# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/41 "2012-05-30T16:27:24Z")
> [@tallcoldone](#): > > 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. Do you also refer to the state as the Murder Mitten? ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/42 "2012-05-30T16:42:21Z")
I have never, EVER heard anyone use “Upstate” to refer to Northern California. There’s NoCal, and SoCal, and the Central Valley (which is different from The Valley.) Upstate. Pshaw. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/43 "2012-05-30T16:51:18Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Do you also refer to the state as the Murder Mitten? Is trolling really necessary? :rolleyes: With Michigan, Northern Michigan is the northern part of the Lower Penninsula, essentially everything north of the Detroit metropolitan area. The Upper Penninsula is the UP, and is not considered “Northern Michigan.” Western Michigan is basically the southwest corner of the Lower Penninsula. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/44 "2012-05-30T16:55:03Z")
> [@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)). It depends. I’ve certainly heard people call Westchester County Upstate. Heck, there are people who think Upstate starts at 125th Street. I’m familiar with the Southern Tier (used to live in it). Never been in the East End. But those are local expressions used by people in that part of the state not statewide expressions. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/45 "2012-05-30T17:00:40Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Is trolling really necessary? :rolleyes: I don’t appreciate your accusation of trolling, it was what used to be called a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/46 "2012-05-30T18:18:28Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > Two minor nitpicks: > > Everything north of Westchester County, as **Polycarp** suggests above. Odd thing to call a nitpick. Those are usually small bits of fact that someone got wrong. There’s nothing approaching a consensus as to what comprises up/down state. \*Brewster \*is ‘upstate’? Going to tell someone from Buffalo that Newburgh is ‘upstate’? People from Albany barely qualify for upstate, and mostly when they want to be considered as far from the city as possible. When we left the city for a bit of forest in Sullivan county no one knew the name of our town, but easily distinguished between up- and downstate. Sure there are people who think anything outside of the city limits is upstate, but it’s pretty far from a nitpick. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/47 "2012-05-30T19:11:13Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > There’s [Upstate Pennsylvania](http://www.visitpa.com/upstatepa). There is? I’ve lived here most of my life and never heard the term even once. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/48 "2012-05-30T19:20:28Z")
A mildly amusing anecdote: My mother, an educational aide, once mentioned to some kid who’d transferred in from NY(C?) that she had some relative or friend in “upstate” New York. The kid was all :eek:. Apparently, to him, “upstate” was synonymous with “in prison.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/49 "2012-05-30T20:00:50Z")
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > As a kid I can remember my confusion as to everything outside of Detroit (when it was the 5th largest city in the US) as “upstate”. Maybe it was “out of state”, can’t actually recall, but there was a clear distinction between Detroit and the rest of Michigan. Most people I grew up with called it “outstate.” Mostly referring to parts of the LP that aren’t Southeastern Michigan. You probably wouldn’t refer to the UP as outstate, just “the UP.” I’ve heard outstate less over the last several years. > [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Do you also refer to the state as the Murder Mitten? Michigan has 3 times the area of Ireland. Would you refer to the entire country by one unflattering characteristic of, say, Dublin? ---
**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, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/50 "2012-05-30T20:07:22Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Michigan has 3 times the area of Ireland. Would you refer to the entire country by one unflattering characteristic of, say, Dublin? Is this a trick question? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/51 "2012-05-30T20:28:16Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > …Virginia has “northern virginia.” And the “Eastern Shore”. This is not the eastern part of the state in general but refers specifically to the noncontiguous peninsula that sticks down from Maryland. Also, Northern Virginia is more of a cultural term for the region of the state that constitutes part of the Washington, DC Metro Area and is very urban and suburban (and happens to be in the northern part of the state), rather than strictly the northernmost reaches of the state. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/52 "2012-05-30T20:59:38Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > The dumbest thing is Charlotte only has uptown, they decided the word “downtown” was “too negative” As has been pointed out, lots of cities only have a “downtown.” Charlotte’s choice to brand their city center as “uptown” to emphasize a more positive outlook was simply marketing. Given the historic “Atlanta’s little sister” position Charlotte has chafed under, they certainly weren’t going to use “midtown.” And, just to be complete about South Carolina: the northwest corner of SC is the “upstate,” but the southern corner is the “low country.” The northeast corner is mostly either “tobacco country” or the Grand Strand, depending on how close to the water you are. 🙂 ---
**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, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/53 "2012-05-30T21:00:03Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > 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.) Well, I WAS referring to specific rivers running into said coastal cities. The Hudson and Mohawk, and the Erie Canal, \*were \*once the primary ways to get, well, upstate from NYC. ---
**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, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/54 "2012-05-30T21:39:35Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > …Long Island is excepted, even though much of it is further north than upstate areas in Westchester… Actually, [none](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Map_of_New_York_highlighting_Westchester_County.svg/1280px-Map_of_New_York_highlighting_Westchester_County.svg.png) of Long Island is north of Westchester. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/55 "2012-05-30T22:31:51Z")
> [@StrangerThanFiction](#): > > Yeah, it’s “southern Illinois,” and it’s defined as anything south of I-80 😃 Upstate Illinois is pronounced, “Chicago”. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/56 "2012-05-30T22:54:34Z")
Chiming in for Washington State. We don’t have an “upstate”, but we do have an “east side” and “west side”, though what they refer to differs. If you live within the Seattle metro area, “east side” means “east side of Lake Washington”. If you live outside Seattle, “east side” means “east side of the Cascade Mountains”. Like the New York example, east of the Cascades is basically an entirely different state than west of it, crossing them is kind of like going from LA to Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/57 "2012-05-30T23:06:37Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > A mildly amusing anecdote: My mother, an educational aide, once mentioned to some kid who’d transferred in from NY(C?) that she had some relative or friend in “upstate” New York. The kid was all :eek:. Apparently, to him, “upstate” was synonymous with “in prison.” 🙂 It is to a certain group of people in NYC - former/current inmates, cops, city correction officers, etc. Nearly all of the state prisons are “upstate” to someone from NYC. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/58 "2012-05-31T00:51:51Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Michigan has 3 times the area of Ireland. Would you refer to the entire country by one unflattering characteristic of, say, Dublin? The only vaguely derogatory name for Dublin I can think of is the Big Smoke which is also shared by London, if you referred to Ireland as that you’d be met with bemusement. I asked my question, in jest, because I’d seen other Michiganders referring to the state as the Murder Mitten. I really didn’t seek to offend citizens of the great state of Michigan but if you’d like you can call Dublin and Ireland anything derogatory you want, I’m not going to be upset about it. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/59 "2012-05-31T02:14:54Z")
Now what we’ve got in Southern California is an “Inland Empire.” Well, no, we’re not that proud of it. ---
**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 31, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501/60 "2012-05-31T02:35:17Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I thought it was the largest county (in area) in the states, but apparently there’s one bigger in Missouri. No, I think it’s the St. Louis County of Minnesota that is bigger. St. Louis County in Missouri is only about 1/12th the size of the big county in either Minnesota or Maine. But St. Louis county, Minnesota, besides lots of forest & mines, includes the port city of Duluth, and so has about 3 times the population of Aroostook County, Maine. The County was much bigger until about Civil War time; then the eastern third was split off into a separate county. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-states-other-than-new-york-have-an-upstate/623501.md?page=4)