag of Pennsylvania (April 24, 1907)

Flag of New Jersey (January 15, 1896)

Flag of Georgia (February 19, 2003)

Flag of Connecticut (September 9, 1897)

Flag of Massachusetts (March 21, 1908)

Flag of Maryland (November 25, 1904)

Flag of South Carolina (January 28, 1861)

Flag of New Hampshire (November 30, 1931)

Flag of Virginia (February 1, 1950)

Flag of New York (April 1, 1901)

Flag of North Carolina (June 24, 1991)

Flag of Rhode Island (July 27, 1640, formally November 1, 1897)

Flag of Vermont (April 17, 1923)

Flag of Kentucky (March 26, 1918)

Flag of Tennessee (February 3, 1905)

Flag of Ohio (May 9, 1902)

Flag of Louisiana (November 22, 2010)

Flag of Indiana (May 31, 1917)

Flag of Mississippi (January 11, 2021)

Flag of Illinois (June 27, 1969)

Flag of Alabama (February 16, 1895)

Flag of Maine (June 16, 1909)

Flag of Missouri (September 4, 1913)

Flag of Arkansas (March 16, 1924)

Flag of Michigan (June 26, 1911)

Flag of Florida (May 21, 1985)

Flag of Texas (January 25, 1839)

Flag of Iowa (March 12, 1921)

Flag of Wisconsin (May 1, 1981)

Flag of California (1953)

Flag of Minnesota (August 2, 1983)

Flag of Oregon (April 15, 1925)

Flag of Kansas (September 22, 1961)

Flag of West Virginia (November 6, 1929)

Flag of Nevada (July 25, 1991)

Flag of Nebraska (July 16, 1963)

Flag of Colorado (March 31, 1964)

Flag of North Dakota (March 11, 1911)

Flag of South Dakota (November 9, 1992)

Flag of Montana (July 1, 1981)

Flag of Washington (March 5, 1923)

Flag of Idaho (November 2, 1957)

Flag of Wyoming (March 4, 1917)

Flag of Utah (1913 and February 16, 2011)

Flag of Oklahoma (April 2, 1925; formally November 1, 2006)

Flag of New Mexico (September 18, 1920)

Flag of Arizona (January 25, 1917)

Flag of Alaska (July 6, 1927)

Flag of Hawaii (December 29, 1845)

Utah Commemorative Flag

Flag of the District of Columbia (federal district) (October 15, 1938)

Flag of American Samoa (April 17, 1960)

Flag of Guam (February 9, 1948)

Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands (July 1, 1985)

Flag of Puerto Rico (July 24, 1952)

Flag of the U.S. Virgin Islands (May 17, 1921)

Merchant and Marine Flag of Maine (1939)

Naval and Maritime Flag of Massachusetts (1971)

List of Native American flags

Native Americans have tribal sovereignty, with Indian nations having jurisdiction over their members and Indian reservations. Although reservations are on state land, the laws of the state(s) do not necessarily apply on tribal land. Below are the flags of some of the largest Indian tribes reservations by population and area:

Flag of the Navajo Nation

Flag of the Osage Nation

Flag of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation

Flag of the Tohono Oʼodham Nation

Flag of the Cherokee Nation

Flag of the Hopi Nation