# Do states other than New York have an "Upstate"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 30, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501 "2012-05-30T01:00:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/21 "2012-05-30T06:44:15Z")
Let’s not forget [Downstate Medical Center](http://www.downstate.edu/), which is in Brooklyn, NY - which is downstate. Is there an Upstate Medical Center as well? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/22 "2012-05-30T10:11:50Z")
> [@5\_time\_champ](#): > > In Missouri we have “outstate,” areas not in either the St Louis or Kansas City metro. Minnesota also has an ‘outstate’, referring to the mostly rural part of the state outside the Twin Cities metro area. Though the current politically correct term is “Greater Minnesota”. But because that’as longer & harder to say, most people still use ‘outstate’ in everything except political speeches or fromal writings. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/23 "2012-05-30T10:22:30Z")
> [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > Let’s not forget [Downstate Medical Center](http://www.downstate.edu/), which is in Brooklyn, NY - which is downstate. Is there an Upstate Medical Center as well? Yes, in Syracuse. On the Upstate/Downstate line, I have seen it drawn [ul] [li]on the northern Brons boundary;[/li][li]north of the heavily urbanized group of cities and towns just north of the Bronx (Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Rye, etc.);[/li][li]north of Westchester County;[/li][li]north of Rockland and Puytnam Counties.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/24 "2012-05-30T12:19:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > In common usage, Upstate New York is everything north of New York City (which is the entire state except for NYC and Long Island). > > [snip] > > There are no Eastern or Southern parts of New York. Two minor nitpicks: Everything north of Westchester County, as **Polycarp** suggests above. There are also the [Southern Tier](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Tier) and the East End of Long Island (pretty much everything east of the [Shinnecock canal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinnecock_Canal)). ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/25 "2012-05-30T12:20:58Z")
> [@picker](#): > > In Wisconsin, we have “Up North”. Ditto Michigan. “Going Up North this weekend.” ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/26 "2012-05-30T13:13:52Z")
> [@StrangerThanFiction](#): > > Yeah, it’s “southern Illinois,” and it’s defined as anything south of I-80 😃 So true! To my family, I live in southern Illinois. To the people here, it’s central Illinois. Depending on the laws they’re passing, Springfield can be Chicago or downstate. Usually it’s a Chicago clone. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/27 "2012-05-30T13:41:01Z")
We do in fact have an Upstate here in South Carolina but we would never say “Upstate South Carolina” like they do in New York. We say “the Upstate”, as in “I heard it might snow tonight, but that’s just in the Upstate.” ETA - we definitely also have a Lowcountry, and people say that a lot. Probably more than “upstate”, actually. That has a cultural meaning as well as a geographical one, though. Additionally, people do use the geographical divisions we learned in school (mountains, piedmont, sandhills, etc.) as well as “Midlands”, which is where I live and is also a widely used term. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/28 "2012-05-30T13:57:04Z")
Maine doesn’t have an “upstate” because, besides Portland, it’s all upstate. We do have a “downeast.” We also have “The County,” referring to Aroostook County (where I grew up) that encompasses pretty much most of the northern tip of the state and consists mostly of trees. I thought it was the largest county (in area) in the states, but apparently there’s one bigger in Missouri. But I digress … as usual. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/29 "2012-05-30T14:11:25Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > NC also has down east which means east of I-95 > > The dumbest thing is Charlotte only has uptown, they decided the word “downtown” was “too negative” There are plenty of cities with a downtown but no uptown. Oxford, Ohio, has an uptown but no downtown. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/30 "2012-05-30T14:19:45Z")
Northern Ohioans will sometimes refer to “downstate” Ohio (i.e. the realm of hicks, rednecks and hillbillies), but I don’t know if the reverse is true. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/31 "2012-05-30T14:26:41Z")
> [@picker](#): > > In Wisconsin, we have “Up North”. Actually, we have “up nort dere”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/32 "2012-05-30T14:28:10Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Northern Ohioans will sometimes refer to “downstate” Ohio (i.e. the realm of hicks, rednecks and hillbillies), but I don’t know if the reverse is true. As a southern Ohioan, I have never heard anyone use “downstate” or “upstate.” We just say “northern” and “southern.” ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/33 "2012-05-30T14:34:20Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > On the Upstate/Downstate line, I have seen it drawn > [ul] > [li]on the northern Brons boundary;[/li][li]north of the heavily urbanized group of cities and towns just north of the Bronx (Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Rye, etc.);[/li][li]north of Westchester County;[/li][li]north of Rockland and Puytnam Counties.[/li][/ul] I prefer to think of it as Upstate = north of where I live ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/34 "2012-05-30T14:34:21Z")
So what’s the etymology - that upstate NY and SC are literally at higher elevations than the coastal cities, or that they’re upriver? Side note: Columbus native here. There’s northern, _central_, and southern Ohio to us. We resent being lumped in with the \*real \*rednecks in southern Ohio, even though we say the world “Ahia” in the same Appalachian accent they use. We grew up hearing West Virginian jokes, too. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/35 "2012-05-30T14:36:36Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Side note: Columbus native here. There’s northern, _central_, and southern Ohio to us. We resent being lumped in with the \*real \*rednecks in southern Ohio, even though we say the world “Ahia” in the same Appalachian accent they use. We grew up hearing West Virginian jokes, too. Come to think of it, those of us from Dayton and Cincinnati tend to refer to “southwestern” Ohio, because we don’t want to be lumped in with Appalachia either. And we also say “Ahia.” “Date Nahia.” ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/36 "2012-05-30T14:46:14Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > Two minor nitpicks: > > Everything north of Westchester County, as **Polycarp** suggests above. > > There are also the [Southern Tier](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Tier) and the East End of Long Island (pretty much everything east of the [Shinnecock canal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinnecock_Canal)). I once had a “New York City Centrist” coworker who denied the existence of “Southern Tier” as a term, as he’d never heard it. I’d brought it up because I went to school in the region, and was describing where the school was. When pressed, he eventually retreated into the “That’s all upstate, who cares?” ploy. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/37 "2012-05-30T15:15:01Z")
In New York, upstate means anything north of NYC, except for Long Island. In usage, anything north of where you are in NY is upstate. Your next door neighbor on the north side lives upstate. Long Island is excepted, even though much of it is further north than upstate areas in Westchester. Since NYC is the southernmost part of the state, I think it was intended to refer to the mainland part of the state north of the city. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/38 "2012-05-30T15:18:57Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > So what’s the etymology - that upstate NY and SC are literally at higher elevations than the coastal cities, or that they’re upriver? Here in upstate NY, both are true. (And come to think of it, being at a higher elevation very often goes with being upriver, doesn’t it? Water flowing downhill and all.) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/39 "2012-05-30T15:43:29Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > So what’s the etymology - that upstate NY and SC are literally at higher elevations than the coastal cities, or that they’re upriver? > > Side note: Columbus native here. There’s northern, _central_, and southern Ohio to us. We resent being lumped in with the \*real \*rednecks in southern Ohio, even though we say the world “Ahia” in the same Appalachian accent they use. We grew up hearing West Virginian jokes, too. Both, and also in shape, what with South Carolina being shaped like a piece of pie. Mmm, pie. ---
**Author:** ![tallcoldone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@tallcoldone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tallcoldone)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/40 "2012-05-30T16:25:30Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > True, but I’ve never heard the term “Upstate” here. > > There’s “Downstate”, which describes everything in the southern peninsula. > > There’s “Northern Michigan”, which describes everything in the northern half of the southern peninsula. > > And then there’s the “Upper Peninsula” aka “UP”, which is the northern peninsula. And yeah, we think it’s funny that we’re north of “Northern Michigan.” Living in MI for 27 years, I’ve also heard ‘outstate’ - anything that’s not meto Detroit. Haven’t heard that so much recently, maybe because Detroit ain’t what it used to be. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501.md?page=3)