how do I select the 48 conterminous US states from a layer of all US states and territories?

[Nathan_Molony-Benjamin]

I'm supposed to query the attribute table but I'm having trouble figuring out an SQL statement that will work. I've tried countless statements and sometimes they're verified but they do not select the records. How do I use an SQL statement that will exclude all non conterminous states and territories? Please help. I need to figure out this query.

[DanPatterson_Retired]

why not query for what you don't want...then switch the selection manually or by using your sql type "Not" operand

[Nathan_Molony-Benjamin]

What would that look like?

I tried  NOT STATE =  'AK HI PR VI' and that didn't work.

I'm sure it has something to do with the way I format the statement. Could you please show me?

[MahtabAlam1 · Accepted solution]

Please try

STATE NOT IN ('AK','HI','PR','VI')

In case of syntax error change single quote to double quote.

HTH

[Nathan_Molony-Benjamin]

Hey thanks man! I guess I have to work on my computer syntax. Much appreciated!