East South Central | |
|---|---|
    .jpg)  .jpg) | |
 States in dark red make up the East South Central states region | |
| Largest city | Nashville |
| Area | |
• Total | 183,403.90 sq mi (475,013.9 km2) |
| • Land | 178,289.84 sq mi (461,768.6 km2) |
| • Water | 5,114.07 sq mi (13,245.4 km2) |
| Population (2019)[2] | |
• Total | 19,176,181 |
| • Density | 107.55622/sq mi (41.527688/km2) |
TheEast South Central states is aregion constituting one of the nineU.S. Census Bureau divisions. It is located within theAmerican South. Four states make up the division:Kentucky,Tennessee,Mississippi andAlabama. The division is one of three that together make up the larger region known as the Southern United States (the other two are the more populousSouth Atlantic states and theWest South Central states).
Historically, the area has been colonized and influenced by theFrench,Spanish,British, early American, andConfederate governments.[3][4][5][6] Distinct among these states, Alabama's French culture has been preserved through theAlabama Creoles,[7] and Kentucky's French culture can be observed throughout Louisville.[8] The East South Central states form the core ofOld Dixie,[9] one of the ninemoral regions identified byJames Patterson and Peter Kim in their acclaimed 1991 geopolitical best-seller,The Day America Told The Truth.[10] Politically and culturally, the East South Central is moreconservative than the other regions making up the American South; Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee's governments have been described during 2012 to 2023 as some of the most conservative.[11][12][13] Religiously, conservativeEvangelical Protestantism dominates the East South Central as a central part of theBible Belt.
As of 2020, the East South Central states had a combined population of 19,430,030. The East South Central region covers 183,401 square miles of land. Within the region, Tennessee is the largest state by population, though Alabama is the largest by land area; Tennessee was also the East South Central's fastest growing state between 2010 and 2020,[14][15] with Alabama second.[16] Kentucky was the third-fastest growing state,[17] and Mississippi experienced population decline; despite population decline, Mississippi did increase in diversity.[18][19]
| State | 2020 estimate | Land area |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 4,509,342 | 40,409 |
| Tennessee | 6,916,897 | 42,143 |
| Mississippi | 2,963,914 | 48,430 |
| Alabama | 5,039,877 | 52,419 |
| City | 2020 pop. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville, Tennessee | 689,447 |
| 2 | Memphis, Tennessee | 633,104 |
| 3 | Louisville, Kentucky | 633,045 |
| 4 | Lexington, Kentucky | 322,707 |
| 5 | Huntsville, Alabama | 215,006 |
| 6 | Birmingham, Alabama | 200,733 |
| 7 | Montgomery, Alabama | 200,663 |
| 8 | Knoxville, Tennessee | 190,740 |
| 9 | Mobile, Alabama | 187,041 |
| 10 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | 181,009 |
| Parties | ||||||||
| Nonpartisan | Democratic-Republican | Democratic | National Republican | Whig | Constitutional Union | Republican | Dixiecrat | American Independent |
