Regions of the United States

The United States is composed of many "regions" and there is no official regional designation for each state. You can assign Kansas as a Midwestern state and just as easily call it a Central state, just as you could call Oregon a Pacific state, a Northwestern state, or a Western state. Below is a listing of potential regions with the states that occupy those regions of the United States.

Regions of the United States

Atlantic States: The states that border the Atlantic Ocean from Maine in the north to Florida in the South. Does not include the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, even though it is part of the Atlantic Ocean.

Dixie: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia

Eastern States: States east of the Mississippi River (not used generally with states that lie on the Mississippi River).

Great Lakes Region: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin

Great Plains States: Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming

Gulf States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas

Lower 48: The conterminous 48 states; excludes Alaska and Hawaii

Mid-Atlantic States: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania.

Midwest: Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin

New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont

Pacific Northwest: Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington

Pacific States: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington

Rocky Mountain States: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming

South Atlantic States: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia

Southern States: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia

Southwest: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah

Sunbelt: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas, Nevada

West Coast: California, Oregon, Washington

Western States: States west of the Mississippi River (not used generally with states that lie on the Mississippi River).

Take a look at this map of the regions of the United States.

Source: Based on a classification from the Library of Congress.