List of regions of the United States

Summary

This is a list of some of the ways regions are defined in the United States. Many regions are defined in law or regulations by the federal government; others by shared culture and history, and others by economic factors.

Interstate regions edit

Census Bureau–designated regions and divisions edit

 
U.S. Census Bureau regions and divisions

Since 1950, the United States Census Bureau defines four statistical regions, with nine divisions.[1][2] The Census Bureau region definition is "widely used ... for data collection and analysis",[3] and is the most commonly used classification system.[4][5][6][7]

Puerto Rico and other US territories are not part of any census region or census division.[9]

Federal Reserve Banks edit

 
Federal Reserve districts.

The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 divided the country into twelve districts with a central Federal Reserve Bank in each district. These twelve Federal Reserve Banks together form a major part of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. Missouri is the only U.S. state to have two Federal Reserve locations within its borders, but several other states are also divided between more than one district.

  1. Boston
  2. New York
  3. Philadelphia
  4. Cleveland
  5. Richmond
  6. Atlanta
  7. Chicago
  8. St. Louis
  9. Minneapolis
  10. Kansas City
  11. Dallas
  12. San Francisco

Time zones edit

 
U.S. time zones. (Some U.S. time zones are not on this map.)

Courts of Appeals circuits edit

 
U.S. Courts of Appeals circuits

The Federal Circuit is not a regional circuit. Its jurisdiction is nationwide but based on the subject matter.

Agency administrative regions edit

In 1969, the Office of Management and Budget published a list of ten "Standard Federal Regions",[11] to which Federal agencies could be restructured as a means of standardizing government administration nationwide. Despite a finding in 1977 that this restructuring did not reduce administrative costs as initially expected,[12] and the complete rescinding of the standard region system in 1995,[13] several agencies continue to follow the system, including the Environmental Protection Agency[14] and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.[15]

Regions and office locations edit

 
Regions of the U.S. EPA
Region I edit

Office location: Boston

States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont

Region II edit

Office location: New York City

States: New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands

Region III edit

Office location: Philadelphia

States: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia

Region IV edit

Office location: Atlanta

States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

Region V edit

Office location: Chicago

States: Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin

Region VI edit

Office location: Dallas

States: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas

Region VII edit

Office location: Kansas City

States: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska

Region VIII edit

Office location: Denver

States: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming

Region IX edit

Office location: San Francisco

States: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, and American Samoa

Region X edit

Office location: Seattle

States: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington

Bureau of Economic Analysis regions edit

 
Bureau of Economic Analysis regions

The Bureau of Economic Analysis defines regions for comparison of economic data.[16]

Unofficial regions edit

Multi-state regions edit

Multi-territory regions edit

The Belts edit

Interstate megalopolises edit

Interstate metropolitan areas edit

Intrastate and intraterritory regions edit

Alabama edit

 
A map of Alabama regions.

Alaska edit

 
The Alaska Panhandle

American Samoa edit

 
American Samoa

Arizona edit

 
The Arizona Strip

Arkansas edit

 
Regions of Arkansas

California edit

Colorado edit

 
An enlargeable map of the Front Range Urban Corridor of Colorado and Wyoming.

Connecticut edit

 
Map highlighting the 9 official regions of Connecticut

Connecticut has 9 official planning regions. These regions operate as councils of governments, and are recognized as county equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Some of Connecticut's informal regions include:

Delaware edit

 
The Delaware Valley

"Upstate" or "Up North"

"Slower Lower"

District of Columbia edit

Florida edit

 
The First Coast
 
The Florida Panhandle

Directional regions

Local vernacular regions

Georgia edit

Physiographic regions edit

Guam edit

 
Hawaiian archipelago
 
Main Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii edit

Idaho edit

 
The Idaho Panhandle

Illinois edit

 
Southern Illinois is also known as "Little Egypt".

Indiana edit

 
Regions of Indiana

Iowa edit

 
Regions of Iowa.

Kansas edit

Kentucky edit

Louisiana edit

 
A map of Louisiana's regions

Maine edit

Maryland edit

 
Maryland's regions

Regions shared with other states:

Massachusetts edit

 
The Berkshire region of Massachusetts

Michigan edit

 
Michigan's regions

Lower Peninsula edit

Upper Peninsula edit

Minnesota edit

 
Regions of Minnesota

Mississippi edit

Missouri edit

 
The Missouri Bootheel

Montana edit

Nebraska edit

 
The Nebraska Panhandle

Nevada edit

New Hampshire edit

New Jersey edit

New Mexico edit

New York edit

 
Regions of New York as defined by the New York State Department of Economic Development.
1. Western New Yorkcounties: Niagara, Erie, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany
2. Finger Lakescounties: Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Monroe, Livingston, Wayne, Ontario, Yates, Seneca
3. Southern Tiercounties: Steuben, Schuyler, Chemung, Tompkins, Tioga, Chenango, Broome, Delaware
4. Central New Yorkcounties: Cortland, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oswego, Madison
5. North Countrycounties : St. Lawrence, Lewis, Jefferson, Hamilton, Essex, Clinton, Franklin
6. Mohawk Valleycounties: Oneida, Herkimer, Fulton, Montgomery, Otsego, Schoharie
7. Capital Districtcounties : Albany, Columbia, Greene, Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer
8. Hudson Valleycounties: Sullivan, Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Westchester
9. New York Citycounties (boroughs): New York (Manhattan), Bronx (The Bronx), Queens (Queens), Kings (Brooklyn), Richmond (Staten Island)
10. Long Islandcounties: Nassau, Suffolk

North Carolina edit

 
Regions of North Carolina.

North Dakota edit

Northern Mariana Islands edit

 
Northern Mariana Islands

Ohio edit

 
  The area roughly covered by the Great Black Swamp

Oklahoma edit

 
The Oklahoma Panhandle

Oregon edit

 
Oregon's topography
 
Oregon's High Desert

Pennsylvania edit

Puerto Rico edit

 
Puerto Rico

Rhode Island edit

South Carolina edit

South Dakota edit

 
South Dakota
East River and West River

Tennessee edit

Texas edit

 
The Texas Panhandle

U.S. Minor Outlying Islands edit

 
The United States Minor Outlying Islands (Navassa Island not on map)

U.S. Virgin Islands edit

Utah edit

Vermont edit

Virginia edit

 
A map of the Shenandoah Valley

Washington edit

West Virginia edit

Wisconsin edit

 
Wisconsin's five geographic regions

Wisconsin can be divided into five geographic regions.

Wyoming edit

See also edit

Explanatory notes edit

  1. ^ This region also includes the Independent State of Samoa, which is not a part of the United States
  2. ^ This region also includes the British Virgin Islands, which is not a part of the United States
  3. ^ Claimed by Tokelau[17]
  4. ^ Midway Atoll, part of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, is not politically part of Hawaii; it is one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands
  5. ^ Claimed by Haiti
  6. ^ Claimed by the Marshall Islands

References edit

  1. ^ "Statistical Groupings of States and Counties" (PDF). census.gov. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  2. ^ United States Census Bureau, Geography Division. "Census Regions and Divisions of the United States" (PDF). Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  3. ^ "The National Energy Modeling System: An Overview 2003" (Report #: DOE/EIA-0581, October 2009). United States Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration.
  4. ^ "The most widely used regional definitions and follow those of the U.S. Bureau of the Census." Seymour Sudman and Norman M. Bradburn, Asking Questions: A Practical Guide to Questionnaire Design (1982). Jossey-Bass: p. 205.
  5. ^ "Perhaps the most widely used regional classification system is one developed by the U.S. Census Bureau." Dale M. Lewison, Retailing, Prentice Hall (1997): p. 384. ISBN 978-0-13-461427-4
  6. ^ "[M]ost demographic and food consumption data are presented in this four-region format." Pamela Goyan Kittler, Kathryn P. Sucher, Food and Culture, Cengage Learning (2008): p.475. ISBN 9780495115410
  7. ^ "Census Bureau Regions and Divisions with State FIPS Codes" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  8. ^ "Census Bureau Regions and Divisions with State FIPS Codes" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  9. ^ "Geographic Terms and Concepts - Census Divisions and Census Regions". US Census Bureau. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  10. ^ "No DST in Most of Arizona". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  11. ^ Standard Federal Regions, Office of Management and Budget, 1969, Circular A-105
  12. ^ Office of Management and Budget (August 17, 1977), Standardized Federal Regions: Little Effect on Agency Management of Personnel, Government Accountability Office, FPCD-77-39
  13. ^ 60 FR 15171
  14. ^ Williams, Dennis C. (March 1993), Why Are Our Regional Offices and Labs Located Where They Are? A Historical Perspective on Siting, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  15. ^ HUD's Regions, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, September 20, 2017
  16. ^ "BEA Regions". Bureau of Economic Analysis. February 18, 2004. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  17. ^ The World Factbook CIA World Factbook - American Samoa. Retrieved July 5, 2019.

External links edit

  • U.S. Library of Congress Map of the US Regions