The Northeast United States features two subregions, New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. New England consists of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Rhode Island. The remaining northeastern states — New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey — are in the Mid-Atlantic region. According to the Census Bureau, as of 2005, the Northeast region acounts for 18.4 percent of the population of the United States.
Also referred to as the “Heartland,” the Midwest region of the United States has 12 states in two subregions, East North Central and West North Central. The states in the East North Central subregion are Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. The West North Central states include Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri. The largest cities in the Midwest are Chicago, Illinois, and Detroit, Michigan. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, approximately two-thirds of the nation's wheat and soy beans come from the Great Plains, which includes Midwest states such as Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. The Midwest region has 22.3 percent of the U.S. population. The South region has the highest number of states in the U.S. Census Bureau categorization. The South is the only region in the United States with three subregions: South Atlantic, East South Central and West South Central. The South Atlantic states are Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Although the District of Columbia is not a state, its population is counted with South Atlantic states. States in the East South Central subregion include Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma round out the South region as the West South Central states. The South has the largest percentage of U.S. population, at 36.3 percent. The fourth region of the United States is the West. Subregions of the West include the Mountain West and Pacific West. Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Montana, Nevada and Idaho are the Mountain West states. Three states in the continental United States are in the Pacific West: California, Washington and Oregon. Hawaii and Alaska, the United States' non-continental states, are also a part of the Pacific West region. The West region is home to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon. Los Angeles, California, is the West region's largest city. The West has 23 percent of the population.
