# Where is the Midwest? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2001, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484 "2001-07-06T14:33:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixcoatl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@mixcoatl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixcoatl)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/1 "2001-07-06T14:33:47Z")
Having asked several people, and gotten several different answers, where exactly _is_ the Midwest? ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/2 "2001-07-06T14:36:43Z")
The exact center of the Midwest is in Emington, Illinois. Population 150. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/3 "2001-07-06T14:43:24Z")
Between the Appalachians and the Rockies, but north of the Mason-Dixon line. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/4 "2001-07-06T14:52:11Z")
Between the Appalachians and the Rockies, but north of “the South”. Ohio to Nebraska, say, including Minnesota and down to Kansas or Oklahoma. In England there are road signs pointing to “The North”, meaning the north of England. I keep asking people whether there are roadsigns in Scotland pointing southwards indicating “The North”, but for some reason no one ever sees the joke. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/5 "2001-07-06T15:09:12Z")
Usage of the term “Midwest” keeps changing. During the 19th century, Kansas was squarely part of the West proper, but nowadays it’s usually considered to be part of the Midwest. Is Pittsburgh in the Midwest or the East? I suspect people from Pittsburgh and, say, NYC would give different answers. A related question is, “where is the heartland?” You know, the place they keep talking about on the news–“Shocking murder in the nation’s heartland!” The heartland doesn’t seem to be very specific. It can be north or south, east or west, rural area or big city. The only places the media don’t seem to describe as “heartland” at some time or another are NYC, LA, Boston, SF, DC, and Miami. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/6 "2001-07-06T15:44:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wumpus \* > \*\*A related question is, “where is the heartland?” You know, the place they keep talking about on the news–“Shocking murder in the nation’s heartland!” \*\* Iowa. (State motto: “The heart of it all!”) What? ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/7 "2001-07-06T17:56:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wumpus \* > \*\* > Is Pittsburgh in the Midwest or the East? I suspect people from Pittsburgh and, say, NYC would give different answers. > \*\* Pittsburgh was once known as the “Gateway to the West” as the Ohio river starts there and was the best (if not the only) route to the West. Now, one might call Pittsburgh “Gateway to the Mid-West.” I would say that Pittsburgh is the extreme Western edge of the mid-Atlantic region. 20 miles west and one is squarely in the Mid-West. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/8 "2001-07-06T18:41:23Z")
The Midwest is located in a space about 100 years behind New York and Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/9 "2001-07-06T21:32:30Z")
“Heartland” usually means “some place with cornfields”. Usually, this is one of the Plains states. I think that it would be safest to call Pittsburgh “Appalachia”. The East is everything east of the mountains, and the Midwest starts west of the mountains, but the iron city is in the mountains. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/10 "2001-07-06T22:01:33Z")
I dunno, I never think to look down when I “Fly Over”. 😉 Funny thing, **jr8** , most people I’ve known who hail from Oklahoma consider themselves to be southerners. Not sure why, tho. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/11 "2001-07-06T22:04:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jr8 \* > In England there are road signs pointing to “The North”, meaning the north of England. I keep asking people whether there are roadsigns in Scotland pointing southwards indicating “The North”, but for some reason no one ever sees the joke. Well, you know those Britons just have no sense of irony. BTW, the western boundary of the Midwest is roughly the 100th meridian which runs through the western parts of Nebraska, Kansas and the Dakotas. That’s the dividing line between the wetter, corn-and-hog-intensive Great Plains and the dryer, winter-wheat-and-cow-intensive high plains. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/12 "2001-07-06T23:07:21Z")
“The Midwest is located in a space about 100 years behind New York and Los Angeles.” :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Come to Chicago and say that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/13 "2001-07-06T23:34:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Bredin \* > \*\*“The Midwest is located in a space about 100 years behind New York and Los Angeles.” > > :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: > > Come to Chicago and say that. 🙂 \*\* So _that’s_ where the midwest is. In _Chicago_. Home of the cheese steak sammich. 😃 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/14 "2001-07-07T00:47:26Z")
**LateComer** , don’t let anyone from St. Louis hear you call Philadelphia the “Gateway to the West”… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/15 "2001-07-07T00:58:00Z")
The [_Britannica_](http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=121245&tocid=77994#77994.toc) says > [@](#): > > Everyone within or outside of the Midwest knows of its existence, but no one is certain where it begins or ends. The older apex of the eastward-pointing triangle appears to rest around Pittsburgh, while the two western corners melt away somewhere in the Great Plains, possibly in southern Manitoba in the north and southern Kansas in the south. The eastern terminus and the southern and western borders are broad, indistinct transitional zones. Having said that, they then include a helpful link to a little map which shows the Midwest as a nice well-marked, well-defined region including the states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. The [U.S. Census]([http://www.census.gov/td/stf3/append\_a.html#CENSUS](http://www.census.gov/td/stf3/append_a.html#CENSUS) REGION) defines the Midwest Census Region as including the East North Central Census Division (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin) and the West North Central Census Division (Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas); in other words, the same as the Britannica map. So, depending on your tolerance for ambiguity and your liking of Official Definitions, you can say “The Midwest officially consists of these twelve states, and no others”, or you can discourse learnedly on “broad, indistinct transitional zones”. > [@](#): > > Funny thing, jr8, most people I’ve known who hail from Oklahoma consider themselves to be southerners. Not sure why, tho. The [_Britannica_](http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=121328&tocid=0) again: > [@](#): > > The customs of the Deep South are maintained in the habits and attitudes of southern Oklahoma—“Little Dixie”—despite the decline in cotton production. The customs of the wheat growers in the north, however, reflect their largely Kansan origins. Note that the Census places Oklahoma in the West South Central Division of the South Region, along with Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. One of the suburbs of Oklahoma City is named [Midwest City](http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=53900&tocid=0). Clearly, we’re in one of those “broad, indistinct transitional zones”. ---
**Author:** ![IBBen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85f322/32.png) [@IBBen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IBBen)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/16 "2001-07-07T03:02:22Z")
Not really, super-duper relevant but I always liked [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=45176) post. ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/17 "2001-07-07T03:47:33Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by jr8 \* > Iowa. (State motto: “The heart of it all!”)_\* Please keep your vowel states straight. State motto: **Iowa** : Our Liberties We Prize, and Our Rights We will Maintain **Ohio** : With God, all things are possible (the government display of which was ruled unconstitutional a couple years ago) Tourism slogan: **Iowa** : Come be our guest **Ohio** : The Heart of it all ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/18 "2001-07-07T03:55:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mangeorge \* > **_Chicago_. > Home of the cheese steak sammich.** Ouch. PHILA fucking DELPHIA is the home of the cheesesteak sandwich. Chicago is the home of the ITALIAN BEEF sandwich. (Actually, I could go for one of each about now.) ---
**Author:** ![Homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/19 "2001-07-07T04:35:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chas.E \* > \*\*The Midwest is located in a space about 100 years behind New York and Los Angeles. > \*\* LOLOLOLOL!!!1!!1!! U R A MANTAL JENIUS! MISTAR FUNNEY SI YUO!~!! ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484/20 "2001-07-07T05:34:47Z")
**Ukulele Ike** > [@](#): > > PHILA fucking DELPHIA is the home of the cheesesteak sandwich. Oh. So, what you’re telling me is that Chicago’s _not_ in Philadelphia? 😃 Peace, mangeorge [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-midwest/71484.md?page=2)