Using Commas with Geographical (Place) Names
by Tina Blue
January 2, 2008
When a geographical name has two or more elements to it, use a comma after each different type of element (city or town, region, state, country) and follow the last element with a comma, unless it occurs at the end of a sentence.
Between a city and state:
~I was born in Bilioxi, Mississippi.
Between a city and a country:
~The art institute is located in Mexico City, Mexico.
~She did her first study abroad semester in Manchester, England.
Between a county and state:
~The University of Kansas is located in Douglas County, Kansas.
Between a city and a region or a region and a country:
~This site will provide you with maps and information for Mixtan, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Follow the last element of the multipart place name with a comma, too, unless it occurs at the end of the sentence:
EXAMPLES
~James left on June 20, 1967, to go to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a conference.
~She did her first study abroad semester in Manchester, England, but she chose Costa Rica for her second study-abroad.
~This site will provide you with maps and information for Mixtan, Oaxaca, Mexico, but you won't need to include everything in your report.
