# Half of US population lives in 9 states. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 10, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868 "2019-07-10T22:31:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/1 "2019-07-10T22:31:29Z")
Read an interesting article recently. > **[Half of the US population lives in these 9 states](https://www.businessinsider.com/half-of-the-us-population-lives-in-just-9-states-2016-6)** > > These charts show just how dense the country's biggest cities are. Why do you suppose this is? Why do you think half the population lives in these particular states? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/2 "2019-07-10T22:59:25Z")
Big. Urban. Mostly urban. If the question is “Why are the major US cities in these particular 9 states?”, that’s a more complicated issue AFAICT. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/3 "2019-07-10T23:19:40Z")
I was going to say because those states don’t suck. But then I got a look at which ones and, well, I’m at a loss to explain most of 'em. And maybe that’s the point. CA, NY, GA, and PA would seem to be attractive to very different sorts of people. And yeah, one big question is “Why these 9?” One answer is, “Have you seen the other 41 choices?” Lots of farmland, tough mountains, and desert. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/4 "2019-07-10T23:27:36Z")
You can break down even farther than the states. If you look at the chart on counties, the population is really concentrated into very small areas. The main drivers, taking a quick look, seem to have been: ports or transportation hubs, such as New York, San Francisco or Chicago; proximity to valuable resources, such as gold or oil, or more recently intellectual talent, so California, Texas, Nevada, Washington; Washington DC and the corridors of power, you gotta be in 'em to win 'em. I’ve got nothing on Florida; possibly Spanish settlement? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/5 "2019-07-10T23:40:01Z")
Isn’t this true of most medium or large sized nations? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/6 "2019-07-10T23:43:52Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I’ve got nothing on Florida NYC retirement annex. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/7 "2019-07-10T23:47:40Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > You can break down even farther than the states. If you look at the chart on counties, the population is really concentrated into very small areas. The main drivers, taking a quick look, seem to have been: ports or transportation hubs, such as New York, San Francisco or Chicago; proximity to valuable resources, such as gold or oil, or more recently intellectual talent, so California, Texas, Nevada, Washington; Washington DC and the corridors of power, you gotta be in 'em to win 'em. > > I’ve got nothing on Florida; possibly Spanish settlement? Florida has Miami. Their transportation links are more diverse, but very considerable. I was more surprised by Ohio. Georgia surprised me but I am sure Atlanta pushed it into the big nine. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/8 "2019-07-10T23:57:36Z")
No, Business Insider, I _ **will not** _ turn off my ad-blocker. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/9 "2019-07-10T23:57:59Z")
Jewish retirees from NYC and Cuban refugees, mainly. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/10 "2019-07-11T00:03:52Z")
Atlanta started as, and still remains, a transportation hub city. But its true success was that when the northern flight began, it was the largest city in the South that had brand-name recognition from Gone With the Wind and Coca-Cola. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/11 "2019-07-11T00:06:39Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > No, Business Insider, I _ **will not** _ turn off my ad-blocker. I _ **can’t** _ turn off my ad blocker, because I’m at work and they’re being blocked by the corporate firewall and there’s nothing I can do about it. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/12 "2019-07-11T00:07:23Z")
This interactive chart is a bit old [Population map: Use our interactive map to figure out how many flyover states it takes to equal one New York City.](http://www.slate.com/articles/life/culturebox/2014/10/population_map_use_our_interactive_map_to_figure_out_how_many_flyover_states.html) (2014) but it lets you play around with how big an area in (say) Kansas has a population as large as NYC (quite large). ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/13 "2019-07-11T00:09:51Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > You can break down even farther than the states. If you look at the chart on counties, the population is really concentrated into very small areas. The main drivers, taking a quick look, seem to have been: ports or transportation hubs, such as New York, San Francisco or Chicago; proximity to valuable resources, such as gold or oil, or more recently intellectual talent, so California, Texas, Nevada, Washington; Washington DC and the corridors of power, you gotta be in 'em to win 'em. > > I’ve got nothing on Florida; possibly Spanish settlement? What we have in the map are: 1: The longtime northern heavy-industry and financial/trade centers: New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan. There may have been some heavy downturns especially in the latter but there is the already established populational and institutional inertia at work. Once upon a time a majority of the population was just in those and their immediate periphery. Which in the case of these states that’s an additional kicker, in that you have high-population density but geographically smaller states like New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachussetts and Maryland within commuting distance of the big ones, adding even more to the continued heavy demographic weight of the Old North. 2:Georgia is the New York of the South, it has the Southern equivalent of NYC or Chicago in metropolitan Atlanta, a major land and air transportation hub, media and industry center, corporate headquarters site, cultural center and concentration of politically and socially well connected individuals and groups. Add the business attractiveness of the New South and of course it attracts population. 3: As mentioned, Texas and California are huge magnets of economic opportunity and availablility of resources. To major ports and educational institutions and financial centers and richness in natural resources, add how both are geographically quite big and both environmentally and socioculturally diverse, so they have a lot of space to take people in and a lot of places where those people can find a good fit. Folks have neen heading there to make new lives or find fortune or themselves or get away from their old life since the 1800s 4: Florida has been in part a junior version of Cal/Tex, with, until now (the limits may be approahing or getting hit already) room to develop, fewer extractive resources or heavy industy but a lot of jobs in the services economy, an attractive business environment, a pleasant climate most of the time. And yes, in the other part, the expansion as the gateway point where Latin America meets the USA to hustle and do business with the safety and security of US Law but in a cultural climate much more like home. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/14 "2019-07-11T00:59:26Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I’ve got nothing on Florida; possibly Spanish settlement? Tourism creates a lot of job opportunities. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/15 "2019-07-11T01:14:45Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I’ve got nothing on Florida; possibly Spanish settlement? No income tax. Also A/C is easier than a snowblower. ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/16 "2019-07-11T01:30:30Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#): > > Read an interesting article recently. > > [Half of the US Population Lives in Just 9 States](https://www.businessinsider.com/half-of-the-us-population-lives-in-just-9-states-2016-6) > > Why do you suppose this is? Why do you think half the population lives in these particular states? “California, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Georgia and Florida — account for half of the entire US population.” California-- on the water, warm weather, gold rush days, was settled by the Spanish before the USA was Texas-- oil booms, people who stopped before making it to California for the gold rush, was settled by the Spanish before the USA was Florida – on the water, warm weather, was settled by the Spanish before the USA was Georgia-- Atlanta air hub is all I can think of other than warm weather. New York-- on the water, early colony which means as new people moved in there were already fields ready to be planted (or even harvested) Pennsylvania-- one of the early colonies which means as new people moved in there were already fields ready to be planted, has access to Lake Eerie but more importantly is far enough away from the Atlantic coastline that hurricanes aren’t as a big deal Illinois, Michigan, Ohio all have access to the Great Lakes or the Mississippi River, all have great soil for growing crops, snow/heat/humidity can be bad but temps aren’t as brutal as other states. Water is needed not just for drinking or shipping but also for industrial purposes. Once you get west of the Miss. River huge tracts of land were once up for grabs (never mind those pesky Natives’ claims). So one family would hold 100 hectares or even a thousand + hectares of land. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/17 "2019-07-11T02:09:28Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Isn’t this true of most medium or large sized nations? I assume so. 1/5 of the population of France lives in the Paris metro area, 1/5 of UK’s population lives in the London metro area. 1/10 of Russia’s population is in the Moscow metro area. 1/3 of Canadians and Australians live in the metro area of the 3 biggest cities, etc. If anything, other nations are more dense than the US. The metro area of our 3 biggest cities is only 15% of our total population. Compare that to places like the UK Or France where one city is 20% of the population. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/18 "2019-07-11T04:26:24Z")
Our most-populated county is Los Angeles County. It has about the same number of people (6 million) as the state of Georgia. Our least-populated state is Wyoming, with 600,000 people. It has a smaller population than Madison, Wisconsin. Georgia and Wyoming get two senators. Los Angeles and Madison do not. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/19 "2019-07-11T12:02:56Z")
The linked article is three years old, so there has been one major change – North Carolina has moved ahead of Michigan to become the ninth most populous state. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868/20 "2019-07-11T12:24:44Z")
Anybody here offering a job where I can go to [www.census.gov](http://www.census.gov), sort a table, do some adding, then write an article about my “research”? Seems like a pretty sweet gig to me… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-us-population-lives-in-9-states/836868.md?page=2)