Western United States American West, the Western States, Far West, the West | |
|---|---|
       .jpg) Left-right from top:Los Angeles skyline, theGrand Canyon,Yellowstone National Park,Boise skyline,Angel's Landing,Mount Rainier,Seattle skyline,Downtown Phoenix | |
![This map reflects the Western United States as defined by the Census Bureau. This region is divided into Mountain and Pacific areas.[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMap_of_the_U.S.%2c_highlighting_the_West.svg) This map reflects the Western United States as defined by theCensus Bureau. This region is divided into Mountain and Pacific areas.[1] | |
| Subregions | |
| Country |  United States |
| States | as defined by theCensus Bureau.[1] Regional definitions may vary slightly from source to source. |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,873,251.63 sq mi (4,851,699.4 km2) |
| • Land | 1,751,053.31 sq mi (4,535,207.3 km2) |
| Population | |
• Total | 78,588,572 |
| • Density | 44.880742/sq mi (17.328551/km2) |
| Demonym | Westerner |
| GDP (nominal) | |
| • Total | $5.619 trillion (2019) |
| • per capita | $71,719 (2019) |
TheWestern United States (also called theAmerican West, theWestern States, theFar West, theWestern territories, andthe West) isone of the fourcensus regionsdefined by theUnited States Census Bureau.
As American settlement in the U.S.expanded westward, the meaning of the termthe West changed. Before around 1800, the crest of theAppalachian Mountains was seen as thewestern frontier. The frontier moved westward and eventually the lands west of theMississippi River were consideredthe West.[5]
The U.S. Census Bureau's definition of the 13 westernmost states includes theRocky Mountains and theGreat Basin to thePacific Coast, and the mid-Pacific islands state, Hawaii. To the east of the Western United States is theMidwestern United States and theSouthern United States, withCanada to the north andMexico to the south.
The West contains several majorbiomes, includingarid andsemi-aridplateaus andplains, particularly in theAmerican Southwest;forestedmountains, including three major ranges, theSierra Nevada, theCascades, and Rocky Mountains; the longcoastalshoreline of the Pacific Coast; and therainforests of thePacific Northwest.
The Western United States is the largest region of the country, covering nearly half the land area of the contiguousUnited States. It is also the most geographically diverse, incorporating geographic regions such as thetemperate rainforests of theNorthwest, the highest mountain ranges, including theRocky Mountains, theSierra Nevada, and theCascade Range, numerousglaciers, and the western edge of theGreat Plains. It also contains the majority of the desert areas located in the United States. TheMojave and theGreat Basin deserts lie entirely within the Western region, along with parts of theSonoran andChihuahuan deserts (the latter extends significantly into Texas, while both extend intoMexico). Given this expansive and diverse geography it is no wonder that the region is difficult to define precisely. Sensing a possible shift in the popular understanding of the West as a region in the early 1990s, historian Walter Nugent conducted a survey of three groups of professionals with ties to the region: a large group of Western historians (187 respondents), and two smaller groups, 25 journalists and publishers and 39 Western authors.[6] A majority of the historian respondents placed the eastern boundary of the West east of the Census definition out on the eastern edge of theGreat Plains or on theMississippi River. The survey respondents as a whole showed just how little agreement there was on the boundaries of the West.
The region is split into two smaller units or divisions, by the U.S. Census Bureau:[1]
Other classifications distinguish betweenSouthwest andNorthwest. Arizona, New Mexico,West Texas, and theOklahoma panhandle are typically considered to be the Southwest states. Meanwhile, the states of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington can be considered part of the Northwest orPacific Northwest.
The termWest Coast is commonly used to refer to just California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, whereas Hawaii is more geographically isolated from thecontinental U.S. and does not necessarily fit in any of thesesubregions.
| State | 2020 Census[3] | 2010 Census[7] | Change | Area [2] | Density |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Arizona | 7,151,502 | 6,392,017 | +11.88% | 113,594.08 sq mi (294,207.3 km2) | 63/sq mi (24/km2) |
 Colorado | 5,773,714 | 5,029,196 | +14.80% | 103,641.89 sq mi (268,431.3 km2) | 56/sq mi (22/km2) |
 Utah | 3,271,616 | 2,763,885 | +18.37% | 82,169.62 sq mi (212,818.3 km2) | 40/sq mi (15/km2) |
 Nevada | 3,104,614 | 2,700,551 | +14.96% | 109,781.18 sq mi (284,332.0 km2) | 28/sq mi (11/km2) |
 New Mexico | 2,117,522 | 2,059,179 | +2.83% | 121,298.15 sq mi (314,160.8 km2) | 17/sq mi (7/km2) |
 Idaho | 1,839,106 | 1,567,582 | +17.32% | 82,643.12 sq mi (214,044.7 km2) | 22/sq mi (9/km2) |
 Montana | 1,084,225 | 989,415 | +9.58% | 145,545.80 sq mi (376,961.9 km2) | 7/sq mi (3/km2) |
 Wyoming | 576,851 | 563,626 | +2.35% | 97,093.14 sq mi (251,470.1 km2) | 6/sq mi (2/km2) |
| Mountain | 24,919,150 | 22,065,451 | +12.93% | 855,766.98 sq mi (2,216,426.3 km2) | 29/sq mi (11/km2) |
 California | 39,538,223 | 37,254,523 | +6.13% | 155,779.22 sq mi (403,466.3 km2) | 254/sq mi (98/km2) |
 Washington | 7,705,281 | 6,724,540 | +14.58% | 66,455.52 sq mi (172,119.0 km2) | 116/sq mi (45/km2) |
 Oregon | 4,237,256 | 3,831,074 | +10.60% | 95,988.01 sq mi (248,607.8 km2) | 44/sq mi (17/km2) |
 Hawaii | 1,455,271 | 1,360,301 | +6.98% | 6,422.63 sq mi (16,634.5 km2) | 227/sq mi (87/km2) |
 Alaska | 733,391 | 710,231 | +3.26% | 570,640.95 sq mi (1,477,953.3 km2) | 1/sq mi (0/km2) |
| Pacific | 53,669,422 | 49,880,669 | +7.60% | 895,286.33 sq mi (2,318,781.0 km2) | 60/sq mi (23/km2) |
| West | 78,588,572 | 71,946,120 | +9.23% | 1,751,053.31 sq mi (4,535,207.3 km2) | 45/sq mi (17/km2) |
The three inhabitedPacificU.S. territories (American Samoa,Guam and theNorthern Mariana Islands) are sometimes considered part of the Western United States. American Samoa is inPolynesia in theSouth Pacific Ocean, while Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are in theMariana Islands in the westernNorth Pacific Ocean. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands have district courts within the9th Circuit, which includes western states such as California and Nevada.[8] (SeeDistrict Court of Guam andDistrict Court for the Northern Mariana Islands). American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands are also considered part of the western U.S. by theU.S. National Park Service,[9] theFederal Reserve Bank system,[10]FEMA,[11] and theUSGS.[12]
| Territory | 2020 Population Estimate [13][14][15] | 2010 Census population[16] | Change | Area [13][14][15] | Density |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 American Samoa | 49,437 | 55,519 | −10.95% | 224 km2 (86 sq mi) | 221/km2 (572/sq mi) |
 Guam | 168,485 | 159,358 | +5.73% | 544 km2 (210 sq mi) | 310/km2 (802/sq mi) |
 Northern Mariana Islands | 51,433 | 53,833 | −4.46% | 464 km2 (179 sq mi) | 111/km2 (287/sq mi) |
The population distribution by race in the Western United States (2022):[17][18]
As defined by theUnited States Census Bureau, the Westernregion of the United States includes 13 states,[1] with a total 2020 population of 78,588,572.[3]
The West is one of the most sparsely settled areas in the United States with 49.5 inhabitants per square mile (19.1 inhabitants/km2). OnlyTexas with 78.0 inhabitants/sq mi (30.1 inhabitants/km2),Washington with 86.0 inhabitants/sq mi (33.2 inhabitants/km2), andCalifornia with 213.4 inhabitants/sq mi (82.4 inhabitants/km2) exceed the national average of 77.98 inhabitants/sq mi (30.11 inhabitants/km2). As of 2022, just under half of the 78.7 million residents of the West live inCalifornia.[19]
The entire Western region has also been strongly influenced byEuropean,Hispanic or Latino,Asian andNative Americans; it contains the largest number of minorities in the U.S. While most of the studies of racial dynamics in America such as riots inLos Angeles have been written aboutEuropean andAfrican Americans, in many cities in the West andCalifornia,whites andblacks together are less than half the population because of the preference for the region byHispanics andAsians.African andEuropean Americans, however, continue to wield a stronger political influence because of the lower rates of citizenship and voting amongAsians andHispanics.
According to 2022 estimates from the Census Bureau, the largest ancestries reported in the West areMexican (24.2%),German (10.1%),English (9.5%),Irish (7.2%),Italian (3.5%),Filipino (3.4%), andChinese (3.3%).[20][21][22]
The West also contains much of theNative American population in the U.S., particularly in the largereservations in theMountain andDesert States. As of 2022, the West is home to 365,351Navajo, 109,208Apache, and 78,364Blackfeet, as well as 276,082 people identifying asIndigenous Mexican.[23]
The largest concentrations forAfrican Americans in the West can be found inSan Diego,Los Angeles,Oakland,Sacramento,Fresno,San Francisco,Seattle,Tacoma,Phoenix,Las Vegas,Denver, andColorado Springs.
The Western United States has a highersex ratio than any other region in the United States.[24]
Because the tide of development had not yet reached most of the West whenconservation became a national issue, agencies of thefederal government own and manage vast areas of land. (The most important among these are theNational Park Service and theBureau of Land Management within theInterior Department, and theU.S. Forest Service within theAgriculture Department.)National parks are reserved for recreational activities such asfishing,camping,hiking, andboating, but other government lands also allow commercial activities likeranching,logging, andmining. In recent years, some local residents who earn their livelihoods on federal land have come into conflict with the land's managers, who are required to keep land use within environmentally acceptable limits.
The largest city in the region isLos Angeles, located on theWest Coast. OtherWest Coast cities includeSan Diego,San Bernardino,San Jose,San Francisco,Oakland,Bakersfield,Fresno,Sacramento,Seattle,Tacoma,Anchorage,Spokane, andPortland – some of which are dozens of miles inland. Prominent cities in theMountain States includeDenver,Colorado Springs,Phoenix,Tucson,Albuquerque,Las Vegas,Reno,Salt Lake City,Boise,Billings, andMissoula.
Along thePacific Ocean coast lie theCoast Ranges, which, while not approaching the scale of theRocky Mountains, are formidable nevertheless. They collect a large part of the airborne moisture moving in from the ocean. East of the Coast Ranges lie several cultivated fertilevalleys, notably theSan Joaquin andSacramento valleys ofCalifornia and theWillamette Valley ofOregon.
Beyond the valleys lie theSierra Nevada in the south and theCascade Range in the north.Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4,421 m) the tallest peak in the contiguous 48 states, is in theSierra Nevada.The Cascades are also volcanic.Mount Rainier, a volcano inWashington, is also over 14,000 feet (4,300 m).Mount St. Helens, a volcano inthe Cascades,erupted explosively in 1980. A major volcanic eruption atMount Mazama around 4860 BC formedCrater Lake. These mountain ranges see heavy precipitation, capturing most of the moisture that remains after the Coast Ranges, and creating arain shadow to the east forming vast stretches of arid land. These dry areas encompass much ofNevada,Utah, andArizona. TheMojave Desert andSonoran Desert along with other deserts are found here.
Beyond the deserts lie theRocky Mountains. In the north, they run almost immediately east of theCascade Range, so that the desert region is only a few miles wide by the time one reaches the Canada–US border.The Rockies are hundreds of miles wide and run uninterrupted fromNew Mexico toAlaska. The Rocky Mountain Region is the highest overall area of the United States, with an average elevation of above 4,000 feet (1,200 m). The tallest peaks ofthe Rockies, 54 of which are over 14,000 feet (4,300 m), are found in central and westernColorado. East of the Rocky Mountains is the Great Plains, the western portions (for example, the eastern half of Colorado) of which are generally considered to be part of the western United States.
The West has several long rivers that empty into thePacific Ocean, while the eastern rivers run into theGulf of Mexico. TheMississippi River forms the easternmost possible boundary for the West today. TheMissouri River, a tributary of theMississippi, flows from its headwaters in theRocky Mountains eastward across theGreat Plains, a vastgrassy plateau, before sloping gradually down to the forests and hence to theMississippi. TheColorado River snakes through theMountain states, at one point forming theGrand Canyon.
TheColorado River is a major source of water in the Southwest and many dams, such as theHoover Dam, form reservoirs along it. So much water is drawn for drinking water throughout the West and irrigation inCalifornia that in most years, water from theColorado River no longer reaches theGulf of California. TheColumbia River, the largest river in volume flowing into thePacific Ocean fromNorth America, and its tributary, theSnake River, water the Pacific Northwest. ThePlatte runs throughNebraska and was known for being a mile (2 km) wide but only a half-inch (1 cm) deep. TheRio Grande forms the border betweenTexas andMexico before turning due north and splittingNew Mexico in half.
According to theUnited States Coast Guard, "The Western Rivers System consists of theMississippi,Ohio,Missouri,Illinois,Tennessee,Cumberland,Arkansas, andWhite Rivers and their tributaries, and certain other rivers that flow towards theGulf of Mexico."[25] The Ohio River portion of the system includes parts of several Atlantic coastal states, from Georgia to New York.[26]
Most of the public land held by theU.S. National Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management is in the Western states. Public lands account for 25 to 75 percent of the total land area in these states.[27]
The climate of the West issemi-arid, yet parts of the region get high amounts of rain or snow. Other parts are true desert which receive less than 5 inches (130 mm) of rain per year. The climate is increasingly unstable, and subject to periods of severe drought.[28]
The seasonal temperatures vary greatly throughout the West. Low elevations on theWest Coast have warm summers and mild winters with little to no snow. Thedesert southwest has very hot summers and mild winters. While the mountains in the southwest receive generally large amounts of snow. TheInland Northwest has acontinental climate of warm to hot summers and cold to bitterly cold winters.
Annual rainfall is greater in the eastern portions, gradually tapering off until reaching the Pacific Coast where it increases again. In fact, the greatest annual rainfall in the United States falls in the coastal regions of thePacific Northwest. Drought is much more common in the West than the rest of the United States. The driest place recorded in the United States isDeath Valley, California.[29] In Western states, drought is closely associated with fire risk, and there have been a number of notable wildfires causing extensive property damage and wildlifehabitat destruction. The Western United States is predicted to experience drought-like conditions for much of the 21st century.[28]
Violent thunderstorms occur east of theRockies.Tornadoes occur every spring on the southern plains, with the most common and most destructive centered onTornado Alley, which covers eastern portions of the West, (Texas toNorth Dakota), and all states in between and to the east.
Agriculture varies depending on rainfall, irrigation, soil, elevation, and temperature extremes. The arid regions generally support only livestock grazing, chiefly beef cattle. Thewheat belt extends fromTexas throughThe Dakotas, producing most of the wheat and soybeans in the U.S. and exporting more to the rest of the world. Irrigation in theSouthwest allows the growth of great quantities of fruits, nuts, and vegetables as well as grain, hay, and flowers.Texas is a major cattle and sheep raising area, as well as the nation's largest producer of cotton.Washington is famous for its apples, andIdaho for its potatoes.California andArizona are major producers ofcitrus crops, however, declining supplies of water, as well as urban sprawl have contributed to a sharp decline in citrus production in Arizona.[30] Many varieties ofchile peppers are grown in the valleys ofNew Mexico.[31][32]
Starting in 1902, Congress passed a series of acts authorizing the establishment of theUnited States Bureau of Reclamation to oversee water development projects in seventeen western states.
During the first half of the 20th century, dams and irrigation projects provided water for rapid agricultural growth throughout the West and brought prosperity for several states, where agriculture had previously only been subsistence level. FollowingWorld War II, the West's cities experienced an economic and population boom. The population growth, mostly in theSouthwest states ofNew Mexico,Utah,Colorado,Arizona, andNevada, has strained water and power resources, with water diverted from agricultural uses to major population centers, such as theLas Vegas Valley andLos Angeles.
Plains make up much of the eastern portion of the West, underlain with sedimentary rock from the UpperPaleozoic,Mesozoic, andCenozoic eras. TheRocky Mountains expose igneous and metamorphic rock both from thePrecambrian and from thePhanerozoic eon. The Inter-mountain States andPacific Northwest have huge expanses of volcanic rock from theCenozoic era.Salt flats and salt lakes reveal a time when the great inland seas covered much of what is now the West.
The Pacific states are the most geologically active areas in the United States.Earthquakes cause damage every few to several years inCalifornia. While thePacific states are the most volcanically active areas, extinctvolcanoes and lava flows are found throughout most of the West.
The ecoregions and ecology found in the Western United States are extremely varied. For instance, large areas of land are made up of everything from sand dunes in theCentral Basin and Range ecoregion, which makes up much of theState of Nevada, to theecology of the North Cascades inWashington state, which has the largest concentration of activealpine glaciers in thelower 48. The densely forested areas found inNorthern California,Oregon, Washington,Idaho, andMontana have mostly species adapted to living intemperate climates, whileSouthern California,Nevada,Arizona, southernUtah, andNew Mexico have a fauna resembling its position in the drydeserts with temperature extremes.
The western continental coast of the U.S. varies from a colder climate in the north to a warmer climate in the south. While few species live throughout the entireWest Coast, there are some, such as thebald eagle, that inhabit both the AlaskanAleutian Islands and theCalifornia Channel Islands. In most of the contiguous Western U.S.,mule deer,white-tailed antelope squirrels,cougars,American badgers,coyotes,hawks and several species of snake and lizard are common.
While theAmerican black bear lives throughout the U.S.,brown bears andgrizzly bears are more common in thenorthwest and inAlaska. Along the West Coast there are several species of whales,sea otters,California sea lions,eared seals andnorthern elephant seals. In the dry, inland desert areas of states such as California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico there are some of the world's most venomous lizards, snakes and scorpions. The most notorious might be theGila monster andMohave rattlesnake, both found in deserts in theSouthwest. The Sonoran Desert has eleven species of rattlesnakes - more than anywhere else in the world.[33]
Along the southwestern border there arejaguars andocelots. Other mammals include theVirginia opossum, which occurs throughout California and coastal areas in Oregon and Washington. TheNorth American beaver andmountain beaver live in forested areas of Washington, Oregon and Northern California. Thekit fox lives throughout Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, while thegray fox occurs throughout the Western U.S.
Thered fox occurs mostly in Oregon and Washington, while theisland fox is a native to six of the eightChannel Islands in Southern California. These islands are also famous for their marine life and endemic species such as theChannel Islands spotted skunk,Garibaldi,island fence lizard,island scrub jay,bald eagle, and their non-nativeCatalina Island bison herd. Theraccoon andspotted skunk occur throughout the Western U.S., while thering-tailed cat occurs throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Western Texas, Utah, Colorado, and most of California. TheAmerican black bear occurs in most western states, including Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and Colorado.
The Western United States has been populated byNative Americans since at least 11,000 years ago, when the first Paleo-Indians arrived. Pre-Columbian trade routes to kingdoms and empires such as the Mound Builders existed in places such asYellowstone National Park since around 1000 AD. Major settlement of the western territories developed rapidly in the 1840s, largely through theOregon Trail and theCalifornia Gold Rush of 1849.California experienced such a rapid growth in a few short months that it was admitted to statehood in 1850 without the normal transitory phase of becoming an official territory.[34]
One of the largest migrations in American history occurred in the 1840s as theLatter Day Saints left theMidwest to build a theocracy inUtah.
BothOmaha, Nebraska andSt. Louis, Missouri laid claim to the title, "Gateway to the West" during this period.Omaha, home to theUnion Pacific Railroad and theMormon Trail, made its fortunes on outfitting settlers;St. Louis built itself upon the vastfur trade in the West before its settlement.
The 1850s were marked by political battles over the expansion of slavery into the western territories,issues leading to the Civil War.[35]
Between 1863 and 1869, North America'sfirst transcontinental railroad was constructed to connect theeastern US with thePacific coast. The resulting railroad connection revolutionized the settlement and economy of the American West by making the transportation of passengers and freight quicker, safer, and cheaper.
The history of the American West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries has acquired a cultural mythos in the literature and cinema of the United States. The image of thecowboy, thehomesteader, andwestward expansion took real events and transmuted them into a myth of the west which has shaped much of American popular culture since the late 19th century.[36]
Writers as diverse asBret Harte andZane Grey celebrated or derided cowboy culture, while artists such asFrederic Remington createdWestern art as a method of recording the expansion into the west. TheAmerican cinema, in particular, created the genre of theWestern movie, which, in many cases, use the West as a metaphor for the virtue of self-reliance and an American ethos. The contrast between the romanticism of culture about the West and the actuality of the history of the westward expansion has been a theme of late 20th and early 21st century scholarship about the West.Cowboy culture has become embedded in the American experience as a common cultural touchstone, and modern forms as diverse ascountry and western music have celebrated the sense of isolation and independence of spirit inspired by the frontiersmen on "virgin land".[37]
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The advent of theautomobile enabled the average American to tour the West. Western businessmen promotedRoute 66 as a means to bring tourism and industry to the West. In the 1950s, representatives from all the western states built theCowboy Hall of Fame andWestern Heritage Center to showcase western culture and greet travelers from theEast. During the latter half of the 20th century, several transcontinental interstate highways crossed the West bringing more trade and tourists from the East. Oil boom towns inTexas andOklahoma rivaled the old mining camps for their rawness and wealth. TheDust Bowl forced children of the original homesteaders even further west.[38]
The movies became America's chief entertainment source featuringwestern fiction, later the community ofHollywood inLos Angeles became theheadquarters of themass media such as radio and television production.[39]
California has emerged as the most populous state and one of the top 10 economies in the world. Massive late 19th–20th century population and settlement booms created twomegalopolis areas of theGreater Los Angeles/Southern California and theSan Francisco Bay Area/Northern California regions, one of the nation's largest metropolitan areas and in the top 25 largest urban areas in the world. Five more metropolitan areas ofSan Bernardino-Riverside,San Diego,Denver,Phoenix, andSeattle have over a million residents, while the three fastest growing metro areas were theSalt Lake City metropolitan area, theLas Vegas metropolitan area; and thePortland metropolitan area.[40][41]
Since the mid-1970s, historians of the West have emphasized theWorld War II years as a major watershed, as a region experienced enormous social and economic change, and became the pacesetter forsocietal evolution. The population soared, especially in metropolitan areas, as a result of massive expansion of the manufacture of airplanes, ships and munitions and of military and Naval training facilities. California upgraded universities to world-class status, intensified scientific research, and expanded infrastructure. After the war millions more migrated using theGI Bill to buy suburban homes, many of them recalling rewarding wartime experience in military training facilities. The region had always been more democratic with greaterracial andgender equality, and continued as a national pacesetter in modernization. New problems emerged, especially environmental issues where westerners took the lead in areas such as the allocation of scarce water resources as well as dealing with smog and air pollution. More recently historians have looked at nuances, pointing out that some of the trends began before 1941.[42]
Los Angeles has the largestMexican population outside ofMexico, whileSan Francisco has the largestChinese community inNorth America and also has a largeLGBT community, andOakland, California has a large percentage of residents beingAfrican-American, as well asLong Beach, California which also has a significant black community. The state ofUtah has aMormon majority (estimated at 62.4% in 2004),[43] while some cities likeAlbuquerque, New Mexico;Billings, Montana;Spokane, Washington; andTucson, Arizona are located nearIndian reservations. In remote areas there are settlements ofAlaskan Natives andNative Hawaiians.
Historically, the traditional culture of the Western United States has been defined by thecowboys,pioneers, andNative Americans who first inhabited theWild West.[44][45] The sparse geography of the western deserts (Mojave Desert,Great Basin Desert) and isolated smalltowns, combined with the broad freeways (U.S. Route 66) and long railroads (First transcontinental railroad), have contributed to the popular image of the west as a desolate, open space full of unending roads.[6]
Facing both the Pacific Ocean and theMexican border, the West has been shaped by a variety of ethnic groups.Hawaii is the only state in the union in whichAsian Americans outnumberwhite American residents. People from many countries in Asia settled inCalifornia and other coastal states in several waves of immigration since the 19th century, contributing to theGold rush, the building of the transcontinental railroad, agriculture, and more recently, high technology.
The border states—California,Arizona,New Mexico, andTexas—and other southwestern states such asColorado,Utah, andNevada all have largeHispanic populations, and the manySpanish place names attest to their history as former Spanish and Mexican territories.Mexican-Americans have also had a growing population in Northwestern states ofOregon andWashington, as well as the southern states ofTexas andOklahoma.
In thePacific States, the wide areas filled with small towns, farms, and forests are supplemented by a few big port cities which have evolved into world centers for the media and technology industries. Now the second largest city in the nation,Los Angeles is best known as the home of theHollywoodfilm industry; the area aroundLos Angeles also was a major center for theaerospace industry byWorld War II, though Boeing, located inWashington state would lead the aerospace industry. Fueled by the growth ofLos Angeles, as well as theSan Francisco Bay area, includingSilicon Valley, the center of America's high tech industry,California has become the most populous of all the 50 states.Oregon andWashington have also seen rapid growth with the rise ofBoeing andMicrosoft along with agriculture and resource based industries.
Alaska—the northernmost state in the Union—is a vast land of few people, many of them native, and of great stretches of wilderness, protected innational parks andwildlife refuges. Hawaii's location makes it a major gateway between the United States and Asia, as well as a center for tourism.
TheMountain States subregion includesArizona,Colorado,Idaho,Montana,Nevada,New Mexico,Utah, andWyoming. The mountain states have relatively low population densities, and developed as ranching and mining areas that only recently became urbanized. Most of them have highly individualistic cultures, and have worked to balance the interests of urban development, recreation, and the environment.
Culturally distinctive points of the mountain states include the largeMormon population in theMormon Corridor, including southeasternIdaho,Utah, NorthernArizona, andNevada; the extravagantcasino resort towns ofLas Vegas andReno,Nevada; and the numerousAmerican Indian tribal reservations.
Professional sports leagues such as theNational Football League (NFL),Major League Baseball (MLB),National Basketball Association (NBA),Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA),National Hockey League (NHL),Major League Soccer (MLS), andNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL), have team franchises in following cities/metropolitan areas of the region:
These are the largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) with a population above 500,000 in the 13 Western states. Population figures are as of April 1, 2020, as enumerated by theUnited States Census Bureau:[46]
The region's distance from historical centers of power in the East, and the celebrated "frontier spirit" of its settlers offer two clichés for explaining the region's independent, heterogeneous politics.[citation needed] Historically, the West was the first region to see widespreadwomen's suffrage, with women casting votes inUtah andWyoming as early as 1870, five decades before the19th Amendment was ratified by the nation.California birthed both theproperty rights andconservation movements, and spawned such phenomena as theTaxpayer Revolt and the BerkeleyFree Speech Movement. It has also produced three presidents:Herbert Hoover,Richard Nixon, andRonald Reagan.
The prevalence oflibertarian political attitudes is widespread. For example, the majority of Western states have legalizedmedicinal marijuana (all butIdaho andWyoming) and some forms of gambling (exceptUtah);Colorado,Oregon,Washington, andMontana have legalizedphysician-assisted suicide; most rural counties inNevada allow licensed brothels, and voters inAlaska,Colorado,Nevada,California,Oregon, andWashington have legalized recreational use of marijuana.[48]
California,Oregon,Washington,Nevada,Colorado,Hawaii andNew Mexico lean toward theDemocratic Party. In recent times, as seen in the2020 United States presidential election and2022 Arizona gubernatorial election,Arizona is also beginning to lean towards the Democratic Party as well.San Francisco's two main political parties are the Green Party and theDemocratic Party. One of the longest-serving Democratic congressional leaders is from the region: formerSpeaker of the United States House of RepresentativesNancy Pelosi ofCalifornia.
Alaska and mostMountain states are moreRepublican, withAlaska,Idaho,Montana,Utah, andWyoming being Republican strongholds. The state ofArizona has been won by the Republican presidential candidate in every election except three times since 1948, but in 2020 Arizona voted Democratic. Also, in 2018 and 2020, the GOP lost both U.S. Senate seats in Arizona to the Democrats. The states ofIdaho,Utah, andWyoming have been won by every Republican presidential nominee since 1964.
The state ofNevada is considered a political bellwether, having correctly voted for every president except twice (in 1976 and 2016) since 1912.New Mexico too is considered a bellwether, having voted for the popular vote winner in every presidential election since statehood, except in 1976 and 2024.
As the fastest-growing demographic group, afterAsians,Latinos are hotly contested by both parties. Immigration is an important political issue for this group. Backlash against undocumented immigrants led to the passage ofCalifornia Proposition 187 in 1994, a ballot initiative which would have denied many public services to them. Association of this proposal with California Republicans, especially incumbent governorPete Wilson, drove many Hispanic voters to the Democrats.[49]
The following table shows the breakdown of party affiliation of governors, attorneys general, state legislative houses, and U.S. congressional delegation for the Western states, as of 2019[update].
| State | Governor | Attorney General | Upper House Majority | Lower House Majority | Senior U.S. Senator | Junior U.S. Senator | U.S. House Delegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK | Republican | Republican | Republican 13–7 | Republican 23–16–1 | Republican | Republican | Democratic 1–0 |
| AZ | Democratic | Democratic | Republican 16–14 | Republican 31–29 | Independent | Democratic | Republican 6–3 |
| CA | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 29–11 | Democratic 61–19 | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 42–11 |
| CO | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 19–16 | Democratic 41–24 | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 4–3 |
| HI | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 24–1 | Democratic 46–5 | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 2–0 |
| ID | Republican | Republican | Republican 28–7 | Republican 56–14 | Republican | Republican | Republican 2–0 |
| MT | Republican | Republican | Republican 30–20 | Republican 58–42 | Republican | Republican | Republican 1–0 |
| NV | Republican | Republican | Democratic 13–8 | Democratic 29–13 | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 3–1 |
| NM | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 26–16 | Democratic 46–24 | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 2–1 |
| OR | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 19–11 | Democratic 38–22 | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 4–1 |
| UT | Republican | Republican | Republican 23–6 | Republican 59–16 | Republican | Republican | Republican 4–0 |
| WA | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 28–21 | Democratic 57–41 | Democratic | Democratic | Democratic 7–3 |
| WY | Republican | Republican | Republican 28–2 | Republican 51–7–2 | Republican | Republican | Republican 1–0 |
The following table shows the breakdown of party affiliation of governors, attorneys general, state legislative houses, and U.S. congressional delegation for the outlying areas of the Western United States, as of 2020[update].[50][51][52]
| Territory | Governor | Attorney General | Upper House Majority | Lower House Majority | Senior U.S. Senator | Junior U.S. Senator | U.S. House Delegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS | Democratic | [note 1] | Non-Partisan 18–0 | Non-Partisan 21–0 | None | None | Republican 1–0 |
| GU | Democratic | Independent | Democratic 10–5 (unicameral) | None | None | Democratic 1–0 | |
| MP | Republican | Democratic | Republican 6–0–3 | Republican 13–0–7 | None | None | Independent 1–0 |
The Western United States consistently ranks well in health measures. The rate of potentially preventable hospitalizations in the Western United States was consistently lower than other regions from 2005 to 2011.[53] While the proportion of maternal or neonatal hospital stays was higher in the Western United States relative to other regions, the proportion of medical stays in hospitals was lower than in other regions in 2012.[54]
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