Definitions of Geographic Areas

Overview

This document defines the geographic areas of the United States used in ValuSource database applications. The data is grouped according to the regions and divisions defined by the United States Census Bureau and by three additional commonly accepted areas. Each area is defined below. The final section lists the areas for each state.

The extra areas used overlap with the Census Bureau regions and divisions. For more information about the logic behind including these two types of defined areas, see Explanation of the Geographic Grouping.

 

Census Regions
Midwest
Northeast
South
West

Census Divisions
East North Central
East South Central
Middle Atlantic
Mountain
New England
Pacific
South Atlantic
West North Central
West South Central

Other Areas
East
Northwest
Southwest

 

Explanation of the Geographic Grouping

The data is grouped according to the regions and divisions defined by the United States Census Bureau and by three additional commonly accepted areas. We chose the Census Bureau regions and divisions as the basis for our geographic grouping because they are commonly known and used. The data can be readily matched to any data that uses the Census Bureau area definitions.

In addition to the Census Bureau definitions, we include three other commonly accepted areas: East, Northwest, and Southwest. These extra areas are included to provide greater convenience and utility to our customers. For example, you may find that a business in Arizona has more in common with similar businesses in California than it does with businesses in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. In that case, instead of using the Census Bureau’s Mountain division, you can use the Southwest area. The same holds true for a business in Montana. If you would prefer to group a Montana business with ones in Oregon and Washington than with Arizona and New Mexico and other Southwest states included in the Mountain division, you can use the Northwest area.

Census Bureau Regions and Divisions

The following are the regions and divisions defined by the United States Census Bureau.

Region 1: Northeast

Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont

Division 1: New England

Connecticut
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Vermont

Division 2: Middle Atlantic

New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania

Region 2: Midwest

Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Ohio
South Dakota
Wisconsin

Division 3: East North Central

Midwest states east of the Mississippi River.

Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
Ohio
Wisconsin

Division 4: West North Central

Midwest states west of the Mississippi River.

Iowa
Kansas
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
South Dakota

Region 3: South

Alabama
Arkansas
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
North Carolina
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia

Division 5: South Atlantic

Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Maryland
North Carolina
South Carolina
Virginia
West Virginia

Division 6: East South Central

Alabama
Kentucky
Mississippi
Tennessee

Division 7: West South Central

Arkansas
Louisiana
Oklahoma
Texas

Region 4: West

Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Hawaii
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Utah
Washington
Wyoming

Division 8: Mountain

Arizona
Colorado
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
Utah
Wyoming

Division 9: Pacific

Alaska
California
Hawaii
Oregon
Washington

 

Other Areas

The following areas do not appear in the Census Bureau regions and divisions, but are commonly accepted and used.

East

All states east of the Mississippi River.

Alabama
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Northwest

Idaho
Montana
Oregon
Washington
Wyoming

Southwest

Corresponds to the old Spanish province of New Mexico.

Arizona
California
Colorado
Nevada
New Mexico
Utah

 

Areas by State

The following table shows the region, division, and other area (if applicable) for each state.

State

Census Region

Census Division

Other Area

Alabama

South

East South Central

East

Alaska

West

Pacific

 

Arizona

West

Mountain

Southwest

Arkansas

South

West South Central

 

California

West

Pacific

Southwest

Colorado

West

Mountain

Southwest

Connecticut

Northeast

New England

East

Delaware

South

South Atlantic

East

District of Columbia

South

South Atlantic

East

Florida

South

South Atlantic

East

Georgia

South

South Atlantic

East

Hawaii

West

Pacific

 

Idaho

West

Mountain

Northwest

Illinois

Midwest

East North Central

East

Indiana

Midwest

East North Central

East

Iowa

Midwest

West North Central

 

Kansas

Midwest

West North Central

 

Kentucky

South

East South Central

East

Louisiana

South

West South Central

 

Maine

Northeast

New England

East

Maryland

South

South Atlantic

East

Massachusetts

Northeast

New England

East

Michigan

Midwest

East North Central

East

Minnesota

Midwest

West North Central

 

Mississippi

South

East South Central

East

Missouri

Midwest

West North Central

 

Montana

West

Mountain

Northwest

Nebraska

Midwest

West North Central

 

Nevada

West

Mountain

Southwest

New Hampshire

Northeast

New England

East

New Jersey

Northeast

Middle Atlantic

East

New Mexico

West

Mountain

Southwest

New York

Northeast

Middle Atlantic

East

North Carolina

South

South Atlantic

East

North Dakota

Midwest

West North Central

 

Ohio

Midwest

East North Central

East

Oklahoma

South

West South Central

 

Oregon

West

Pacific

Northwest

Pennsylvania

Northeast

Middle Atlantic

East

Rhode Island

Northeast

New England

East

South Carolina

South

South Atlantic

East

South Dakota

Midwest

West North Central

 

Tennessee

South

East South Central

East

Texas

South

West South Central

 

Utah

West

Mountain

Southwest

Vermont

Northeast

New England

East

Virginia

South

South Atlantic

East

Washington

West

Pacific

Northwest

West Virginia

South

South Atlantic

East

Wisconsin

Midwest

East North Central

East

Wyoming

West

Mountain

Northwest