List of U.S. state colors

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Map of state colors in the United States.
  Official colors
  Unofficial colors, or unclear official status
  No known or officially no state colors

This is the official list of each state's colors.

Alabama[edit]

Alabama does not have known official state colors.

Alaska[edit]

Alaska does not have known official state colors.

Arizona[edit]

Arizona's official colors are:

They were adopted in 1915[1][2][3]

Arkansas[edit]

Arkansas does not have known official state colors.

California[edit]

California's official colors are:

  •   Blue
  •   Gold

First used by the University of California, Berkeley in 1875, and officially adopted by the state in 1951,[4] blue represents the sky and gold represents the California Gold Rush.[5]

The colors are defined by several different standards in law:[6]

References:

  • Color Association of the United States (Formerly Textile Color Card Association of New York, Inc.):
    • Blue: Yale Blue, cable number 70086, Standard Color Card of America, 9th edition.
    • Gold: Golden Yellow, cable number 65001, United States Army Card of Official Colors for Arms and Services.
  • ISCC–NBS system:
    • Yale Blue: Deep purplish blue.
    • Golden Yellow: Vivid yellow.

Colorado[edit]

Colorado does not have known official state colors.

Connecticut[edit]

Connecticut does not have known official state colors.

Delaware[edit]

Delaware's official colors are:[7][8]

  •   Colonial blue
  •   Buff

Further, "colonial blue and buff, are designated by the Textile Color Card Association of the United States, Inc., New York, as 'arno blue' Cable No. 10663, and 'golden beige' Cable No. 10781 respectively; the color shades having been determined by Colorimetric Specifications of the National Bureau of Standards, United States Department of Commerce, in Test No. 2, 1/140565, dated November 18, 1954, which is on file with the Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware."[7]

Florida[edit]

Florida does not have known official state colors.

Georgia[edit]

Georgia does not have known official state colors.

Hawaii[edit]

Hawaii does not have known official colors for the entire state. However, Hawaii has legislated an official color for each of its eight main islands:[9]

Idaho[edit]

Idaho does not have known official state colors.

Illinois[edit]

Illinois does not have known official state colors.

Indiana[edit]

Indiana's official colors are:[10][dubious ]

  •   Blue
  •   Gold

Iowa[edit]

Iowa does not have known official state colors.

Kansas[edit]

Kansas does not have known official state colors.

Kentucky[edit]

Kentucky does not have known official state colors.

Louisiana[edit]

Louisiana's official colors are:[11][12]

  •   Blue
  •   White
  •   Gold

They were adopted in 1972.

Maine[edit]

Maine does not have known official state colors.

Maryland[edit]

Maryland does not have known official state colors. Maryland's widely-used unofficial colors are:

  •   Red
  •   White
  •   Black
  •   Gold

The colors come from the state flag, which in turn uses the Baltimore and Crossland crests of the Calvert family.[13] Maryland flag imagery (and in turn, the four colors of the flag, in varying shades) are used extensively in official government branding.[14][15]

Massachusetts[edit]

Massachusetts's official colors are:

  •   Blue
  •   Green
  •   Cranberry

They were adopted in 2005.[16][17]

Michigan[edit]

Michigan does not have known official state colors.

Minnesota[edit]

Minnesota does not have known official state colors.

Minnesota proposed in 2016 to make its official color

  •   Purple

in honor of the musician Prince; however, the motion did not succeed.[18][19]

Mississippi[edit]

Mississippi does not have known official state colors.

Missouri[edit]

Missouri does not have known official state colors.

Montana[edit]

Montana does not have known official state colors.

Nebraska[edit]

Nebraska does not have known official state colors.

Nevada[edit]

Nevada's official colors are:[20][21]

  •   Silver
  •   Blue

Blue stands for Lake Tahoe and the mountain bluebird, while silver stands for the granite of the Sierra Nevada and the silver country of northern Nevada.[22][23]

New Hampshire[edit]

New Hampshire does not have known official state colors.

New Hampshire proposed in 2013 to make the colors

  •   Orange
  •   Red
  •   Yellow

its official state colors; however, the motion did not succeed.[24]

New Jersey[edit]

New Jersey's official colors are:[25]

  •   Jersey Blue
  •   Buff

Using the Cable color system developed by the Color Association of the United States, Jersey Blue was defined as Cable No. 70087; Buff was defined as Cable No. 65015. The Office of the Secretary of State of New Jersey gives the blue and buff color hexadecimal equivalents as #2484C6 and #E1B584, respectively.[26]

New Mexico[edit]

New Mexico does not have known official state colors.

New York[edit]

New York does not have known official state colors in law, but does define specific color shades in their official branding guide:[27]

  •   Dark Blue
  •   Light Blue
  •   Gold

North Carolina[edit]

North Carolina's official colors are:[28]

  •   Red
  •   Blue

Specifically, the same shades "appearing in the North Carolina State flag and the American flag."[28]

North Dakota[edit]

North Dakota does not have known official state colors.

Ohio[edit]

Ohio does not have known official state colors in law, but does define specific color shades in their official branding guide,[29] inspired by the Flag of Ohio:

  •   Buckeye Blue
  •   Cardinal Red
  •   White

Oklahoma[edit]

Oklahoma's official colors are:[11][30]

  •   Green
  •   White

Oregon[edit]

Oregon's official colors are:[31]

  •   Navy blue
  •   Gold

They were adopted in 1959.[11][32][33]

Pennsylvania[edit]

Pennsylvania does not have known official state colors.

No official state colors are listed on the Commonwealth's State Symbols webpage,[34] and no resolution or legislation designating state colors is known to exist.

Some sources erroneously cite blue and gold[35] due to their prominence on the state license plate and the state flag, but these colors are coincidentally predominant on many current and historical US state license plates and on most blue "seal on a bedsheet" US state flags, including Pennsylvania's and at least 19 others.)


Rhode Island[edit]

Rhode Island has no known official state colors.

South Carolina[edit]

South Carolina's official color is:[36]

  •   Indigo blue

It was adopted in 2008.[37][38]

South Dakota[edit]

South Dakota does not have known official state colors.

Tennessee[edit]

Tennessee does not have known official state colors.

Texas[edit]

Texas does not have known official state colors.

Utah[edit]

Utah does not have known official state colors.

Vermont[edit]

Vermont does not have known official state colors.

Vermont proposed in 2007 to make the colors

  •   Green
  •   Gold

its official state colors; however, the motion did not succeed.[39]

Virginia[edit]

Virginia does not have known official state colors.

Washington[edit]

Washington does not have known official state colors.

No official state colors are listed the state legislature's State Symbols webpage[40] nor in Chapter 1.20 of the Revised Code of Washington (where other official symbols are designated).[41] Some sources list dark green and gold/yellow, the two colors specified for the flag by law since 1925.[42]

West Virginia[edit]

West Virginia's official colors are:

They were adopted in 1963.[43][44]

Wisconsin[edit]

Wisconsin does not have known official state colors.

Wyoming[edit]

Wyoming does not have known official state colors.

Wyoming proposed in 2003 to make the colors

  •   Brown
  •   Yellow

its official state colors in honor of the University of Wyoming Cowboys 1980 football uniforms; however, the motion did not succeed.[45]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 41, Section 851". Arizona State Legislature. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  2. ^ "Arizona's State Symbols". Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records. Archived from the original on 2010-06-07. Retrieved November 8, 2009.
  3. ^ "Session laws, State of Arizona, 1915, Second Legislature, Regular Session, First and Second Special Sessions". Arizona Memory Project. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  4. ^ "California State Colors". NETSTATE. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  5. ^ History and Culture - State Symbols California State Library
  6. ^ "California Government Code, Title 1, Division 2, Chapter 2, Section 424". Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Delaware Code Online". delcode.delaware.gov. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  8. ^ Facts & Symbols - Guide - Delaware government website
  9. ^ §5-16.5 Official island colors Hawaii legislature
  10. ^ "Indiana Fun Facts". Indiana House Republicans. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014. The state colors are blue and gold.
  11. ^ a b c Official State Colors, NetState.com, accessed April 21, 2006.
  12. ^ Louisiana State Legislature RS 49:161
  13. ^ "The Maryland State Flag". Maryland Secretary of State. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  14. ^ "Maryland Open For Business Brand Guide" (PDF). Maryland Department of Commerce. 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Maryland Logo Standards" (PDF). Maryland Department of Health. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  16. ^ Massachusetts Facts: State Symbols Massachusetts Gov. Website
  17. ^ General Laws of Massachusetts Part I Title I Chapter 2 Section 53
  18. ^ "Minnesota SF3595 2016".
  19. ^ "Purple as the official state color? Prince would approve". 23 April 2016.
  20. ^ "Nevada NRS 235.025".
  21. ^ "Nevada Assembly Bill 666 (1983)" (PDF).
  22. ^ Nevada information: State symbols Archived 2009-01-30 at the Wayback Machine Official state website
  23. ^ "Netstate: Nevada State Colors".
  24. ^ Bill HB420 New Hampshire General Court
  25. ^ State of New Jersey. "52:2A-1. Official colors". Archived from the original on 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  26. ^ Fisher, Lynn. "New Jersey". US Flags [dot] Design. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  27. ^ "New York State Branding Overview, Guidelines and Architecture" (PDF). Empire State Development. March 31, 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  28. ^ a b "North Carolina Session Laws, 1945, c. 878", North Carolina State Library, State of North Carolina, archived from the original on 2008-02-27
  29. ^ "Ohio Brand Guide" (PDF).
  30. ^ Oklahoma Banking Department Annual Report 2010 (page 12)
  31. ^ "Oregon Revised Statutes, Title 19, Chapter 186". pp. Chapter 186.010 (2). The official colors of the State of Oregon are navy blue and gold.
  32. ^ "Oregon Guard Bulletin, May 1, 1936" (PDF). Oregon State Library. Retrieved November 19, 2014. The medal (...) is suspended from a ribbon of blue and gold, the official state colors.
  33. ^ "Oregon Almanac: Dance to Hot Springs". Oregon Blue Book. Retrieved November 19, 2014. Blue and gold are the state colors.
  34. ^ "State Symbols". Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  35. ^ "Pennsylvania State Colors". State Symbols USA. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  36. ^ "Official State Symbols of North Carolina". North Carolina State Library. State of North Carolina. Archived from the original on 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  37. ^ "South Carolina State House: Colors & Textiles". South Carolina State House. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  38. ^ S*1033 (Rat #0229, Act #0200 of 2008) General Bill, By Cromer and Campsen South Carolina Legislature Online
  39. ^ Bill H.0184 The Vermont Legislative Bill Tracking System
  40. ^ "State Symbols". Washington State Legislature. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  41. ^ "Chapter 1.20 RCW, General Provisions". Revised Code of Washington. Washington State Legislature. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  42. ^ "RCW 1.20.010, State flag". Revised Code of Washington. Washington State Legislature. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  43. ^ "State Symbols". West Virginia's State Treasurer's Office. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  44. ^ "Departmental, Statistical and General Information" (PDF). West Virginia Legislature. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  45. ^ Bill HB0108 State of Wyoming Legislature

External links[edit]