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

[TDAS04]

Well?

[TDAS04]

Midwest.

The US is legally divided into several regions, at least for the purposes of the Census.  I keep seeing threads like this, so I'm not sure if nobody's seen it...

Yes, I am aware of that.  That's the Census Bureau's opinion.  This is about what Atlas thinks.  There's a Texas thread on the off-topic board.  The Census places Texas in the South, but many say Texas is not completely Southern.  It's not as if once you cross the border from Texas into New Mexico that the regional landscape or culture instantly changes (though I suppose it's possible sometimes).

I don't completely agree with the Census.  I disagree with classifying Maryland & Delaware, but not Missouri, as Southern.

Anyway, I agree that the 4 states in the poll are mostly Midwestern overall.  However, there is obvious Western influence.  Where I live, both sides of the SD/MN border appear the same, but the western part of my state is more Wyomingish.

[TDAS04]

What do you mean by "Western influence?"  You mean in terms of culture?

Yes, and to a lesser extent, topography.

Hope this helps a little. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_River_(South_Dakota)

It's about South Dakota, but some of it can apply to the other states as well (though not to the same extent, since North Dakota is historically more firmly linked to Minnesota.  ND's policies are traditionally more communitarian, with its state bank).

West SD is very individualistic ranch country.  MN, ND, to an extent East SD are more communitarian, in large part due to the Scandinavian, German, and some New England influence that's shaped the Upper Midwest culture.

West of the Missouri River in SD, it's traditionally mining country, and it's much more economically and culturally linked to Denver than to Minneapolis (lots of Denver Bronco fans in Rapid City; not so much in Sioux Falls).  Politics in West River are more conservative than here in the East, but also more libertarian (West River rejected an abortion ban on the ballot even more strongly than East River).

Anyway, even the landscape West River is more rugged and dry than here in the cornbelt.

Kansas & Nebraska also have some of the Western cowboy heritage, even if they're also mostly Midwestern.

[TDAS04]

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