# Which Doper lives closest to the center of his/her state? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 17, 2007, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126 "2007-07-17T14:14:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/1 "2007-07-17T14:14:18Z")
Non-USA Dopers are welcome to treat the geographical center of whatever country, province, territory or the like they live in in the same fashion as those listed at the [Geographic centers of the United States](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_centers_of_the_United_States) Wikipedia article. Using the point shown for your state and some mapping software like Yahoo! Maps determine how far your residence is from state center and see if you’re closer than the closest listed distance. As a starting distance, I live roughly 26 driving miles (closer as the crow flies) from Tennessee’s center near Murfreesboro. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/2 "2007-07-17T14:19:46Z")
Maybe 5 miles, maximum (when I’m in State College, PA). As far as I’m aware, the university was founded to be at the geographic center of the state. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/3 "2007-07-17T14:34:04Z")
That article says that the centre of Ohio is in Delaware County, but doesn’t say where in that county. I live about 10 miles from the nearest part of Delaware County. ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_of\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@Sock\_of\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_of_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/4 "2007-07-17T14:48:14Z")
Another State College, PA resident here. Wikipedia says that the state’s center is 2.5 miles SW of Bellefonte, and the center of State College is about 10 miles southwest-ish from the center of Bellefonte. Gotta love putting a university in the center of the state. Equally inconvenient for people from any real city. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/5 "2007-07-17T14:50:15Z")
I’m not far, even though NY is a big state. I’m about 100 miles from Wampsville, NY, which is the county seat of Madison County, which is the center of the State. If you look at a map of NY, though, Albany certainly looks kind of like the center! [Map of NY](http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=address&country=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=home&formtype=address&popflag=0&latitude=&longitude=&name=&phone=&level=&cat=&address=&city=&state=NY&zipcode=) ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/6 "2007-07-17T14:51:46Z")
**Synthetically Organic** , I think we’ve got this one in a lock. Small compensation for being 3 hours away from civilization, though! 😉 I didn’t know there were more State College dopers - are you a student? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/7 "2007-07-17T14:51:46Z")
[QUOTE=Synthetically Organic] Another State College, PA resident here. Wikipedia says that the state’s center is 2.5 miles SW of Bellefonte, and the center of State College is about 10 miles southwest-ish from the center of Bellefonte. Gotta love putting a university in the center of the state. Equally inconvenient for people from any real city. [/QUOTE] By that logic I suppose MTSU in Murfreesboro meets that test. Home of WMOT Jazz radio. When I lived in Alabama I was even closer (for a year or so) to state center, on the order of 5-10 miles. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/8 "2007-07-17T15:29:29Z")
9 miles, maybe 10. ---
**Author:** ![frog\_princess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6bbea6/32.png) [@frog\_princess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frog_princess)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/9 "2007-07-17T15:47:17Z")
I’m 20 miles from the center of Massachusetts. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/10 "2007-07-17T16:24:40Z")
Im about 25 miles from the center of Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/11 "2007-07-17T16:27:20Z")
I have no idea what the exact center of the sunshine state is but Orlando must be pretty close to it. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/12 "2007-07-17T16:36:41Z")
[QUOTE=Foxy40] I have no idea what the exact center of the sunshine state is but Orlando must be pretty close to it. [/QUOTE] The precision may be slightly off, but > [@](#): > > Florida Hernando County, 12 miles NNW of Brooksville ought to get you close enough to gauge your distance from it. ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/13 "2007-07-17T16:50:07Z")
I live about 28 miles from the center of NJ. They list the center as 5 miles SE of Trenton. I guess it makes sense that Trenton would be nearly at the geographic center of NJ. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/14 "2007-07-17T17:02:45Z")
[QUOTE=Frosted Glass] I live about 28 miles from the center of NJ. They list the center as 5 miles SE of Trenton. I guess it makes sense that Trenton would be nearly at the geographic center of NJ. [/QUOTE] It might be fun to see which state capitals are farthest from “state center.” I know that Nashville and Montgomery are fairly close to the middle. Atlanta is pretty far away, as is Baton Rouge and Tallahassee, but most other Southern capitals are fairly centrally located. Boston may be as far from center as any. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/15 "2007-07-17T17:04:23Z")
What a cool thread- I say that only because I have sat on this little piece of trivia for years: A point on my Grandparents farm **IS** the geographical center of Virginia. [There is even a sign!](http://www.virginia.org/images/GeoCenter.jpg) (I don’t know the person in the picture) I don’t live there now, but I grew up on that farm. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/16 "2007-07-17T17:06:41Z")
[QUOTE=Spit] What a cool thread- I say that only because I have sat on this little piece of trivia for years: A point on my Grandparents farm **IS** the geographical center of Virginia. [There is even a sign!](http://www.virginia.org/images/GeoCenter.jpg) (I don’t know the person in the picture) I don’t live there now, but I grew up on that farm. [/QUOTE] Outstanding! Does anybody know of a website that shows similar pictures of all the states’ centers? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/17 "2007-07-17T17:10:30Z")
[QUOTE=Spit] What a cool thread- I say that only because I have sat on this little piece of trivia for years: A point on my Grandparents farm **IS** the geographical center of Virginia. [There is even a sign!](http://www.virginia.org/images/GeoCenter.jpg) (I don’t know the person in the picture) I don’t live there now, but I grew up on that farm. [/QUOTE] Wow, how cool! It looks like I am 63 miles away from Vermont’s center. Hard to do in such a small state. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/18 "2007-07-17T17:15:09Z")
[QUOTE=Spit] (I don’t know the person in the picture) [/QUOTE] Tom Green ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/19 "2007-07-17T17:24:35Z")
I live about 20 km from the geographical center of Bulgaria. I got that number from someone in my town, but I actually find it slightly hard to believe. I mean, if you look at a map, my town REALLY looks like the very center of the country. [Here’s a little map of Bulgaria.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Pavel_Banya_location_in_Bulgaria.png/120px-Pavel_Banya_location_in_Bulgaria.png) The red dot is my town. (I couldn’t find any normal political maps that included my tiny town.) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126/20 "2007-07-17T17:29:43Z")
[QUOTE=Kyla] I live about 20 km from the geographical center of Bulgaria. I got that number from someone in my town, but I actually find it slightly hard to believe. I mean, if you look at a map, my town REALLY looks like the very center of the country. [Here’s a little map of Bulgaria.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Pavel_Banya_location_in_Bulgaria.png/120px-Pavel_Banya_location_in_Bulgaria.png) The red dot is my town. (I couldn’t find any normal political maps that included my tiny town.) [/QUOTE] Great to hear. Thanks for being the first non-USA Doper to play this game, if that’s what it is. The red dot does look very close to the middle to my eye. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-doper-lives-closest-to-the-center-of-his-her-state/412126.md?page=2)