The five Midwests

[King of Kensington]

Thoughts?  This blogger divides the Midwest into five subregions:

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Share of state population by subregion:

Ohio

Lower Lakes:  48%
Midland Valley:  33%
Heartland:  19%

Michigan

Lower Lakes:  84%
North Woods: 16%

Indiana

Lower Lakes:  33%
Heartland:  33%
Midland Valley:  33%

Illinois

Lower Lakes:  72%
Heartland:  20%
Midland Valley:  6%

Wisconsin

Lower Lakes:  58%
Heartland:  25%
North Woods:  17%

Minnesota

Heartland:  80%
North Woods:  10%
Plains:  10%

Iowa

Heartland: 75%
Plains:  25%

Missouri

Midland Valley:  42%
Plains:  33%
Heartland:  8%

Kansas

Plains:  80%

Nebraska

Plains:  67%

South Dakota

Plains:  50%

North Dakota

Plains:  50%

Note that Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas are not entirely "midwestern."  

http://cornersideyard.blogspot.ca/2014/02/repost-five-midwests-part-ii.html

ETA:  I think his figures are off for the Dakotas. 

[Goldwater]

What, the plains states aren't entirely Midwestern? So parts of Kansas and Nebraska are considered part of the Mountain West?

[muon2]

You raised a similar question three years ago. I posted this in response to that thread, so I'll repeat it here.

The next of the Nine Nations is Breadbasket. I took the national boundary from Garreau's book and made adjustments to keep whole counties and metro areas together. The most significant deviation occurred putting Columbia, MO in Dixie which naturally led to excising all of MO's Little Dixie from Breadbasket. The division into states is designed to keep them between 3.1 and 12.4 million in population with an average of 6.2 million (1/50 of the US).

Breadbasket is between 6 and 7 states inpopulation, but the open unpopulated expanses work better with 7 states. The Dakota-Kansa line follows the state line since that marks the southern end of heavy corn production in the plains. Ojibwe covers the lake region of the upper Midwest. The Sauk-Illini line follows the North-Midland dialect line except for the St Louis Corridor. Wichita links the Metroplex to Austin, and leaves Comanche as a land of cattle and oil.

States (and principal city) with 2010 populations in millions are:

Dakota (Omaha) 4.2
Ojibwe (Minneapolis) 5.5
Sauk (Madison, Des Moines) 5.1
Illini (St Louis) 5.8
Kansa (Kansas City) 4.3
Comanche (Oklahoma City) 5.3
Wichita (Dallas) 9.6

Since the blog post references the Great Lakes part of the Midwest, I can add my equivalent post on that region, too.

The largest of the "nations" is the Foundry. There is enough population for 14.7 states, but the combination of some large population centers here and the need for some smaller states in other regions drop the number of states here to 13.

Most of the big cities anchor states that generally match the corresponding metro area, and when they are smaller they combine with other areas. Combining Milwaukee with Chicago would be too large, so Milwaukee becomes part of a state the wraps around the lake to Michigan. The greater New York area is so large that it becomes three states. The Baltimore-Washington area is large enough for two states, but this region stays combined until there is another state to eliminate elsewhere.

States (and principal city) with 2010 populations in millions are:

Winnebago (Milwaukee) 4.2
Meskwaki (Chicago) 9.7
Potawatomi (Fort Wayne, Grand Rapids) 4.5
Ottawa (Detroit) 5.7
Erie (Cleveland) 4.3
Miami (Indianapolis, Columbus) 8.9
Mingo (Pittsburgh) 8.7
Iroquois (Buffalo) 5.1
Susquehannock (Washington, Baltimore) 10.8
Lenape (Philadelphia) 7.0
Raritan (Newark) 5.5
Munsee (New York) 8.4
Montauk (Brooklyn) 7.6

Between these two maps, I think I've captured pretty much the same division. I have some additional subdivision since my goal in that exercise was to have roughly equal population divisions from 1/2 to 2 times the average.

[King of Kensington]

What, the plains states aren't entirely Midwestern? So parts of Kansas and Nebraska are considered part of the Mountain West?

Western Dakotas, eastern Montana etc. are still Great Plains are "western" but not "Mountain West."  Kinda like Saskatchewan I suppose.

[muon2]

What, the plains states aren't entirely Midwestern? So parts of Kansas and Nebraska are considered part of the Mountain West?

Western Dakotas, eastern Montana etc. are still Great Plains are "western" but not "Mountain West."  Kinda like Saskatchewan I suppose.

I just drove from IL to CO through NE on the way west and KS returning east. Geographically western NE and KS have some slight rolling terrain like eastern CO. However the difference in water is very evident. The land use is overwhelmingly ranchland in CO, but crops are more apparent in NE and KS.

[Torie]

I am not sure that I entirely understand the divisions. I know it is crop and/or topography based, but the exact lines confuse me.

[muon2]

I am not sure that I entirely understand the divisions. I know it is crop and/or topography based, but the exact lines confuse me.

I'm not sure whether you are referring to the OP or my maps. In my case, that particular exercise involved creating 50 "states" such that the states were within a factor of two of the average population and they generally adhered to the boundaries in Garreau's Nine Nations of North America. Within each "nation" the states used factors such as dialect, metro areas, topography, agriculture, and religion. The factors varied in different regions of the country and were applied as needed to achieve the population goals.

[Torie]

Ah, a season to taste thing.

[ilikeverin]

I really don't get the original distinction.  Minneapolis shouldn't be in the same sub-region as Columbus by any stretch of the imagination.  (I mean, I kind of get it economically, but culturally?  Nah.)  I think dialects provide a good starting point for how people want to affiliate themselves with each other.  As such, the Lower Lakes region is inspired, but should take up the rest of the trolls; the Heartland should go to Des Moines but no further north; and the "North Woods" should extend to about the Minnesota-Iowa border.  Then you're getting somewhere.  St. Louis is tough, because they tend to talk in some ways pretty similar to Chicagoans; but I guess other considerations might push it into "Midland Valley".

[Mr. Illini]

My opinion as to different cultural spheres within the Midwest and the names I have assigned to them

Blue = "lakes"
Green = "driftless area/manufacturing"
Red = "corn"
Purple = "almost Appalachia"
Yellow = "plains"



And my general idea when dividing up the states as a whole

Blue = "lakes"
Green = "plains"

It is my experience that when people from around where I grew up (IL, WI, IN, etc) refer to "midwest," they are referring to the blue states. It is likely the same vice versa.

[muon2]

And my general idea when dividing up the states as a whole

Blue = "lakes"
Green = "plains"

It is my experience that when people from around where I grew up (IL, WI, IN, etc) refer to "midwest," they are referring to the blue states. It is likely the same vice versa.

And my family in Kansas City, MO would say they live in a Midwestern state as would my friends in St Louis. You have the bulk of the population of MO in one of your five Midwestern regions, but not the state as a whole.

[Hydera]

Green = "driftless area/manufacturing"

If only....

[Mr. Illini]

And my general idea when dividing up the states as a whole

Blue = "lakes"
Green = "plains"

It is my experience that when people from around where I grew up (IL, WI, IN, etc) refer to "midwest," they are referring to the blue states. It is likely the same vice versa.

And my family in Kansas City, MO would say they live in a Midwestern state as would my friends in St Louis. You have the bulk of the population of MO in one of your five Midwestern regions, but not the state as a whole.

Yes, I am well aware of Missouri's status. I refuse to consider it a Midwestern state, but I do recognize that StL and the northern portion fit the bill. It's a personal issue.

[muon2]

And my general idea when dividing up the states as a whole

Blue = "lakes"
Green = "plains"

It is my experience that when people from around where I grew up (IL, WI, IN, etc) refer to "midwest," they are referring to the blue states. It is likely the same vice versa.

And my family in Kansas City, MO would say they live in a Midwestern state as would my friends in St Louis. You have the bulk of the population of MO in one of your five Midwestern regions, but not the state as a whole.

Yes, I am well aware of Missouri's status. I refuse to consider it a Midwestern state, but I do recognize that StL and the northern portion fit the bill. It's a personal issue.

It's really quite strange that you would have less than a quarter of the state's population dictate your feeling about it. But I guess it isn't any different than those who rate MD as southern because of the Eastern Shore and its 19th century history.

[Figueira]

And my general idea when dividing up the states as a whole

Blue = "lakes"
Green = "plains"

It is my experience that when people from around where I grew up (IL, WI, IN, etc) refer to "midwest," they are referring to the blue states. It is likely the same vice versa.

And my family in Kansas City, MO would say they live in a Midwestern state as would my friends in St Louis. You have the bulk of the population of MO in one of your five Midwestern regions, but not the state as a whole.

Yes, I am well aware of Missouri's status. I refuse to consider it a Midwestern state, but I do recognize that StL and the northern portion fit the bill. It's a personal issue.

It's really quite strange that you would have less than a quarter of the state's population dictate your feeling about it. But I guess it isn't any different than those who rate MD as southern because of the Eastern Shore and its 19th century history.

People who call MD southern are usually just going by the US Census definition, and the US Census just does it that way because it always has.

[jimrtex]

And my general idea when dividing up the states as a whole

Blue = "lakes"
Green = "plains"

It is my experience that when people from around where I grew up (IL, WI, IN, etc) refer to "midwest," they are referring to the blue states. It is likely the same vice versa.

Blue = "Near East"
Green = "Midwest"

Other areas are:

Extreme East
Southeast
Greater Texas
Mountains
Pacific