East South Central | |
---|---|
Largest city | Nashville |
Area | |
• Total | 183,403.90 sq mi (475,013.9 km2) |
• Land | 178,289.84 sq mi (461,768.6 km2) |
• Water | 5,114.07 sq mi (13,245.4 km2) |
Population (2019) [2] | |
• Total | 19,176,181 |
• Density | 100/sq mi (40/km2) |
The East South Central states is a region constituting one of the nine U.S. Census Bureau divisions. It is located within the American South. Four states make up the division: Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. The division is one of three that together make up the larger region known as the Southern United States (the other two are the more populous South Atlantic states and the West South Central states).
Historically, the area has been colonized and influenced by the French, Spanish, British, early American, and Confederate governments. [3] [4] [5] [6] Distinct among these states, Alabama's French culture has been preserved through the Alabama Creoles, [7] and Kentucky's French culture can be observed throughout Louisville. [8] The East South Central states form the core of Old Dixie , [9] one of the nine moral regions identified by James Patterson and Peter Kim in their acclaimed 1991 geopolitical best-seller, The Day America Told The Truth. [10] Politically and culturally, the East South Central is more conservative than the other regions making up the American South; Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee's governments have been described during 2012 to 2023 as some of the most conservative. [11] [12] [13] Religiously, conservative Evangelical Protestantism dominates the East South Central as a central part of the Bible Belt.
As of 2020, the East South Central states had a combined population of 19,430,030. The East South Central region covers 183,401 square miles of land. Within the region, Tennessee is the largest state by population, though Alabama is the largest by land area; Tennessee was also the East South Central's fastest growing state between 2010 and 2020, [14] [15] with Alabama second. [16] Kentucky was the third-fastest growing state, [17] and Mississippi experienced population decline; despite population decline, Mississippi did increase in diversity. [18] [19]
State | 2020 estimate | Land area |
---|---|---|
Kentucky | 4,509,342 | 40,409 |
Tennessee | 6,916,897 | 42,143 |
Mississippi | 2,963,914 | 48,430 |
Alabama | 5,039,877 | 52,419 |
City | 2020 pop. | |
---|---|---|
1 | Nashville, Tennessee | 689,447 |
2 | Memphis, Tennessee | 633,104 |
3 | Louisville, Kentucky | 633,045 |
4 | Lexington, Kentucky | 322,707 |
5 | Huntsville, Alabama | 215,006 |
6 | Birmingham, Alabama | 200,733 |
7 | Montgomery, Alabama | 200,663 |
8 | Knoxville, Tennessee | 190,740 |
9 | Mobile, Alabama | 187,041 |
10 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | 181,009 |
Parties | ||||||||
Nonpartisan | Democratic-Republican | Democratic | National Republican | Whig | Constitutional Union | Republican | Dixiecrat | American Independent |
Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Kentucky borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, and Missouri to the west. Its northern border is defined by the Ohio River. Its capital is Frankfort and its largest city is Louisville. As of 2020, the population was approximately 4.5 million.
Clay County is a county in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 13,288. Since 1842, its county seat has been Louisville, in the center of the county's area.
DeKalb County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 71,608. Its county seat is Fort Payne, and it is named after Major General Baron Johan DeKalb. DeKalb County is part of the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area.
Mississippi County is a county located in the Bootheel of the U.S. state of Missouri, with its eastern border formed by the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,577. The largest city and county seat is Charleston. The county was officially organized on February 14, 1845, and was named after the Mississippi River.
Monroe County is a county on the northeast border of the U.S. state of Mississippi next to Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,180. Its county seat is Aberdeen.
Lowndes County is a county on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 58,879. Its county seat is Columbus. The county is named for U.S. Congressman William Jones Lowndes.
Hickman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,521, making it the third-least populous county in Kentucky. Its county seat is Clinton. The county was formed in 1821. It is the least densely populated county in the state and is a prohibition or dry county.
Richmond is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Madison County, Kentucky, United States. It is named after Richmond, Virginia, and is home to Eastern Kentucky University. The population was 34,585 at the 2020 census. Richmond is the fourth-largest city in the Bluegrass region and the state's seventh-largest city. It is the ninth largest population center in the state with a Micropolitan population of 106,864. The city serves as the center for work and shopping for south-central Kentucky. In addition, Richmond is the principal city of the Richmond-Berea, Kentucky Micropolitan Area, which includes all of Madison and Rockcastle counties.
Louisville is a city in Winston County, Mississippi. The population was 6,631 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Winston County.
The Southern United States is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the Western United States, with the Midwestern and Northeastern United States to its north and the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico to its south.
The Eastern United States, often abbreviated as simply the East, is a macroregion of the United States located to the east of the Mississippi River. It includes 26 states and Washington, D.C., the national capital.
The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast, the Southeast, or the South, is a geographical region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and the southern portion of the Eastern United States. The region includes a core of states that reaches north to Maryland and West Virginia, bordering the Ohio River and Mason–Dixon line, and stretches west to Arkansas and Louisiana.
The West South Central states, colloquially known as the South Central states, is a region of the United States defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as covering four states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The West South Central or South Central region is located within the Southern United States and Gulf Coast regions, bordering the Mountain states and Midwestern U.S. regions to its north and west. The Gulf of Mexico is to the south of the region. Houston is the South Central's largest city, and the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area is the region's largest metropolis.
The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern and Western as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the U.S. Census's definition of the Midwestern United States plus the western and central portions of the U.S. Census's definition of the Southern United States. The Central States are typically considered to consist of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Mississippi and Alabama.
The Memphis–Clarksdale-Forrest City Combined Statistical Area, TN–MS–AR (CSA) is the commercial and cultural hub of the Mid-South or Ark-Miss-Tenn. The census-defined combined statistical area covers eleven counties in three states, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. As of 2020 census, the Memphis metropolitan area had a population of 1,389,905 The Forrest City, Arkansas Micropolitan area was added to the Memphis area in 2012 to form the Memphis–Forrest City Combined Statistical area. In 2023 the Clarksdale, Mississippi Micropolitan area was also added to form the new Memphis-Clarksdale-Forrest City Combined Statistical Area which as of 2023 had a population of roughly 1.4 million people according to census estimates.
The Nashville metropolitan area is a metropolitan statistical area in north-central Tennessee. Its principal city is Nashville, the capital of and largest city in Tennessee. With a population of over 2 million, it is the most populous metropolitan area in Tennessee. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Tennessee in terms of land area.
Kentucky is situated in the Upland South region of the United States. A significant portion of eastern Kentucky is part of Appalachia.
Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region, or the extent of the area it covers, most definitions include the U.S. states below the Mason–Dixon line that seceded and comprised the Confederate States of America, almost always including the Deep South. The term became popularized throughout the United States by songs that nostalgically referred to the American South.