Southeastern United States


The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is, broadly, the eastern portion of the Southern United States and the southern portion of the Eastern United States. It comprises at least a core of states on the lower East Coast of the United States and eastern Gulf Coast. Expansively, it includes everything south of the Mason–Dixon line, the Ohio River and the 36°30' parallel, and as far west as Arkansas and Louisiana. There is no official U.S. government definition of the region, though various agencies and departments use different definitions.

Geography

The U.S. Geological Survey considers the Southeast region to be Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, plus Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There is no official Census Bureau definition of the southeastern United States; instead, they divide a larger region including Texas and Oklahoma designated as the "South" into three subregions none of which are conventionally considered to define the southeast. The nonprofit American Association of Geographers defines the southeastern United States as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. The OSBO uses the same states, but includes Arkansas and Louisiana. The state of Delaware plus the District of Columbia are also sometimes added in some definitions of the term.

History

The history of human presence in the Southeast extends to before the dawn of civilization about 11,000 BC. The earliest artifacts were from the Clovis culture.
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans of the Woodland period tradition occupied the region for several hundred years.
The first Europeans to arrive in the region were conquistadors of the Spanish Empire. In 1541, Hernando de Soto journeyed through the south and crossed the Mississippi River.
The region hosted the first permanent European settlement in North America, by the Kingdom of England at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.
Prior to and during the American Civil War, the Confederate States of America consisted of the southeastern states plus Texas, i.e., Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. Kentucky and Maryland were neutral border states that eventually joined the Union.
Much of the Southeast observed Jim Crow laws during the American segregation era.

Demographics

Most populous states

The most populous states in the region are Florida, followed by Georgia and North Carolina.
State2017 estimate2010 censusChangeLand areaDensity
Alabama--
Arkansas--
Florida--
Georgia--
Kentucky--
Louisiana--
Mississippi--
North Carolina--
South Carolina--
Tennessee--
Virginia--
West Virginia--
Total--

U.S. territories

and the U.S. Virgin Islands are located southeast of Florida, and are considered to be in the South / southeastern U.S. by the FAA, Agricultural Research Service, and the U.S. National Park Service.
Territory2019 estimate2010 censusChangeLand areaDensity
Puerto Rico--
U.S. Virgin Islands--

Culture

The predominant culture of the Southeast has its origins with the settlement of the region by British colonists and African slaves in the 17th century, as well as large groups of English, Scots and Ulster-Scots, Germans, Spanish, French, and Acadians in succeeding centuries. Since the late 20th century the New South has emerged as the fastest growing area of the United States economically. Multiculturalism has become mainstream in the Southeastern states. African Americans remain a dominant demographic at around 30% of the total population of the Southeast. The New South is built upon the metropolitan areas along the Interstate 85 corridor. Cities include Birmingham, Atlanta, Greenville, Spartanburg, Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Raleigh-Durham.

Climate

Most of the southeastern part of the United States is dominated by the humid subtropical climate. As one nears the southern portions of Florida, the climate gradually becomes tropical as winters are freeze free and all months have a mean temperature above .
Seasonally, summers are generally hot and humid throughout the entire region. The Bermuda High pumps hot and moist air mass from the tropical Atlantic Ocean and eastern Gulf of Mexico westward toward the southeast United States, creating the typical sultry tropical summers. Daytime highs are often in the upper 80s to lower 90s F. Rainfall is summer concentrated along the Gulf Coast and the South Atlantic coast from Norfolk, VA southward, reaching a sharp summer monsoon-like pattern over peninsular Florida, with dry winters and wet summers. Sunshine is abundant across the southeastern United States in summer, as the rainfall often comes in quick, but intense downpours. The mid-South, especially Tennessee, and the northern halves of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, have maximum monthly rainfall amounts in winter and spring, owing to copious Gulf moisture and clashes between warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cold, dry air from Canada during the cold season. Here, December, March or April are typically the wettest months; August to October, the driest months.
Winters are cool in the northern areas like Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, and western North Carolina, with average highs in the range in January. Farther south, winters become more mild across interior eastern North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, with average January highs in the range. As one nears the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain and coastal areas of Georgia and the Carolinas, winters become warm, with daytime highs near or over, until far enough south in central Florida where daytime highs are above. Winters tend to be very dry and sunny across Florida, with a gradual increase in winter rainfall with increasing latitude, especially west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Economy

The Southeast has changed dramatically in the last two generations. Since 1980, there has been a boom in its service economy, manufacturing base, high technology industries, and the financial sector. Examples of this include the surge in tourism in Florida and along the Gulf Coast; numerous new automobile production plants such as Mercedes-Benz in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Hyundai in Montgomery, Alabama; Toyota Motors in Blue Springs, Mississippi; Kia in West Point, Georgia; the BMW production plant in Greer, South Carolina; Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee; the GM manufacturing plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee; the Volkswagen manufacturing plant in Pulaski, Virginia;and the Nissan North American headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee; the two largest research parks in the country: Research Triangle Park in the Triangle area of North Carolina and the Cummings Research Park in Huntsville, Alabama ; and the corporate headquarters of Verso Paper in Memphis, as well as FedEx, which is one of the world's largest shipping companies.
Fortune 500 companies having headquarters in the region include 20 in Virginia, 16 in Florida, 15 in North Carolina, and 14 in Georgia. This economic expansion has enabled parts of the South to have of some of the lowest unemployment rates in the United States. In Alabama, there is a large-scale manufacturing project owned by the German steel megacorporation ThyssenKrupp, which operates a massive, state-of-the-art facility in Mobile.

Research and development

, in the Raleigh-Durham urban area of North Carolina, has emerged as a major hub of technology, governmental, and biotechnological research and development, as has the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park in Richmond. The Cummings Research Park in the Huntsville, Alabama area is the second largest research complex in the nation. Located in Huntsville is the Redstone Arsenal, United States Army Missile Command, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and many other key government, military, and aerospace agencies. Tullahoma, TN contains Arnold Air Force Base. The base is home to the Arnold Engineering Development Complex, the most advanced and largest complex of flight simulation test facilities in the world.
The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida, is the largest laboratory in the world devoted to the study of magnetism. The University of South Carolina is currently constructing a research campus in downtown Columbia, and the university is the nation's only National Science Foundation-funded Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Fuel Cells.

Education

Higher education

The region includes a number of notable universities, public and private, whose research exert influence globally. Chief among these are:
There are a number of well-known private institutions, as well. Notable among these are:
The region is home to the greatest number of historically black colleges and universities in the nation. The three largest in the region are:

Largest cities

These are the largest cities in the Southeastern region of the United States by population, according to the United States Census Bureau:
RankCityState
or territory		Population
1JacksonvilleFlorida
2CharlotteNorth Carolina
3WashingtonDistrict of Columbia
4NashvilleTennessee
5MemphisTennessee
6BaltimoreMaryland
7LouisvilleKentucky
8AtlantaGeorgia
9Virginia BeachVirginia
10RaleighNorth Carolina
11MiamiFlorida
12New OrleansLouisiana
13TampaFlorida
—San JuanPuerto Rico
14LexingtonKentucky
15GreensboroNorth Carolina
16OrlandoFlorida
17DurhamNorth Carolina
18Saint PetersburgFlorida
19NorfolkVirginia
20Winston-SalemNorth Carolina
21HialeahFlorida
22ChesapeakeVirginia
23Baton RougeLouisiana
24RichmondVirginia
25BirminghamAlabama
26FayettevilleNorth Carolina
27AugustaGeorgia
28ColumbusGeorgia

Metropolitan Statistical Areas

These are the metropolitan areas of the Southeastern region which exceed 1 million in population according to the United States Census Bureau's 2019 estimates:
RankMetropolitan areaAnchor cityPopulation State or territory
1Washington-Arlington-AlexandriaWashington6,280,487District of Columbia / Virginia /
Maryland / West Virginia
2Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm BeachMiami6,166,488Florida
3Atlanta–Sandy Springs-RoswellAtlanta6,020,364Georgia
4Tampa-St. Petersburg-ClearwaterTampa3,194,831Florida
5Baltimore-Columbia-TowsonBaltimore2,800,053Maryland
6Charlotte-Concord-GastoniaCharlotte2,636,883North Carolina / South Carolina
7Orlando-Kissimmee-SanfordOrlando2,608,147Florida
—San Juan–Caguas–GuaynaboSan Juan2,020,000Puerto Rico
8Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-FranklinNashville1,934,317Tennessee
9Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport NewsVirginia Beach1,768,901Virginia / North Carolina
10JacksonvilleJacksonville1,559,514Florida
11RaleighRaleigh1,390,785North Carolina
12MemphisMemphis1,346,045Tennessee / Mississippi / Arkansas
13Richmond-PetersburgRichmond1,291,900Virginia
14New Orleans-Metairie-KennerNew Orleans1,270,530Louisiana
15Louisville-Jefferson CountyLouisville1,265,108Kentucky / Indiana
16Birmingham-HooverBirmingham1,090,435Alabama

Combined Statistical Areas

Beyond Megalopolis by Virginia Tech's Metropolitan Institute, an attempt to update Jean Gottmann's work with current trends, defines two "megapolitan areas" contained within the Southeast, out of a total of ten such areas in the United States:
Two others tie some areas on the margins of the Southeast to urban centers in other regions:
These are the combined statistical areas of the Southeastern region which exceed 1 million in population according to the United States Census Bureau's 2016 estimates. Note that the metropolitan areas of Tampa and Richmond are not included in any CSAs, so they are included in the table without constituent areas.
RankCombined Statistical AreaPopulation Constituent Core Based Statistical Areas
1Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area9,814,928Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area
Chambersburg-Waynesboro, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area
Winchester, VA-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area
California-Lexington Park, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area
Easton, MD Micropolitan Statistical Area
Cambridge, MD Micropolitan Statistical Area
2Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL Combined Statistical Area6,889,936Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
Port St. Lucie, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
Okeechobee, FL Micropolitan Statistical Area
3Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA Combined Statistical Area6,853,392Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area
Athens-Clarke County, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area
Gainesville, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area
LaGrange, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area
Jefferson, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area
Calhoun, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area
Cedartown, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area
Thomaston, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area
4Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach, FL Combined Statistical Area4,160,646Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
The Villages, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
5Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater3,194,831MSA only
6Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC Combined Statistical Area2,797,636Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area
Shelby, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area
Albemarle, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area
7Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Combined Statistical Area2,079,687Raleigh, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area
Dunn, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area
Oxford, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area
Sanford, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area
Henderson, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area
8Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro, TN Combined Statistical Area2,062,547Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area
Shelbyville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area
Lawrenceburg, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area
Lewisburg, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area
9Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC Combined Statistical Area1,859,197Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area
Elizabeth City, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area
Kill Devil Hills, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area
10Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC Combined Statistical Area1,689,151Greensboro-High Point, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area
Winston-Salem, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area
Burlington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area
Mount Airy, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area
11Jacksonville-St. Marys-Palatka, FL-GA Combined Statistical Area1,688,701Jacksonville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
Palatka, FL Micropolitan Statistical Area
St. Marys, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area
12New Orleans-Metairie-Hammond, LA-MS Combined Statistical Area1,507,017New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area
Hammond, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area
Picayune, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area
Bogalusa, LA Micropolitan Statistical Area
13Louisville/Jefferson County–Elizabethtown–Bardstown, KY-IN Combined Statistical Area1,489,142Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area
Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area
Bardstown, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area
Scottsburg, IN Micropolitan Statistical Area
14Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area1,475,235Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area
Spartanburg, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area
Greenwood, SC Micropolitan Statistical Area
Seneca, SC Micropolitan Statistical Area
Gaffney, SC Micropolitan Statistical Area
15Memphis-Forrest City, TN-MS-AR Combined Statistical Area1,371,039Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area
Forrest City, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area
16Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL Combined Statistical Area1,317,702Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area
Talladega-Sylacauga, AL Micropolitan Statistical Area
Cullman, AL Micropolitan Statistical Area
17Richmond-Petersburg1,291,900MSA only
18Cape Coral-Fort Myers-Naples, FL Combined Statistical Area1,197,501Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
19Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville, TN Combined Statistical Area1,146,049Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area
Morristown, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area
Sevierville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area
Newport, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area
20North Port-Sarasota, FL Combined Statistical Area1,063,906North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
Punta Gorda, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area
Arcadia, FL Micropolitan Statistical Area

Sports

Although American football is prevalent across the United States, it is especially pervasive in the Southeast. With a total of nine franchises — the Atlanta Falcons, the Baltimore Ravens, the Carolina Panthers, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Miami Dolphins, the New Orleans Saints, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tennessee Titans, and the Washington Football Team — across the region, the National Football League maintains a stronger commercial presence than any other major North American professional sports league.
The Southeast has seven National Basketball Association franchises: the Atlanta Hawks, the Charlotte Hornets, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Miami Heat, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Orlando Magic, and the Washington Wizards.
Major League Baseball maintains five teams in the Southeast: the Atlanta Braves, the Baltimore Orioles, the Miami Marlins, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Washington Nationals.
The Southeast has five National Hockey League franchises: the Carolina Hurricanes, the Florida Panthers, the Nashville Predators, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Washington Capitals.
Major League Soccer currently holds three clubs — Atlanta United FC, DC United, and Orlando City SC— in the region. This number will increase to six when Nashville SC and Inter Miami CF begin play in March 2020, and Charlotte's unnamed team joins in 2021.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is an NCAA Division 1 conference of mainly Southeastern college teams, including the Florida State Seminoles, Louisville Cardinals, Miami Hurricanes, Clemson Tigers and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Duke Blue Devils, North Carolina Tar Heels, NC State Wolfpack, Virginia Tech Hokies, and Virginia Cavaliers. The Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Citrus Bowl are notable college football bowls held in Southeastern cities.
The Southeastern Conference is also an NCAA Division 1 conference of Southeastern college teams, including the Alabama Crimson Tide, Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn Tigers, Kentucky Wildcats, Ole Miss Rebels, Florida Gators, South Carolina Gamecocks, Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia Bulldogs, Mississippi State Bulldogs, and Vanderbilt Commodores.
The majority of NASCAR teams are headquartered in the Charlotte area along with the sports operations headquarters and media outlets. Tracks in the region include Daytona International Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Kentucky Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and Richmond International Speedway.
The southeast also hosts two of the three legs of the American Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby, in Kentucky, and the Preakness Stakes are also located in the Southeast, being run in Baltimore. The Derby is considered the western leg of the crown and the Preakness is traditionally considered the southern leg.