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TheEastern United States, often abbreviated as simplythe East, is amacroregion of theUnited States located to the east of theMississippi River.[1] It variably includes between 17 and 26 states andWashington, D.C., the national capital.
As of 2011, the Eastern United States had an estimated population exceeding 179 million, representing the majority (over 58 percent) of the total U.S. population.[2][3][4]
The three most populous cities in the Eastern United States areNew York City,Chicago, andPhiladelphia.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the Northeastern United States comprises nine states, including (north to south):Maine,New Hampshire,Vermont,Massachusetts,Rhode Island,Connecticut,New Jersey,New York, andPennsylvania.
The present-day Northeast is significantly smaller than theNortheastern Woodlands cultural area. Thepre-Columbian Northeast had three major areas: the Coastal area, Saint Lawrence Lowlands, and Great Lakes-Riverine zones. The Coastal area includes theAtlantic Provinces of Canada and the Atlantic seaboard of theUnited States south toNorth Carolina. The Saint Lawrence Lowlands area includes parts of SouthernOntario, upstateNew York, much of theSaint Lawrence River area, and theSusquehanna Valley. The Great Lakes-Riverine area includes the remaining inland areas of the Northeast, which were home toCentral Algonquian andSiouan speakers. TheGreat Lakes region is sometimes considered a distinct cultural area due to its large concentration of Native American tribes.
New England is a subregion of the northeastern U.S. that is bounded by theAtlantic Ocean,Canada, and the state ofNew York. It includes six states:Maine,New Hampshire,Vermont,Massachusetts,Rhode Island, andConnecticut.
In one of the earliestBritish colonial settlements in theNew World,Pilgrims fromEngland first settled in New England in 1620 atPlymouth Colony in and around present-dayPlymouth, Massachusetts. In the late 18th century, the New England colonies were among the first North American British colonies to support an escalation in theAmerican Revolution againstBritain, launching theBoston Tea Party on December 16, 1773, and later firing the first shots of theAmerican Revolutionary War in theBattles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.
New England produced the first examples of American literature and philosophy and was home to the beginnings of free andcompulsory public education. In the 19th century, the region played a prominent role in the movement to abolishslavery in the United States. It was the first region of the United States to be transformed by theIndustrial Revolution.
As of 2023, New England is home to two of the top ten universities in the nation, according to 2022–23U.S. News & World Report rankings,Harvard University inCambridge, Massachusetts (tied for third), andMassachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts (tied for third).[5]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the Middle Atlantic is a subregion of the northeastern U.S. that includes three states:New Jersey,New York, andPennsylvania.
The Middle Atlantic region includesNew York City, the largest city in the U.S. and a global center of finance and culture, andPhiladelphia, the nation's sixth-largest city and first capital, where theDeclaration of Independence was signed atIndependence Hall in 1776, formally launching theAmerican Revolutionary War, and later where theU.S. Constitution was drafted and ratified atIndependence Hall in Philadelphia in 1789.
As of 2023, the Mid-Atlantic region is home to four of the top twenty-five universities in the nation, according to 2022–23U.S. News & World Report rankings:Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey,Cornell University in Ithaca, New York,Columbia University in New York City, and theUniversity of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.[5]
The East North Central area, which includesIllinois,Indiana,Michigan,Ohio, andWisconsin, can also be classified as a subregion of the Northeastern United States, as these states are in the Great Lakes-Riverine area. As one of two subregional divisions used to categorize the modernMidwest, the East North Central region closely matches the area of theNorthwest Territory, excluding a portion ofMinnesota. The East North Central states form a large part of the Great Lakes region,[6] although the latter also includes Minnesota,New York,Pennsylvania and theCanadian province ofOntario.
Culturally, the East North Central region of the U.S. has been historically influenced by the British and the French;Anglo-American culture permeated states covering the region following thewestward expansion of the United States. Religiously, the East North Central states have been and remain predominantly affiliated withChristianity. Altogether, the five states are majorityCatholic,non- and inter-denominational,Methodist,Lutheran, andBaptist. The largest non-Christian religion has beenIslam.[7]
Chicago is the largest city in the region, followed byColumbus, Ohio andIndianapolis. Chicago has the largest metropolitan statistical area, followed byDetroit, andMinneapolis–Saint Paul.Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan is the oldest city in the region, founded byFrenchmissionaries and explorers in 1668.
As of 2023, the East North Central States are home to one of the top ten universities in the nation, according to 2022–23U.S. News & World Report rankings: theUniversity of Chicago, which is ranked the sixth-best in the nation.[5]
The Southeastern United States is a large region of the country that includes a core of states that reaches north toMaryland andWest Virginia, bordering theOhio River andMason–Dixon line, and stretches west toArkansas andLouisiana.[8]
Unlike the Northeast, there is no officialU.S. government definition for the Southeast, and it is defined variably among agencies and organizations.
Its unique cultural and historic heritage includes the following aspects:[9][10]
These aspects, among other things, led to "the South" developing distinctive customs, literature, musical styles, and varied cuisines that have profoundly shaped traditional American culture.
The shift from a mainlyrural society to more cities andurbanizedmetropolitan areas picked up speed followingWorld War II in the 1940s. Since the late 20th century, certain Southeastern states and areas have seen great economic growth. This growth has led to many migrants moving to Southeastern states.[11] In 2020, Fortune 500 companies headquartered in southeastern states included: Virginia with 22, Georgia with 18, Florida with 18, North Carolina with 13, and Tennessee with 10.[12]
The South Atlantic region of the United States is one of the nineCensus Bureau Divisions of the country. This region corresponds to theSouthern states/areas that were geographically part of theThirteen Colonies, with the addition ofFlorida. It includes eight states and one federal district:Delaware,Florida,Georgia,Maryland,North Carolina,South Carolina,Virginia,West Virginia and theDistrict of Columbia.[13] The South Atlantic is also a recognized geographical division used by theUnited States Geological Survey.[14]: 2 All entities within the region apart from the District of Columbia and West Virginia border the Atlantic Ocean.
As of 2010, the South Atlantic states had a combined population of 61,774,970. The South Atlantic region covers 292,589 square miles (757,800 km2). With the exception of West Virginia, the region has seen rapid population growth and economic development in recent decades.
As of 2023, the South Atlantic region is home to three of the top ten universities in the nation, according to 2022-23U.S. News & World Report rankings:Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland,Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., andDuke University inDurham, North Carolina, which is ranked the tenth-best in the nation.[5]
The East South Central region constitutes one of the nineU.S. Census Bureau divisions. Four states make up the division:Kentucky,Tennessee,Mississippi andAlabama. Historically, the area has been colonized and influenced by theFrench,Spanish,British, early US, andConfederate governments.[15][16][17][18] Distinct among these states, Alabama's French culture has been preserved through theAlabama Creoles,[19] and Kentucky's French culture can be observed throughout Louisville.[20] The East South Central states form the core ofOld Dixie,[21] one of the ninemoral regions identified byJames Patterson and Peter Kim in their acclaimed 1991 geopolitical best-seller,The Day America Told The Truth.[22]
Politically and culturally, the East South Central is moreconservative than the South Atlantic; Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee's governments have been described during 2012 to 2023 as some of the most conservative.[23][24][25] Religiously, conservativeEvangelical Protestantism dominates the East South Central region 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,[26][27] with Alabama second.[28] Kentucky was the third-fastest growing state,[29] and Mississippi experienced population decline; despite population decline, Mississippi did increase in diversity.[30][31]
The following is a list of the 25largest cities in the Eastern United States, based on 2021 population estimates:
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eastern United States—that part of the nation east of the Mississippi
The eastern US considered in this volume includes 22 states. This includes the southeastern states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia), the Mid-Atlantic states (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and the Ivory Coast), interior states (Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio), and New England (New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine).
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