The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East Coast plus Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Mississippi, and their border states. In 2011, the 26 states east of the Mississippi (in addition to Washington, D.C. but not including the small portions of Louisiana and Minnesota east of the river) had an estimated population of 179,948,346 or 58.28% of the total U.S. population of 331,745,358 (excluding Puerto Rico).

New England

New England is a region of the United States located in the northeastern corner of the country, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, consisting of the modern states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. In one of the earliest English settlements in the New World, English Pilgrims from Europe first settled in New England in 1620, in the colony of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. In the late 18th century, the New England colonies would be among the first North American British colonies to demonstrate ambitions of independence from the

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

. New England produced the first examples of American literature and philosophy and was home to the beginnings of free and

compulsory Compulsion may refer to: * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by i ...

public education. In the 19th century, it played a prominent role in the movement to abolish slavery in the United States. It was the first region of the United States to be transformed by the Industrial Revolution. Historically an area in which parts were strongly Republican, it is now a region with one of the highest levels of support for the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in the United States, with the majority of voters in every state voting for the Democrats in the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

presidential elections, and every state but New Hampshire voting for

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Midwest

The midwestern United States, generally referred to as the Midwest, is one of the four geographic regions within the United States that are recognized by the United States Census Bureau. Five states in the central and inland northeastern US, traditionally considered to be part of the Midwest, can also be classified as being part of the Eastern United States: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. A 2006 Census Bureau estimate put the population at 66,217,736. The United States Census Bureau divides this region into the East North Central States (essentially the Great Lakes States) and the West North Central States. Chicago is the largest city in the region, followed by

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

and

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. Chicago has the largest metropolitan statistical area, followed by Detroit, and Minneapolis – Saint Paul.

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie is a cross-border region of Canada and the United States located on St. Marys River, which drains Lake Superior into Lake Huron. Founded as a single settlement in 1668, Sault Ste. Marie was divided in 1817 by the establishment of ...

, Michigan is the oldest city in the region, having been founded by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

and explorers in 1668. The term Midwest has been in common use for over 100 years. Another term sometimes applied to the same general region is "the heartland". Other designations for the region have fallen into disuse, such as the "Northwest" or "Old Northwest" (from "Northwest Territory") and "Mid-America". Since the book '' Middletown'' appeared in 1929,

sociologists This is a list of sociologists. It is intended to cover those who have made substantive contributions to social theory and research, including any sociological subfield. Scientists in other fields and philosophers are not included, unless at least ...

have often used Midwestern cities (and the Midwest generally) as "typical" of the entire nation. The region has a higher employment-to-population ratio (the percentage of employed people at least 16 years old) than the Northeast, the West, the South, or the Sun Belt states. Four of the states associated with the Midwestern United States ( Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota) are also traditionally referred to as belonging in part to the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

region.

Southern United States

The southern United States is a large region of the United States that is sometimes considered to overlap with the Eastern United States, especially in the cases of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Its unique cultural and historic heritage includes the following aspects: * Native American cultures *Early European settlements of English, Scotch-Irish,

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

heritage *Rejecting the Anglican Church as instituted by Great Britain and resorting to other denominations of Protestantism *Helping partake in the American Revolutionary War *Importation of hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans *Growth of a large African American population *Reliance on slave labor from early 1600s to mid-1800s *Southern yeoman farmers that differed from the planter class *Legacy of the Confederacy after American Civil War * Civil rights movement *Emergence of the New South 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. A shift from mainly a rural society, to more cities and

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

s becoming

urbanized ''Urbanized'' is a documentary film directed by Gary Hustwit and released on 26 October 2011. It is considered the third of a three-part series on design known as the Design Trilogy; the first being ''Helvetica'', about the typeface, and the seco ...

, started to largely form following World War II in the 1940s. Since the late 20th century, certain Southern states and areas have seen great economic growth. This growth has led to many migrants moving to southern states, including many that are in the eastern United States. In 2020, Fortune 500 companies headquartered in eastern southern states included: Virginia with 22, Georgia with 18, Florida with 18, North Carolina with 13, and Tennessee with 10.

Major population centers

The following is a list of the 25 largest cities in the Eastern United States, based on 2021 population estimates:The 200 Largest Cities in the United States by Population 2021
. ''worldpopulationreview.com''. Retrieved February 14, 2021. File:Top of Rock Cropped.jpg, New York City
population: 8,230,290 File:2009-09-18 3060x2040 chicago skyline.jpg, Chicago
population: 2,679,080 File:The Philadelphia Skyline at Dusk.jpg, Philadelphia
population: 1,585,010 File:Jacksonville at Night (39527326802).jpg, Jacksonville
population: 929,647 File:Columbus-ohio-skyline-panorama.jpg,

population: 913,921 File:Charlotte Skyline 2011 - Ricky W.jpg, Charlotte
population: 912,096 File:Downtown indy from parking garage zoom.JPG,

population: 887,232 File:WashMonument WhiteHouse.jpg, Washington, D.C.
population: 714,153 File:Bostonstraight.jpg, Boston
population: 695,506 File:Nashville panorama Kaldari 01.jpg,

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

population: 678,448 File:DetroitSkyline.jpg, Detroit
population: 664,139 File:Memphis skyline from the air.jpg, Memphis
population: 651,011 File:LouisvilleNightSkyline2-small.jpg, Louisville
population: 615,924 File:Milwaukee skyline.jpg, Milwaukee
population: 587,721 File:Baltimore Harbor from rest.jpg,

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

population: 575,584 File:Midtownatlanta.jpg, Atlanta
population: 524,067 File:Downtown-Raleigh-from-Western-Boulevard-Overpass-20081012.jpeg, Raleigh
population: 483,579 File:Miamiatnightpink.jpg, Miami
population: 478,251 File:Virginia Beach from Fishing Pier.jpg, Virginia Beach
population: 450,224 File:TampaSkyline.jpg,

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

population: 404,636 File:Flats - 1 (13966708395).jpg, Cleveland
population: 376,599 File:LexingtonDowntown.JPG, Lexington
population: 324,604 File:Cincinnati oh skyline.jpg, Cincinnati
population: 307,266 File:Greensboro Skyline.jpg, Greensboro
population: 301,094 File:PittSkyline082904.jpg, Pittsburgh
population: 299,718

References

External links