Which states are Upper Midwest?

[King of Kensington]

There seems to be two different conceptions of what constitutes the Upper Midwest.

The more common one seems to be centered in Minnesota and is characterized by its large Scandinavian/German and Lutheran presence

The other definition seems to be defined by Yankee culture and lakes.

Pretty much every definition I think includes Minnesota and Wisconsin.  The "Yankees and lakes" obviously takes in Michigan, while the "Greater Minnesota" would take in the Dakotas and perhaps Iowa.

[Bismarck]

All the states you have listed are upper midwestern, except the majority of Illinois. Only far northern Illinois is upper mid western.

[Strudelcutie4427]

Michigan Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa and the Dakotas

[AN63093]

Green- upper Midwest

Blue- Midwest

Red- border states that are not wholly in the Midwest, but have portions that are (for MO, the St Louis MSA, for KY, the Louisville MSA and Cincinnati MSA).

The Dakotas are not in the Midwest.  They are Plains States.

[nicholas.slaydon]

Upper Midwest: Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Lower Midwest: Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.
Central Midwest: Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

[King of Kensington]

So far Yankees and lakes is outpolling Germans, Scandinavians and Lutherans. 

[TDAS04]

I voted AOTA, except for Illinois.

So far Yankees and lakes is outpolling Germans, Scandinavians and Lutherans. 

I associate my region quite a bit with the latter (though I'm not sure why we can't be called "Yankees") and I hesitated on voting for Michigan because it's clearly a Rustbelt sate with considerably less German and Scandinavian influence.  I ultimately included Michigan because of its northern location.

[Bismarck]

Minnesota and the Dakotas are very similar culturally, and everyone agree that Minnesota is upper midwestern. Wisconsin has to go with Minnesota and if you include Wisconsin you should include Michigan as well. Iowa is a hybrid of Minnesota and Nebraska but in my opinion belongs more with Minnesota. Northern Illinois belongs in the upper Midwest. Central Illinois, most of Indiana, parts of Nebraska, Northern Missouri, and parts of Iowa form their own band of pretty similar culture. Southern Illinois, southern Indiana, large parts of Missouri, as well as parts of Kentucky have a hybrid lower Midwest upper south culture that is still primarily midwestern.

[King of Kensington]

I voted AOTA, except for Illinois.

So far Yankees and lakes is outpolling Germans, Scandinavians and Lutherans. 

I associate my region quite a bit with the latter (though I'm not sure why we can't be called "Yankees") and I hesitated on voting for Michigan because it's clearly a Rustbelt sate with considerably less German and Scandinavian influence.  I ultimately included Michigan because of its northern location.

I don't really associate the Dakotas with lakes and the further west along the northern migration the less Yankee influence.  Michigan is the most Yankee state in the Midwest; Minnesota is the epicenter of the Scandinavian/Lutheran heartland.

[muon2]

I think this is in my wheelhouse. I was born in Chicago from a family with roots in eastern IA. I was raised in the Twin Cities with extensive visits to WI. I settled back near Chicago with family spread throughout the Midwestern states.

Let me take MN nice as the quintessential attitude of the upper Midwest. You'll definitely find it in western WI as east as far as Madison but not in Milwaukee. There's a closely related breed in southern MN and eastern IA, and that's probably the better fit for Madison as well as the whole Driftless Area into nw IL. Western MN also has a lot of that same MN nice (I think of Lake Woebegon, even though there are a lot fewer lakes in western MN). That western style of MN nice matches most of western IA and the Dakotas. I'd have put the western Dakotas there, too, but a lot has changed in the last 20 years with the rise of fracking and other mining technologies.

If I ignore the Midwest vs Plains division, the grouping of states would be MN, WI, IA, ND and SD, but only all of MN.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Green- upper Midwest

Blue- Midwest

Red- border states that are not wholly in the Midwest, but have portions that are (for MO, the St Louis MSA, for KY, the Louisville MSA and Cincinnati MSA).

The Dakotas are not in the Midwest.  They are Plains States.

Clearly you haven't been to the upper midwest much.

I strongly argue that the Upper Midwest is based around Minnesota and western Wisconsin, the northern half of Iowa, the eastern half of the Dakotas, the very far north of Illinois outside of Chicago, and the UP of Michigan.

Minneapolis/St. Paul is the capital.

There is no other interpretation.

[Gass3268]

Green- upper Midwest

Blue- Midwest

Red- border states that are not wholly in the Midwest, but have portions that are (for MO, the St Louis MSA, for KY, the Louisville MSA and Cincinnati MSA).

The Dakotas are not in the Midwest.  They are Plains States.

Clearly you haven't been to the upper midwest much.

I strongly argue that the Upper Midwest is based around Minnesota and western Wisconsin, the northern half of Iowa, the eastern half of the Dakotas, the very far north of Illinois outside of Chicago, and the UP of Michigan.

Minneapolis/St. Paul is the capital.

There is no other interpretation.

It's probably because I'm from Southern Wisconsin, but I've always considered it to be exact same as you, but I would add eastern Wisconsin and the Chicagoland area.

[Mr. Illini]

The Dakotas are not in the Midwest.  They are Plains States.

Thank you.

[Goldwater]

The Dakotas are not in the Midwest.  They are Plains States.

Thank you.

This implies that the Pains states aren't part of the Midwest.

[muon2]

The Dakotas are not in the Midwest.  They are Plains States.

Thank you.

Visit Fargo or Sioux Falls and then try to convince me they aren't as much Midwest as Des Moines.

[King of Kensington]

I'm still undecided.

[DFL]

Upper Midwest Core: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan
Upper Midwest Periphery: Eastern North and South Dakota, Iowa, Northern Illinois

[Dr. Arch]

Upper Midwest Core: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan
Upper Midwest Periphery: Eastern North and South Dakota, Iowa, Northern Illinois

The correct answer

[King of Kensington]

So what are the defining characteristics of this area?

[Tintrlvr]

Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, plus the Lower Peninsula from Traverse City northward.

Also Rockford, Illinois and Dubuque, Iowa.

[King of Kensington]

The Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures says the Upper Midwest is made up of Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

[jimrtex]

How can states in the eastern third of the country be considered Western? Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio are clearly Eastern or Near Eastern, to distinguish from the Extreme East. Only someone from the New York Times who believes that the West begins at Hoboken would argue otherwise.

[Goldwater]

How can states in the eastern third of the country be considered Western? Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio are clearly Eastern or Near Eastern, to distinguish from the Extreme East. Only someone from the New York Times who believes that the West begins at Hoboken would argue otherwise.

The Midwest is not considered Western...

[DFL]

How can states in the eastern third of the country be considered Western? Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio are clearly Eastern or Near Eastern, to distinguish from the Extreme East. Only someone from the New York Times who believes that the West begins at Hoboken would argue otherwise.

Just out of curiosity what would you define as the Upper Midwest?

[AN63093]

Green- upper Midwest

Blue- Midwest

Red- border states that are not wholly in the Midwest, but have portions that are (for MO, the St Louis MSA, for KY, the Louisville MSA and Cincinnati MSA).

The Dakotas are not in the Midwest.  They are Plains States.

Clearly you haven't been to the upper midwest much.

I strongly argue that the Upper Midwest is based around Minnesota and western Wisconsin, the northern half of Iowa, the eastern half of the Dakotas, the very far north of Illinois outside of Chicago, and the UP of Michigan.

Minneapolis/St. Paul is the capital.

There is no other interpretation.

On the contrary, I've been to every state in the Upper Midwest multiple times (and, actually, every state in the US except two), the Twin Cities probably half a dozen times, every single major MSA in the Upper Midwest except Fargo (that is if we're counting ND as the Upper Midwest, and again, I am not).  Additionally, I have family in Chicago that I see almost every year, and a good friend in Madison that I visit almost every year.  So no, the Midwest is not some foreign area of the country to me.

Let's try your response again, this time with less snark and with some actual reasons.  Presuming you want to have an adult conversation, that is.  If you don't, well, carry on then.

So what's your reason then?  Scandinavians?  Presence of Lutherans?  I mean, I've heard it all before, so if you want to convince me, you'll have to actually type out more than a few sentences.