General Knowledge
Flags of US States Quiz
From the Lone Star to the Big Dipper — can you identify all 50 US state flags by their design elements?
From the Lone Star to the Big Dipper — can you identify all 50 US state flags by their design elements?
All 50 US states fly their own flag, but most Americans can only identify a handful. The majority of state flags follow the "blue bedsheet" formula — a dark blue background with a state seal in the center — making them notoriously difficult to tell apart. This quiz covers 50 questions spanning distinctive designs like Texas's Lone Star, California's grizzly bear, and recent redesigns like Mississippi's magnolia flag adopted in 2020 and Utah's beehive flag updated in 2024.
You'll answer 10 randomized multiple-choice questions drawn from a pool of 50, with instant feedback after each answer. Your final score earns a performance tier and shareable results. Because questions are shuffled, every playthrough is different.
Questions cover iconic symbols like South Carolina's palmetto and crescent, the stories behind flags like Maryland's complex heraldic design, and why Ohio has the only non-rectangular state flag in the US. You'll also learn about commonly confused "seal on blue" flags, the meaning behind colors and symbols, and which state flags have been recently redesigned.
Vexillologists consistently rank New Mexico's flag as the best US state flag. Its simple design features the Zia sun symbol in red on a golden yellow background — no text, no seal, and instantly recognizable. Other top-ranked flags include Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Alaska, and Maryland.
Ohio is the only US state with a non-rectangular flag. Its burgee-shaped (swallow-tailed) design was adopted in 1902 and features a red and white pattern with a blue triangle containing a white circle with a red center, representing a buckeye and the letter O.
Utah adopted a new state flag in 2024, replacing its seal-on-blue design with a modern flag featuring a beehive, mountains, and a five-pointed star. Mississippi changed its flag in 2020, replacing the Confederate battle emblem with a magnolia flower and the phrase "In God We Trust." Minnesota also adopted a new flag in 2024.
Last updated: March 2026