West South Central | |
|---|---|
  .jpg)    Left to right from top:San Antonio,Downtown Dallas,Austin,Oklahoma City,Tulsa andNew Orleans skyline | |
 States in dark red are traditionally included in the West South Central states, while states shown in stripes may be broadly included, although they form part of theMountain states andEast South Central states regions | |
| States | |
| Largest metropolitan areas | |
| Largest city | Houston |
| Area | |
• Total | 444,052.01 sq mi (1,150,089.4 km2) |
| • Land | 425,066.01 sq mi (1,100,915.9 km2) |
| • Water | 18,986.00 sq mi (49,173.5 km2) |
| Population (2019)[2] | |
• Total | 40,619,450 |
| • Density | 95.56033/sq mi (36.89605/km2) |
TheWest South Central states, colloquially known as theSouth Central states, is aregion of theUnited States defined by theU.S. Census Bureau as covering four states:Arkansas,Louisiana,Oklahoma, andTexas. The West South Central or South Central region is located within theSouthern United States andGulf Coast regions,[3] bordering theMountain states andMidwestern U.S. regions to its north and west. TheGulf of Mexico is to the south of the region.Houston is the South Central's largest city, and theDallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area is the region's largest metropolis.
A geographically diverse region, the southern portion of the states are covered bycoastal plains andswamps,[4][5][6][7] while the remainder is covered by forests such as theCross Timbers,[8][9][10] hills and mountains,[11][12][13] and deserts near theTexas–Mexico border.
WithEuropean colonization of the Americas, this region of the U.S. has been heavily influenced by theFrench andSpanish.[14][15][16][17] WithAmerican settlement,Anglo-American culture began to influence the states covering the region. Distinct fromNew England and theMid-Atlantic states, and in common with theWestern U.S. andSouth Atlantic states, the majority of its non-Anglo culture descends from theSpanish Empire andMexico;[14][18] within Louisiana, there is a significant French influence preserved through itsCajun andLouisiana Creole populations.[19][20][21] In Oklahoma,Native American culture is prevalent through tribes such as theCherokee andSeminole nations among others.[22]
Within the region,Christianity is the prevalent religion as part of theBible Belt;southern andsoutheastern Texas[23] and southern Louisiana are predominantlyRoman Catholic andnon- or inter-denominational Protestant, withBaptists constituting a great majority.[24] Fromcentral andnorthern Texas, andcentral andnorthern Louisiana to the states of Oklahoma and Arkansas, Baptists,Methodists, and non- or inter-denominational Protestants constitute the majority.[24]
The history of the West South Central states is dominated by the conflict and interaction between three cultural-linguistic groups: theAnglosphere (firstGreat Britain and then the United States), theHispanidad (firstSpain thenMexico), and theFrancophonie (France).
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Spain and France maneuvered for control of Texas,[25] with the Spanish based in Mexico and the French in Louisiana. During theWar of the Quadruple Alliance hostilities spread to theNew World and the French troops fromNatchitoches briefly captured the capital ofSpanish Texas,Los Adaes, in what is now western Louisiana. The French were not able to wrest control of Texas from Spain, and by the early 19th century sold their North American holdings to the United States in theLouisiana Purchase,[26][27] which comprised slightly less than half of what is today the West South Central United States.
During theTexas Revolution (1835–1836), a rebellion of United States immigrants andTejanos (Texas Mexicans), put up armed resistance against theCentralist Republic of Mexico.[28] TheBattle of the Alamo was a major turning point during the Texas Revolution.[29] This battle would lead to many Texians deciding to join the Texian Army. Texians would defeat the Mexican Army at theBattle of San Jacinto later on,[30][31] leading to Texas declaring themselves an independent country in 1836, however Mexico viewed them as a rebellious province. Texas would eventually be admitted as aU.S. state in 1845.[32]
The official West and East South Central states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee would secede from the Union and join theConfederacy during theAmerican Civil War. Kentucky was aborder state that remained with theUnion. Oklahoma, althoughIndian Territory at the time, was home to five major Native American tribes (theFive Civilized Tribes), of which the majority allied themselves with the Confederacy.[33][34]Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory would merge into the state of Oklahoma when it became the 46th U.S. state in 1907.[35] All of these states are usually considered to make up a larger part of the American South, both historically and culturally, as well as classified by theU.S. Census Bureau.
The climate varies from the semi-tropical in theMississippi Delta,south Louisiana, andsoutheast Texas, to the dryChihuahuan desert inWest Texas.[7][6][13] A large portion of the northeastern quarter of the region is mountainous, with theOzark andOuachita mountains of Arkansas andeastern Oklahoma. The northwest quarter of the region is dominated by theGreat Plains which become progressively drier west of 100° W, forming the North AmericanLlano Estacado. The southwestern portions border theRio Grande and are generally drier than other areas of the West South Central United States.
Twomegaregions exist within this region:
| State | Population (2020 census) | Land area (sq mi) |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 3,011,524 | 53,179 |
| Louisiana | 4,657,757 | 51,843 |
| Oklahoma | 3,986,639 | 69,898 |
| Texas | 29,527,941 | 268,581 |
Texas is the largest West South Central state by both area and population; Texas is still home to over half the region's population. The largest city in the region,Houston, is located in Texas.New Orleans was tied withOklahoma City in population but, afterHurricane Katrina, the population of the New Orleans metro area declined to approximately 1 million.[36] By 2017, the population of the New Orleans metropolitan area had bounced back to almost 1.3 million;[37] overall, Louisiana and Arkansas are the two-slowest growing states of the region in contrast with Texas and Oklahoma.[38][39] In contrast with the population growth of Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, Louisiana has experienced the fifth highest population loss in the U.S. according to 2021 census estimates (making it the second-slowest growing state along the entire Gulf Coast megaregion, yet still experiencing more natural births thanMississippi in theEast South Central states).[40]
| City | 2024 pop. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston,Texas | 2,390,125 |
| 2 | San Antonio,Texas | 1,526,656 |
| 3 | Dallas,Texas | 1,326,087 |
| 4 | Fort Worth, Texas | 1,008,106 |
| 5 | Austin, Texas | 993,588 |
| 6 | Oklahoma City,Oklahoma | 712,919 |
| 7 | El Paso, Texas | 681,723 |
| 8 | Tulsa, Oklahoma | 415,154 |
| 9 | Arlington, Texas | 403,672 |
| 10 | New Orleans,Louisiana | 362,701 |
| MSA | 2024 pop. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington, TX MSA | 8,344,032 |
| 2 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX MSA | 7,796,182 |
| 3 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX MSA | 2,763,006 |
| 4 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX MSA | 2,550,637 |
| 5 | Oklahoma City, OK MSA | 1,497,821 |
| 6 | Tulsa, OK MSA | 1,059,803 |
| 7 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA MSA | 966,230 |
| 8 | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX MSA | 914,820 |
| 9 | Baton Rouge, LA MSA | 882,652 |
| 10 | El Paso, TX MSA | 879,392 |
| 11 | Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway, AR MSA | 769,258 |
| 12 | Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR MSA | 605,615 |
| Parties | |||||
| Democratic-Republican | Democratic | Whig | Republican | Dixiecrat | American Independent |
Within themajor professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, the first team in the region were founded in 1960: theDallas Cowboys of theNational Football League and theHouston Oilers of theAmerican Football League. The Oilers relocated after 1996, whereas two more teams in the region joined the NFL: theHouston Texans (2002) andNew Orleans Saints (1967).[41]
TwoMajor League Baseball teams are based in the region:Houston Astros (1962) andTexas Rangers (1972).[42] The region has fiveNBA teams:San Antonio Spurs (1967),Houston Rockets (1971),Dallas Mavericks (1980),New Orleans Pelicans (2002) andOklahoma City Thunder (2008).[43]National Hockey League features theDallas Stars since 1993.[44]
Texas also has threeMajor League Soccer teams:FC Dallas (1996),Houston Dynamo (2006), andAustin FC (2021), whereas theDallas Tornado played in theNorth American Soccer League from 1968 to 1981.[45]
Collegiate athletics have deep significance in the region's culture, especiallyfootball. TheSouthwest Conference was based in the region from 1914 to 1996. Currently theBig 12 Conference has four teams from Texas and one from Oklahoma, whereas theSoutheastern Conference has two teams from Texas, one from Oklahoma, one from Arkansas, and one from Louisiana.
According to a survey of Division I-A coaches, theRed River Shootout, the rivalry between theOklahoma Sooners andTexas Longhorns, ranks the third best in the nation.[46] TheBedlam Series is the rivalry between the Oklahoma Sooners andOklahoma State Cowboys. TheTCU Horned Frogs andSMU Mustangs also share a rivalry and compete annually in theBattle for the Iron Skillet.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
