Commonwealth vs. State
Before you even begin to discuss the concepts and differences between these designations, you have to first determine where you are located. So, where are you talking about? Commonwealths and States, in domestic law, are pretty much treated the same. So much so that one could say there is no practical difference. As a basic rule, in the United States of America, commonwealths and states are treated the same under the U. S. Constitution.
Like the other comments following, it depends on what kind of commonwealth you're talking about; some consider Puerto Rico a commonwealth (which has some benefits of federal assistance, but restricted voting rights, etc). However, if you're asking about Virginia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, or Pennsylvania (the four "states" in the US that call themselves a commonwealth), in a commonwealth landowners do not possess mineral or oil rights to their land. They don't actually own their land but own its use. However this does not significantly differentiate their structure or self-government in any way from other states in the Union. Other FAQ Framers have offered these opinions:
The above statement simply is not true. Studying the constitutions of most states you will find similar wording regarding the states identity or "sovereignty". To the federal government all states are created equal. The differences come about through actions of the states (or in VA, MA, PA and KY the commonwealth). Relative to the US there is NO difference between a state and a commonwealth although there are certainly differences in how each state is governed.
There is no difference between the two other than terminology.
There are four US states that officially designate themselves as "commonwealths". Arkansas is not one of them.In practice, there's no real difference between a "commonwealth" state and one that just calls itself a state.
The difference is that an Inaugural address is when the president takes an oath and solemn promise and the other one is when he is telling the condition of the country.
Well there is no British empire as such nowadays. The ex-empire countries are known as commonwealth nations, many of these still have Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state, and have a close relationship with the United Kingdom.
they are two deferent competitions both games are only for the unprofessional players but the commonwealth games are only for countries that used to be in the commonwealth =)
It is a US state named "The Commonwealth of Virginia".
What is the difference between a common wealth and a state?
a city state does not have an emperor the difference between a city-state and an empire is that a city-state does not have an emperor
It is a state, and its full name is "The Commonwealth of Kentucky", it is just refered to as Kentucky in common useage.
A commonwealth government is one exists to protect the welfare of the citizens as a whole rather than a small priveleged class (like nobility and kings). Four states have the formal title "Commonwealth of..." rather than "State of..."; however there is no real difference between Commonwealths and States in how they operate. The four Commonwealths are Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
No. California is a State. Massachusetts is a Commonwealth.
The difference between the state legislature and the congerss is that the state legislature is state legislature while Congress is national legislature.