Yes, states are considered proper nouns. A proper noun is a specific name that identifies a particular person, place, or organization. In the case of states, names like ‘California’, ‘Texas’, and ‘New York’ refer to specific geographical locations, which is why they are classified as proper nouns.
In English grammar, proper nouns are always capitalized to signify their significance and uniqueness. So whenever you mention a state by its name, you should capitalize the first letter of the name. For instance, you would write ‘I live in Florida’ rather than ‘I live in florida’. This capitalization helps to mark the names as distinct entities among the common nouns used in the language.
In summary, because state names represent specific places and follow the rules of capitalization, they are indeed proper nouns.