Arizona State Colors | Blue Old Gold

Arizona is one of the few states that formally designated its state colors by legislative act. The Arizona Legislature adopted blue and old gold as the official state colors in 1915 under Laws 1915, Chapter 30, just three years after Arizona achieved statehood on February 14, 1912. This early codification reflects the importance placed on establishing distinct state symbols during the formative years following statehood and aligns with the Arizona state flag.

The selection of these two specific colors was deliberate and grounded in both national loyalty and regional economic identity. Blue was chosen to align directly with the blue of the United States flag, affirming Arizona's place within the Union following decades as a territory. Old gold, rather than a brighter or more saturated yellow, was selected to represent the muted, earthy tones of the mineral wealth that had attracted settlers, prospectors, and industry to the Arizona Territory since the mid-19th century.

The blue and old gold combination represents two foundational pillars of Arizona's identity: national unity and economic heritage. Blue, matching the precise shade of the US flag, was a common color choice among states admitted in the post-Civil War era to signal loyalty to the federal government. Old gold carries a more locally specific meaning, evoking the copper and gold ore that made Arizona economically viable as a territory and drove immigration, infrastructure development, and eventual statehood campaigns, a message also embedded in Arizona's motto, Ditat Deus.

The blue and old gold colors appear most prominently on the Arizona state flag, adopted in 1917, which features thirteen alternating red and gold rays on the upper half, a blue field on the lower half, and a large copper star at the center. The blue of the flag's lower field directly corresponds to the official state color, while the copper star and gold rays reference the old gold and copper tones of the state's mining heritage. The Arizona state seal, adopted at statehood in 1912, incorporates these same colors alongside imagery of mountains, a rising sun, irrigated fields, and a miner — further reinforcing the blue-and-gold identity. State government agencies, the Arizona Department of Transportation, and state university system branding programs consistently apply the 1915 color designations in official communications and signage, often together with the Grand Canyon State nickname.

From a national geography perspective, Arizona's visual brand is frequently compared within U.S. states by land area.