Do not abbreviate city names.
- New York City, not NYC (New York is OK, on second reference).
- Los Angeles, not LA.
- San Francisco, not SF.
Exception: Abbreviations are OK in entry tags — NYC, SF, LA
DATELINE CITIES
Certain cities are so well-known that they do not need to be accompanied by state names. They are:
- Atlanta
- Baltimore
- Boston
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Honolulu
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- New Orleans
- New York
- Oklahoma City
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- St. Louis
- Salt Lake City
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Washington: Because Washington is a dateline city that stands alone without the “D.C.,” writers using AP style often must clarify in text when they’re referring to “Washington state.”