The following is a list of traditional abbreviations for U.S. states, which were in wide use prior to the US postal abbreviations. Some writers continue to prefer these abbreviations in contexts other than postal addresses. Some of these abbreviations are considerably more live than others.
- Alabama: Ala.
- Arizona: Ariz.
- Arkansas: Ark.
- California: Calif.
- Colorado: Colo.
- Connecticut: Conn.
- Delaware: Del.
- Georgia: Ga.
- Idaho: Ida.
- Illinois: Ill.
- Indiana: Ind.
- Iowa: Ia.
- Kansas: Kan.
- Kentucky: Ky. or Kent.
- Louisiana: La.
- Maryland: Md.
- Massachusetts: Mass.
- Michigan: Mich.
- Minnesota: Minn.
- Mississippi: Miss.
- Missouri: Mo.
- Montana: Mont.
- Nebraska: Neb. or Nebr.
- Nevada: Nev.
- New Hampshire: N.H.
- New Jersey: N.J.
- New Mexico: N.M.
- New York: N.Y.
- North Carolina: N.C.
- North Dakota: N.D.
- Ohio: O.
- Oklahoma: Okla.
- Oregon: Ore.
- Pennsylvania: Penna.
- Rhode Island: R.I.
- South Carolina: S.C.
- South Dakota: S.D.
- Tennessee: Tenn.
- Texas: Tex.
- Vermont: Vt.
- Virginia: Va.
- Washington: Wash.
- West Virginia: W.V.
- Wisconsin: Wisc.
- Wyoming: Wyo.