West North Central states


The West North Central states form one of the nine geographic subdivisions within the United States that are officially recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Seven states compose the division: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, and it makes up the western half of the United States Census Bureau's larger region of the Midwest, the eastern half of which consists of the East North Central states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. The Mississippi River marks the bulk of the boundary between these two divisions.
The West North Central states are regarded as constituting the core of the nation's "Farm Belt." Another name popularly applied to the division is the "Agricultural Heartland," or simply the "Heartland."
Since the early 1990s, the West North Central division has consistently had the lowest unemployment rate in the United States, and has also been noted for its plentiful supply of affordable housing.
As of 2010, the West North Central states had a combined population of 20,505,437. This number is a 6.6% increase from 19,237,739 in 2000. The West North Central region covers of land, and has an average population density of 40.37 people per square mile.
State2010 est.Land area
Iowa3,090,41656,272
Kansas2,893,95782,277
Minnesota5,420,38086,939
Missouri6,044,17169,709
Nebraska1,868,51677,354
North Dakota723,39370,700
South Dakota844,87777,116

City2010 Pop.
1Kansas City, Missouri467,007
2Omaha, Nebraska434,353
3Minneapolis, Minnesota400,070
4Wichita, Kansas386,552
5St. Louis, Missouri318,416
6St. Paul, Minnesota294,873
7Lincoln, Nebraska268,738
8Des Moines, Iowa207,510
9Overland Park, Kansas181,260
10Sioux Falls, South Dakota164,676

1Twin Cities 3,459,146
2St. Louis, MO-IL2,810,056
3Kansas City, Missouri-KS2,035,334
4Omaha, Nebraska-IA865,350
5Wichita, Kansas623,061
6Des Moines, Iowa580,255
7Springfield, Missouri436,712
8Quad Cities IA-IL 382,630
9Lincoln, Nebraska302,157
10Duluth, MN-WI279,771

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