# Location of the Simpsons' Springfield **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380 "2003-07-28T05:15:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guybud5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Guybud5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guybud5)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/1 "2003-07-28T05:15:33Z")
Where do y’all think springfield is located? Though many say the midwest, I think it’s somewhere in CA, or on the Pacific Coast at least. It’s near the ocean (remember the episode where the Navy was recruiting with boy bands, and the final scene was at the ocean. It’s got redwoods. Lisa stayed in a redwood to make sure they didn’t cut it down. It’s in a valley, with very CA-like mountains and hills surrounding it, and most trees seem to be pointy conifers. Radio stations call signs start with K In the episode where Homer goes to work for the mad-scientist-hellbent-on-destruction in the planned community in the north part of the state, the surroundings are shown to be mountainous with lots of coniferous forests (think northern CA) - in this same episode, the mad scientist escapes, telling Homer to give him a ring if he’s ever visiting the East Coast. I don’t remember the episode, but I seem to remember an earthquake at some point. Anyway, that’s all I’ve got. Any thoughts on this far less than cosmic topic? ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/2 "2003-07-28T05:39:18Z")
Long ago, there was a similar thread… I believe in the end, it turned out that for every Springfield in the U.S., there was a Simpsons episode with some feature that showed that couldn’t be it. In other words, with all the clues, it couldn’t exist in the U.S. as we know it. But, uh, I don’t want to spoil your thread from the start, so everyone else, please jump in with ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/3 "2003-07-28T05:50:22Z")
The following states have a Shelbyville, according to Yahoo! Maps: AR, IL, IN, KY, MI, MO, TN, TX. Each of these states also has a Springfield. The distance between Shelbyville, AR and Springfield, AR is 100.8 miles. For the other states listed, the respective driving distances in miles are: 59.6, 228.3, 46.1, 38.3, 272.6, 83.5, and 121.8. I’m not saying this proves anything. I just always wanted to look it up. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/4 "2003-07-28T05:51:12Z")
:smack: The show is intentionally contradictory on this point. It’s not really anywhere. I remember one episode where they gave a precise distance from Springfield to Mexico City that meant the only place it could’ve been was southern Texas. That’s contradicted by many other episodes. The show says northern Kentucky, of course, but the truth is that Springfield isn’t in any one state. ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/5 "2003-07-28T07:12:20Z")
It’s just south of Bedrock, and east of Riverdale. ---
**Author:** ![fotosbyfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/54ee81/32.png) [@fotosbyfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fotosbyfrank)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/6 "2003-07-28T11:06:15Z")
This is an easy one - just find the state where the capitol is “Capital City” ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/7 "2003-07-28T11:14:19Z")
It’s adjacent to Eugene, Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/8 "2003-07-28T11:53:23Z")
Then there’s that episode when Marge is giving the Simpsons’ home address over the phone. She says, “742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield… _oh hiya, Maude_! Come on in!” “Oh hiya” is pronounced “Ohio”. The writers are clearly winking to the audience, as the appearance of Maude Flanders in Marge’s kitchen is a total non sequiter. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/9 "2003-07-28T12:33:12Z")
It’s not Michigan–we don’t have a DMV. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/10 "2003-07-28T12:34:45Z")
What do “Simpsons” license plates look like? ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/11 "2003-07-28T12:36:32Z")
It’s not far from Ogdenville. They have a pretty sweet outlet mall there, by the way. They have all the major brands - Panaphonics, Magnetbox, Sorny … even Carnivale. That’s the tv for you if you like to watch it, I mean _reaaallly_ watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/12 "2003-07-28T13:00:32Z")
In the episode where they were going to split Springfield into two area codes, the new codes were given, which, when you looked them up (they exist), implied that Springfield was on one of Puerto Rico’s land boundaries. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Elret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elret)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/13 "2003-07-28T13:14:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guybud5 \* > **It’s near the ocean (remember the episode where the Navy was recruiting with boy bands, and the final scene was at the ocean.** Wasn’t the final scene of that episode in New York Harbour? ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/14 "2003-07-28T13:36:52Z")
Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/15 "2003-07-28T13:59:19Z")
Springfield is a fictional place. As such, trying to tie it to an actual location is just plain silly. Its geography is based on the principle of “Whatever is funny,” and there is no reason for, or even an expectation of, foolish consistency (I’d quote Emerson, but I doubt anyone is aware of him). ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/16 "2003-07-28T14:39:48Z")
Well, since East Springfield is the size of Texas, its in whatever state is larger than Texas but in the continental US. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/17 "2003-07-28T17:40:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > \*\*The show says northern Kentucky, of course, but the truth is that Springfield isn’t in any one state. \*\* They said the Kentucky thing in the “Behind the Laughter” episode, which was a parody of “Behind The Music” and thus had no relevance to the continuity of the show, just like the halloween specials. I think they also dubbed in a different state when that episode was re-run. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/18 "2003-07-28T18:50:27Z")
The abbreviation on Springfield’s license plates is “NT” (one of the writers has said they live in “North Takoma”). The governor is Mary Bailey. We’ve seen the state flag, and the motto is “Not just another state.” Surely with these clues, we can figure out which state it’s in. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/19 "2003-07-28T18:59:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*(I’d quote Emerson, but I doubt anyone is aware of him). \*\* Hey, he was really great with Lake & Palmer. –Biffy the Hobgoblin ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380/20 "2003-07-28T19:04:58Z")
The NT postal abbreviation is for the “North West Territories”. So Springfield is really in the Canadian Arctic! And Puerto Rico (see previous post). Good thing they didn’t use NU. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-the-simpsons-springfield/191380.md?page=2)