With a height of 242 feet, the North Dakota State Capitol is not only the tallest in Bismarck, but also the state of North Dakota. North Dakota's low population density and main industries of mining and oil production require few skyscrapers, allowing the government building in Bismarck to tower over everything in the state. West Virginia's capitol is also the tallest building in its state, topping out at 292 feet.

The 19.5-foot statue standing on top of the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln is called "The Sower" and depicts a barefoot man hand-sowing grain. The 9.5-ton bronze sculpture recognizes the importance of agriculture to the development of civilization. According to the state government of Nebraska, "Agriculture is the foundation upon which Nebraskans have built a noble life."

The Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford was completed in 1897 and took inspiration from Egyptian, English, Italian, and French architecture. The building features Gothic touches and an impressive 32-foot-tall dome, which was once melted down to make ammunition during World War II.

Of the many capitol domes, only one is made of zinc: the Illinois State Capitol. The distinct, silvery, zinc-covered dome does not weather and tops out at a height of 361 feet. That makes it the tallest building in Springfield, a title which it is legally protected from losing as no buildings are allowed to be built taller.

Oklahoma's capitol is surrounded by a series of working oil wells, and for the first 40 years of the Oklahoma City Field's operation, it was one of the world's top oil producers. One of the most visible and recognizable markers of the field is Petunia #1, an oil well drilled next to the capitol building more than 80 years ago. Though it is no longer operational, the rig remains, complete with its historic Phillips 66 logo.

The New Mexico State Capitol was built in 1966. Known colloquially as the “Roundhouse,” it was designed in the shape of a Zia sun symbol, which also appears on the New Mexico state flag. The image, which originated from the Indigenous Zia Pueblo people, represents the sun's rays as they stretch toward the four cardinal directions.

Albany has been the seat of government for the state of New York since the 1880s and its grand State Capitol Building sits perched on a hill above State Street. It cost a whopping $25 million to build between 1867 and 1899 (equal to about half a billion dollars today) and even features a “Million Dollar Staircase” by the west entrance.

On top of the Massachusetts State Capitol’s gilded dome is a carved wooden sculpture of a pinecone "to remind everyone of the importance of the pine trees, which provided wood to build houses, churches, and commercial buildings." From 1908 to 1971, the capitol also flew a Massachusetts state flag, which depicted a pine tree on its reverse side until the flag was redesigned and replaced with the state’s coat of arms.

The current capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin is the state's third capitol building, opening in 1917 after a fire razed the previous structure. Its X-shaped footprint is unique among state capitols, with each of its four wings flanking a tower topped by a dome that reaches 284 feet above the ground. That height makes it the tallest building in Madison, a status of which it legally cannot be stripped, as city ordinances prevent any structures from being built any taller.

Besides being known as “the Grand Canyon State,” Arizona's other nickname is “the Copper State.” Thanks to its many ancient volcanoes, the state is rich in copper deposits, which led to a booming copper mining industry beginning in the mid-19th century. Appropriately, Arizona’s capitol is topped with a dome covered in locally sourced copper.

Domes are generally synonymous with state capitol buildings, but only Maryland’s is made from wood. Other states with unique domes include the brick-and-concrete dome found in Washington state and the terra cotta domes found atop the buildings in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. The newest dome belongs to Oklahoma's capitol; it was added in 2002.

Florida's current state capitol, the 22-story skyscraper seen here, was built in the late 1970s, replacing the old capitol building that still sits in its shadow, as the seat of Florida's state government in Tallahassee. Now informally known as the “Old Capitol," the historic building was built in 1945 and now serves as the Florida Historic Capitol Museum.

To honor Hawaii's unique volcanic history, the architects of the Hawaii State Capitol, which was dedicated in 1969, designed its legislative chambers to be shaped like volcanoes. The Senate and the House of Representatives both create laws in massive, cone-shaped chambers, which flank the capitol's courtyard and are surrounded by a reflection pool to symbolizes the Pacific Ocean.

High above the skyline of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and higher than any other state capitol building in the United States, is the Louisiana State Capitol. Capitole de l'État de Louisiane, as it's known in French, is a 34-floor, 450-foot-tall skyscraper that was built in 1932, thanks to the political maneuvering of Senator Huey P. Long, who is buried on the capitol grounds. The second-tallest state capitol is Nebraska's at 400 feet tall.

The Maryland State Capitol finished construction in 1779, capped by the oldest and largest wooden dome of its kind in the United States. After its construction was delayed by the Revolution, the building became the nation’s first peacetime capitol, when Continental Congress convened there from November 26, 1783, to August 13, 1784. During that time, George Washington resigned his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and the Treaty of Paris was ratified — officially ending the war.

Atop the capitol domes of Vermont and Missouri are statues of the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres. Missouri's Ceres (in St. Louis) was installed in 1924, weighs 900 pounds, and stands just over 10 feet tall. Vermont's current statue is the third Ceres to stand overlooking the city of Montpelier, after two previous wood statues rotted. The current 15-foot-tall Ceres is made of mahogany and was unveiled in 2018.

Opened in 1859, the Tennessee State Capitol sits on a hill in the middle of Nashville and is made of limestone. The building’s architecture has Greek influences, with columns and porticos. Architect William Strickland designed the capitol, which is one of only 11 capitol buildings that does not have a dome. Instead, the Nashville building has a drum tower with a flagstaff.

In addition to writing the Declaration of Independence, inventing the swivel chair, and serving as the third U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson was also an accomplished architect, designing the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. He based the state house's style on the ancient temples of Rome, introducing Neoclassical architecture to North America upon the building's construction in 1788. Jefferson also designed much of the campus of the University of Virginia and his home, Monticello.

In front of the main entrance to the Colorado State Capitol in Denver is a staircase inscribed with three separate markers claiming the exact point at which the building is one mile above sea level. The first one, carved into the riser of the 15th step, reads '"One mile above sea level." However, later surveying indicated that that step was a bit too high. In 1969, a new brass benchmark was placed on the 18th step, but that changed yet again in 2003 after even more accurate measurements determined that the correct step was the 13th from the bottom.

When the Texas State Capitol was built in Austin in 1888, its 360,000 square feet of floor space made it the seventh-largest building in the world. After the Capitol Extension opened in 1993, it added 667,000 more square feet of space to the massive capitol. That easily makes it the largest state capitol in the country, though most of the capitol's offices are built underground.