US States by Region: Census Regions and the 5-Region Map

the short answer

The US Census Bureau groups the 50 states into 4 regions: the Northeast (9 states), the Midwest (12), the South (16, plus Washington, D.C.) and the West (13), split into 9 divisions. School maps often use 5 regions instead: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and West.

9Northeast12Midwest16South13West

The Census Bureau's regions are the official ones. The Bureau reports its statistics by them, and other federal agencies, such as the Energy Information Administration, publish data by the same regions. The 5-region map is a teaching map: it moves a few states around and splits the South in two.

What states are in the Northeast?

The Northeast has 9 states in two divisions, New England and the Middle Atlantic. It has the fewest states of the four, and the National Geographic 5-region map has exactly the same 9. New England is also the everyday name for the six states in that division.

Northeast: divisions and states (Census Bureau)
Division	States
New England	Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
Middle Atlantic	New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania

What states are in the Midwest?

The Midwest has 12 states in two divisions. Until June 1984 the Census Bureau called it the North Central Region, which is why its divisions are East North Central and West North Central. The school map's Midwest is the same 12.

Midwest: divisions and states (Census Bureau)
Division	States
East North Central	Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin
West North Central	Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

What states are in the South?

The South has the most states and the most people, with 16 states plus Washington, D.C. in three divisions. It has a few surprises: Delaware and Maryland are Southern states in the Census scheme, and so are Texas and Oklahoma.

South: divisions and states (Census Bureau)
Division	States
South Atlantic	Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
East South Central	Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee
West South Central	Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas

This is where the school map differs most. It splits the South into a Southeast of 14 states, which is the Census South without Oklahoma and Texas, and a Southwest that joins those two with Arizona and New Mexico.

What states are in the West?

The West has 13 states in two divisions, Mountain and Pacific. Alaska and Hawaii are both in the Pacific division. On the school map the West has 11, because Arizona and New Mexico go to the Southwest.

West: divisions and states (Census Bureau)
Division	States
Mountain	Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
Pacific	Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington

The 5 US regions taught in school

National Geographic's education site groups the states into 5 regions by where they sit on the continent: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and West. It is a teaching map rather than an official scheme, and it leaves Washington, D.C. out. Other 5-region maps differ at the edges, and Delaware and Maryland sometimes go to the Northeast, so the table here follows National Geographic.

Northeast
States:

9
Which ones:

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont
Southeast
States:

14
Which ones:

Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
Midwest
States:

12
Which ones:

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Southwest
States:

4
Which ones:

Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
West
States:

11
Which ones:

Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

The 5-region map (National Geographic Education)
		Which ones
Northeast	9	Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont
Southeast	14	Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
Midwest	12	Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Southwest	4	Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
West	11	Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

All 50 states by region

Look up any state below. The download adds each state's Census division and its FIPS code, the two-digit number the Census Bureau uses for it, and opens in Excel or Google Sheets.

All 50 states and D.C. with Census region, division and 5-region map · CSV

Alabama
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
Alaska
Census region:

West
5-region map:

West
Arizona
Census region:

West
5-region map:

Southwest
Arkansas
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
California
Census region:

West
5-region map:

West
Colorado
Census region:

West
5-region map:

West
Connecticut
Census region:

Northeast
5-region map:

Northeast
Delaware
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
District of Columbia
Census region:

South
5-region map:

None
Florida
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
Georgia
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
Hawaii
Census region:

West
5-region map:

West
Idaho
Census region:

West
5-region map:

West
Illinois
Census region:

Midwest
5-region map:

Midwest
Indiana
Census region:

Midwest
5-region map:

Midwest
Iowa
Census region:

Midwest
5-region map:

Midwest
Kansas
Census region:

Midwest
5-region map:

Midwest
Kentucky
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
Louisiana
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
Maine
Census region:

Northeast
5-region map:

Northeast
Maryland
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
Massachusetts
Census region:

Northeast
5-region map:

Northeast
Michigan
Census region:

Midwest
5-region map:

Midwest
Minnesota
Census region:

Midwest
5-region map:

Midwest
Mississippi
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
Missouri
Census region:

Midwest
5-region map:

Midwest
Montana
Census region:

West
5-region map:

West
Nebraska
Census region:

Midwest
5-region map:

Midwest
Nevada
Census region:

West
5-region map:

West
New Hampshire
Census region:

Northeast
5-region map:

Northeast
New Jersey
Census region:

Northeast
5-region map:

Northeast
New Mexico
Census region:

West
5-region map:

Southwest
New York
Census region:

Northeast
5-region map:

Northeast
North Carolina
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
North Dakota
Census region:

Midwest
5-region map:

Midwest
Ohio
Census region:

Midwest
5-region map:

Midwest
Oklahoma
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southwest
Oregon
Census region:

West
5-region map:

West
Pennsylvania
Census region:

Northeast
5-region map:

Northeast
Rhode Island
Census region:

Northeast
5-region map:

Northeast
South Carolina
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
South Dakota
Census region:

Midwest
5-region map:

Midwest
Tennessee
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
Texas
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southwest
Utah
Census region:

West
5-region map:

West
Vermont
Census region:

Northeast
5-region map:

Northeast
Virginia
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
Washington
Census region:

West
5-region map:

West
West Virginia
Census region:

South
5-region map:

Southeast
Wisconsin
Census region:

Midwest
5-region map:

Midwest
Wyoming
Census region:

West
5-region map:

West

Every state with its Census region and its region on the 5-region map
State	Census region	5-region map
Alabama	South	Southeast
Alaska	West	West
Arizona	West	Southwest
Arkansas	South	Southeast
California	West	West
Colorado	West	West
Connecticut	Northeast	Northeast
Delaware	South	Southeast
District of Columbia	South	None
Florida	South	Southeast
Georgia	South	Southeast
Hawaii	West	West
Idaho	West	West
Illinois	Midwest	Midwest
Indiana	Midwest	Midwest
Iowa	Midwest	Midwest
Kansas	Midwest	Midwest
Kentucky	South	Southeast
Louisiana	South	Southeast
Maine	Northeast	Northeast
Maryland	South	Southeast
Massachusetts	Northeast	Northeast
Michigan	Midwest	Midwest
Minnesota	Midwest	Midwest
Mississippi	South	Southeast
Missouri	Midwest	Midwest
Montana	West	West
Nebraska	Midwest	Midwest
Nevada	West	West
New Hampshire	Northeast	Northeast
New Jersey	Northeast	Northeast
New Mexico	West	Southwest
New York	Northeast	Northeast
North Carolina	South	Southeast
North Dakota	Midwest	Midwest
Ohio	Midwest	Midwest
Oklahoma	South	Southwest
Oregon	West	West
Pennsylvania	Northeast	Northeast
Rhode Island	Northeast	Northeast
South Carolina	South	Southeast
South Dakota	Midwest	Midwest
Tennessee	South	Southeast
Texas	South	Southwest
Utah	West	West
Vermont	Northeast	Northeast
Virginia	South	Southeast
Washington	West	West
West Virginia	South	Southeast
Wisconsin	Midwest	Midwest
Wyoming	West	West

Can you name all 50?

Type every state from memory against the clock. Sweeping the map region by region helps you catch the ones you missed.

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Questions people ask

What are the 4 regions of the United States?

In the Census Bureau's scheme they are the Northeast, Midwest, South and West. They are split into 9 divisions, from New England in the northeast to the Pacific in the west.

What states are in the Southeast?

The Census Bureau has no Southeast region. On the 5-region school map it has 14 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Is Texas in the South or the Southwest?

It depends on the map. The Census Bureau puts Texas in the South, in its West South Central division. The 5-region school map puts it in the Southwest.

Which region has the most states?

The South, with 16 states plus Washington, D.C. The West has 13, the Midwest 12 and the Northeast 9.