State Wheel
Spin for a random U.S. state. All 50 are on the wheel, or choose one region.
No spins yet. Each pick is listed here in order.
States on the wheel, by region
Northeast (9)
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
Midwest (12)
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Michigan
- Ohio
- Wisconsin
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
South (16)
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Alabama
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Tennessee
- Arkansas
- Louisiana
- Oklahoma
- Texas
West (13)
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Idaho
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- Utah
- Wyoming
- Alaska
- California
- Hawaii
- Oregon
- Washington
About the state wheel
All 50 states are on the wheel, so each has a 1 in 50 chance, exactly 2%.
Regions are the four used by the U.S. Census Bureau: Northeast (9 states), Midwest (12), South (16) and West (13). Under that system Delaware and Maryland count as the South, and Alaska and Hawaii as the West.
Washington, D.C. and the territories are not on the wheel because they are not states. Add a line if you want them in.
Uses for a random state
- State capital and state shape quizzes: spin, then answer.
- Assigning states for school reports without arguments over who gets Florida.
- Picking a destination for a someday road trip.
- License plate game bonus rounds on a long drive.
How to use the wheel
- Type or paste your options, one per line. The wheel redraws as you type.
- Press Spin, click the wheel, or press Ctrl+Enter while you are in the list.
- Read the pick. Remove it from the wheel if nobody should be picked twice, then spin again.
How the pick is made
Before the wheel moves, your browser draws one slice at random with crypto.getRandomValues, the same generator browsers use for security keys. Every slice has the same chance. The spin you watch only plays that result out.
Nothing about the animation changes the outcome: not how hard you click, not how long the wheel turns, not the size of your screen. The pointer always stops inside a slice, never on a line.
Your list stays in your browser. A link you copy carries the list inside the link itself, so nothing is uploaded.
Questions about the state wheel
- Does every state have the same chance?
- Yes. Each of the 50 states has one slice of the same size, a 2% chance per spin. The wheel does not weight states by population or size.
- Which regions can I choose?
- The four U.S. Census Bureau regions: Northeast (9), Midwest (12), South (16) and West (13).
- Is Washington, D.C. on the wheel?
- No. The wheel holds the 50 states only. You can add “Washington, D.C.” or any territory as a new line.
- How do I hand out states to a class without repeats?
- Switch on “Remove the winner after each spin”. Each state leaves the wheel once it is picked, and the Results tab keeps the order.