List of regions of the United States

Last updated

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.

Contents

Interstate regions

Census Bureau–designated regions and divisions

U.S. Census Bureau Regions and Divisions. Census Regions and Division of the United States.svg
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

Federal Reserve districts. Federal Reserve Districts Map.svg
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

U.S. time zones. (Some U.S. time zones are not on this map.) US-Timezones.svg
U.S. time zones. (Some U.S. time zones are not on this map.)

Courts of Appeals circuits

U.S. Courts of Appeals circuits US Court of Appeals and District Court map.svg
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

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

Regions of the U.S. EPA Regions of the United States EPA.svg
Regions of the U.S. EPA
Region I

Office location: Boston

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

Region II

Office location: New York City

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

Region III

Office location: Philadelphia

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

Region IV

Office location: Atlanta

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

Region V

Office location: Chicago

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

Region VI

Office location: Dallas

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

Region VII

Office location: Kansas City

States: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska

Region VIII

Office location: Denver

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

Region IX

Office location: San Francisco

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

Region X

Office location: Seattle

States: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington

Bureau of Economic Analysis regions

Bureau of Economic Analysis regions BEA regions.png
Bureau of Economic Analysis regions

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

Unofficial regions

Multi-state regions

Multi-territory regions

The Belts

Interstate megalopolises

Interstate metropolitan areas

Intrastate and intraterritory regions

Alabama

A map of Alabama regions. AlaCounties.png
A map of Alabama regions.

Alaska

The Alaska Panhandle Alaska Panhandle.png
The Alaska Panhandle

American Samoa

American Samoa Aq-map.png
American Samoa

Arizona

The Arizona Strip Az strip.png
The Arizona Strip

Arkansas

Regions of Arkansas Arkansas Regions Colored With Names.png
Regions of Arkansas

California

Colorado

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

Connecticut

Map highlighting the 9 official regions of Connecticut Connecticut Council of Governments.svg
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

The Delaware Valley Delawarevalleymap.png
The Delaware Valley

"Upstate" or "Up North"

"Slower Lower"

District of Columbia

Florida

The First Coast The First Coast.PNG
The First Coast
The Florida Panhandle Panhandle Florida.png
The Florida Panhandle

Directional regions

Local vernacular regions

Georgia

Physiographic regions

Guam

Hawaiian archipelago Hawaiianislandchain USGS.png
Hawaiian archipelago
Main Hawaiian Islands Hawaii islands.jpg
Main Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii

Idaho

The Idaho Panhandle Map of Idaho highlighting Idaho Panhandle.svg
The Idaho Panhandle

Illinois

Southern Illinois is also known as "Little Egypt". Littleegyptmap.PNG
Southern Illinois is also known as "Little Egypt".

Indiana

Regions of Indiana IndianaRegions.png
Regions of Indiana

Iowa

Regions of Iowa. IowaRegions2012.png
Regions of Iowa.

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

A map of Louisiana's regions Louisiana regions map.svg
A map of Louisiana's regions

Maine

Maryland

Maryland's regions Regions of Maryland USA.gif
Maryland's regions

Regions shared with other states:

Massachusetts

The Berkshire region of Massachusetts Berkshire ma highlight.png
The Berkshire region of Massachusetts

Michigan

Michigan's regions Michigan Regions.png
Michigan's regions

Lower Peninsula

Upper Peninsula

Minnesota

Regions of Minnesota Regions of Minnesota.svg
Regions of Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

The Missouri Bootheel Map of Missouri highlighting Bootheel.gif
The Missouri Bootheel

Montana

Nebraska

The Nebraska Panhandle Map of Nebraska highlighting Panhandle.svg
The Nebraska Panhandle

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

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

North Carolina

Regions of North Carolina. NC regions.png
Regions of North Carolina.

North Dakota

Northern Mariana Islands

Northern Mariana Islands Northern Mariana Islands map.gif
Northern Mariana Islands

Ohio

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  The area roughly covered by the Great Black Swamp

Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Panhandle Map of Oklahoma highlighting Panhandle.svg
The Oklahoma Panhandle

Oregon

Oregon's topography Oregon DEM relief map.png
Oregon's topography
Oregon's High Desert Map of Oregon High Desert Country.jpg
Oregon's High Desert

Pennsylvania

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Rico (1).png
Puerto Rico

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

South Dakota East River and West River South Dakota East River West River.png
South Dakota
East River and West River

Tennessee

Texas

The Texas Panhandle Texas Panhandle.PNG
The Texas Panhandle

U.S. Minor Outlying Islands

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

U.S. Virgin Islands

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

A map of the Shenandoah Valley Shenandoah watershed.png
A map of the Shenandoah Valley

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wisconsin's five geographic regions Wisconsin geographic provinces.svg
Wisconsin's five geographic regions

Wisconsin can be divided into five geographic regions.

Wyoming

See also

Explanatory notes

    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

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    References

    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.
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