In which region do Kansas, Nebraska, & the Dakotas fit?

[Tieteobserver]

Of relevance: http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/what-states-are-in-the-midwest/

Funny that the three most Midwestern states according to that are all next to each other alphabetically.

This is what I consider the Midwest:

Dark Green:  Solidly Midwestern
Medium Green:  Mostly Midwestern
Light Green:  Not Midwestern, but with some Midwestern influence

Nice map. Only changes I'd make: MO and OH, to me, are solidly Mid-western too, in spite of a somewhat strong Southern influence on the former.

[jimrtex]

Of relevance: http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/what-states-are-in-the-midwest/

A very timely link.   Thanks.

It also links to:

Which States Are in the South?

Which suggests that Missouri is like the kid picked for dodgeball.

What they didn't test for was self-identification on a local basis.

[jimrtex]

I would draw the present-day South/West line along I-35.  Each of the major cities along I-35 was once clearly Southern but is now ambiguous in a Northern Virginia kind of way.  However, go an hour east of I-35 and it clearly feels like the South.

Or as Will Rogers observed, "Fort Worth is where the West begins and Dallas is where the East peters out."

[Del Tachi]

Silly geese.

Texas is not the South!

There are even some parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia that aren't the South! 

[illegaloperation]

Neither.

They are the great plains states

[Goldwater]

Midwest. I find it odd when people consider them part of the West.

[King of Kensington]

The Midwest does seem to be of an odd category, combining both "the prairies" and the industrial heartland.  In Canada these are seen as very distinctively different regions.

[muon2]

The Midwest does seem to be of an odd category, combining both "the prairies" and the industrial heartland.  In Canada these are seen as very distinctively different regions.

In Nine Nations of North America, Joel Garreau made the same observation. The plains states were part of the Breadbasket, but most of the Great Lakes states were part of the Foundry. He extended into Canada matching your experience there.

[jimrtex]

The Midwest does seem to be of an odd category, combining both "the prairies" and the industrial heartland.  In Canada these are seen as very distinctively different regions.

Though in Canada there is a big gap between the areas.  In the USA one could drive from Cleveland to Omaha and gradually transition.  In Canada, a drive from Hamilton to Winnipeg would cross 100s of miles of low-habitation areas.

And Buffalo would hardly be considered a midwestern city, and Hamilton and Toronto are as far east.  This would leave places like Kitchener and Sarnia as the equivalents of the industrial parts of the US Midwest.  So in Canada, the industrial area stops at around Ohio.

[muon2]

The Midwest does seem to be of an odd category, combining both "the prairies" and the industrial heartland.  In Canada these are seen as very distinctively different regions.

Though in Canada there is a big gap between the areas.  In the USA one could drive from Cleveland to Omaha and gradually transition.  In Canada, a drive from Hamilton to Winnipeg would cross 100s of miles of low-habitation areas.

And Buffalo would hardly be considered a midwestern city, and Hamilton and Toronto are as far east.  This would leave places like Kitchener and Sarnia as the equivalents of the industrial parts of the US Midwest.  So in Canada, the industrial area stops at around Ohio.

Lake Superior acts like an odd gulf between the farmland of the plains and the industrial east. Its economy is based on forestry and mining whether one is in Thunder Bay on the north, Duluth on the west or Marquette on the south. The divide matters in Canada, but not so much in the US where industry transitions smoothly to agricultural cities in IL.

[King of Kensington]

Though in Canada there is a big gap between the areas.  In the USA one could drive from Cleveland to Omaha and gradually transition.  In Canada, a drive from Hamilton to Winnipeg would cross 100s of miles of low-habitation areas.

And Buffalo would hardly be considered a midwestern city, and Hamilton and Toronto are as far east.  This would leave places like Kitchener and Sarnia as the equivalents of the industrial parts of the US Midwest.  So in Canada, the industrial area stops at around Ohio.

Yes, good point.  The industrial heartland runs in both the Midwest and Northeast and Lake Ontario is entirely in the "Northeast."  I think Ontario would be considered part of the Northeast if it were part of the US.

ETA: Agreed the east-west divide is sharper in Canada.

[jimrtex]

Though in Canada there is a big gap between the areas.  In the USA one could drive from Cleveland to Omaha and gradually transition.  In Canada, a drive from Hamilton to Winnipeg would cross 100s of miles of low-habitation areas.

And Buffalo would hardly be considered a midwestern city, and Hamilton and Toronto are as far east.  This would leave places like Kitchener and Sarnia as the equivalents of the industrial parts of the US Midwest.  So in Canada, the industrial area stops at around Ohio.

Yes, good point.  The industrial heartland runs in both the Midwest and Northeast and Lake Ontario is entirely in the "Northeast."  I think Ontario would be considered part of the Northeast if it were part of the US.

If the Maritimes were added, then you might have a 10-state Northeast: NL, PE, NB, NS, ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT.

A 7-state East (QC, ON, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD. DC)

Midwest would be 5 states: OH, IN, IL. MI, WI

Prairies would be SK, MB, ND, SD, MN, NE, IA, KS, MO, OK

(The USPS made Nebraska NE to avoid a conflict with NB, though now it is confused with NV).

Mountain AB, MT, ID, WY, UT, CO, NM, AZ, NE

Pacific BC, WA, OR, CA, HI

North AK, YT, NT, NU

South Atlantic: WV, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, PR

South: KY, TN, AL, MS, LA, AR

Texas: TX

[King of Kensington]

http://www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detroit/September-2008/The-Meaning-of-Midwest/#.U3z0mC9U2SM

[King of Kensington]

Now does Saskatchewan fall more in with the West or Midwest?

[Citizen Hats]

Now does Saskatchewan fall more in with the West or Midwest?

The West in Canada and the West in the United States are simply non-parallel concepts

[Antonio the Sixth]

I've always thought of them as part of the West. It makes infinitely more sense politically.

[muon2]

I've always thought of them as part of the West. It makes infinitely more sense politically.

There are only two parties, so groupings based on politics could place together areas that are generally unlike except for their politics - for example one wouldn't treat AR and MT the same despite similar political leanings. The High Plains states may vote like the Rocky Mountain states, but economically and culturally they are mostly not part of the West.