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 Midwestern United States; 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." Other names applied to this region are the "Great Plains States", 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 (especially in its many college towns), and has also been noted for its plentiful supply of affordable housing.
Demographics As of 2020, the West North Central states had a combined population of 21,616,921. This number is a 5.4% increase from 20,505,437 in 2010. The West North Central region covers of land, and has an average population density of 42.56 people per square mile.
+States in the West North Central State 2020 census Land area Iowa 3,190,369 56,272 Kansas 2,937,880 82,277 Minnesota 5,706,494 86,939 Missouri 6,154,913 69,709 Nebraska 1,961,504 77,354 North Dakota 779,094 70,700 South Dakota 886,667 77,116
+Ten largest cities by population in the West North Central City 2020 pop. 1 Kansas City, Missouri 508,090 2 Omaha, Nebraska 484,983 3 Minneapolis, Minnesota 434,341 4 Wichita, Kansas 390,780 5 St. Louis, Missouri 318,416 6 St. Paul, Minnesota 310,468 7 St. Louis, Missouri 292,601 8 Lincoln, Nebraska 292,201 9 Des Moines, Iowa 215,293 10 Overland Park, Kansas 197,783
+Largest metropolitan areas (2020) 1 Twin Cities (MN-WI) 3,685,561 2 St. Louis, MO-IL 2,806,100 3 Kansas City, Missouri-KS 2,172,902 4 Omaha, Nebraska-IA 963,221 5 Des Moines, Iowa 721,326 6 Wichita, Kansas 649,230 7 Springfield, Missouri 473,702 8 Quad Cities IA-IL (Davenport) 376,502 9 Lincoln, Nebraska 340,954 10 Duluth, MN-WI 287,430
Politics Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota have consistently voted for Republican presidential candidates since 1968. Minnesota has consistently voted for Democratic presidential candidates since 1976. Missouri has consistently voted for Republican presidential candidates since 2000. Iowa voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, but previously voted for Democratic presidential candidates from 2012 to 1988, except in 2004 when it voted for George W. Bush.
Parties Democratic-Republican Democratic Republican Liberal Republican Populist Progressive
Bold denotes election winner. Presidential electoral votes in the West North Central states since 1824Year Iowa Kansas Minnesota Missouri Nebraska North Dakota South Dakota 1824 No election No election No election Clay No election No election No election 1828 No election No election No election Jackson No election No election No election 1832 No election No election No election Jackson No election No election No election 1836 No election No election No election Van Buren No election No election No election 1840 No election No election No election Van Buren No election No election No election 1844 No election No election No election Polk No election No election No election 1848 Cass No election No election Cass No election No election No election 1852 Pierce No election No election Pierce No election No election No election 1856 Frémont No election No election Buchanan No election No election No election 1860 Lincoln No election Lincoln Douglas No election No election No election 1864 Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln Lincoln | No election || | No election || | No election |- | 1868 || | Grant || | Grant || | Grant || | Grant || | Grant || | No election || | No election |- | 1872 || | Grant || | Grant || | Grant || | Brown || | Grant || | No election || | No election |- | 1876 || | Hayes || | Hayes || | Hayes || | Tilden || | Hayes || | No election || | No election |- | 1880 || | Garfield || | Garfield || | Garfield || | Hancock || | Garfield || | No election || | No election |- | 1884 || | Blaine || | Blaine || | Blaine || | Cleveland || | Blaine || | No election || | No election |- | 1888 || | Harrison || | Harrison || | Harrison || | Cleveland || | Harrison || | No election || | No election |- | 1892 || | Harrison || | Weaver || | Harrison || | Cleveland || | Harrison || | Weaver || | Harrison |- | 1896 || | McKinley || | Bryan || | McKinley || | Bryan || | Bryan || | McKinley || | Bryan |- | 1900 || | McKinley || | McKinley || | McKinley || | Bryan || | McKinley || | McKinley || | McKinley|- | 1904 || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt|- | 1908 || | Taft || | Taft || | Taft || | Taft || | Bryan || | Taft || | Taft|- | 1912 || | Wilson || | Wilson || | Roosevelt || | Wilson || | Wilson || | Wilson || | Roosevelt |- | 1916 || | Hughes || | Wilson || | Hughes || | Wilson || | Wilson || | Wilson || | Hughes |- | 1920 || | Harding || | Harding || | Harding || | Harding || | Harding || | Harding || | Harding|- | 1924 || | Coolidge || | Coolidge || | Coolidge || | Coolidge || | Coolidge || | Coolidge || | Coolidge|- | 1928 || | Hoover || | Hoover || | Hoover || | Hoover || | Hoover || | Hoover || | Hoover|- | 1932 || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt|- | 1936 || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt|- | 1940 || | Willkie || | Willkie || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Willkie || | Willkie || | Willkie |- | 1944 || | Dewey || | Dewey || | Roosevelt || | Roosevelt || | Dewey || | Dewey || | Dewey |- | 1948 || | Truman || | Dewey || | Truman || | Truman || | Dewey || | Dewey || | Dewey |- | 1952 || | Eisenhower || | Eisenhower || | Eisenhower || | Eisenhower || | Eisenhower || | Eisenhower || | Eisenhower|- | 1956 || | Eisenhower || | Eisenhower || | Eisenhower || | Stevenson || | Eisenhower || | Eisenhower || | Eisenhower|- | 1960 || | Nixon || | Nixon || | Kennedy || | Kennedy || | Nixon || | Nixon || | Nixon |- | 1964 || | Johnson || | Johnson || | Johnson || | Johnson || | Johnson || | Johnson || | Johnson|- | 1968 || | Nixon || | Nixon || | Humphrey || | Nixon || | Nixon || | Nixon || | Nixon|- | 1972 || | Nixon || | Nixon || | Nixon || | Nixon || | Nixon || | Nixon || | Nixon|- | 1976 || | Ford || | Ford || | Carter || | Carter || | Ford || | Ford || | Ford |- | 1980 || | Reagan || | Reagan || | Carter || | Reagan || | Reagan || | Reagan || | Reagan|- | 1984 || | Reagan || | Reagan || | Mondale || | Reagan || | Reagan || | Reagan || | Reagan|- | 1988 || | Dukakis || | Bush || | Dukakis || | Bush || | Bush || | Bush || | Bush|- | 1992 || | Clinton || | Bush || | Clinton || | Clinton || | Bush || | Bush || | Bush |- | 1996 || | Clinton || | Dole || | Clinton || | Clinton || | Dole || | Dole || | Dole |- | 2000 || | Gore || | Bush || | Gore || | Bush || | Bush || | Bush || | Bush|- | 2004 || | Bush || | Bush || | Kerry || | Bush || | Bush || | Bush || | Bush|- | 2008 || | Obama || | McCain || | Obama || | McCain || | McCain || | McCain || | McCain |- | 2012 || | Obama || | Romney || | Obama || | Romney || | Romney || | Romney || | Romney |- | 2016 || | Trump || | Trump || | Clinton || | Trump || | Trump || | Trump || | Trump|- | 2020 || | Trump || | Trump || | Biden || | Trump || | Trump || | Trump || | Trump |- | 2024 || | Trump || | Trump || | Harris || | Trump || | Trump || | Trump || | Trump'''Year Iowa Kansas Minnesota Missouri Nebraska North Dakota South Dakota
See also Great Plains
Notes McCain and Trump won the overall state, but Barack Obama won Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in the 2008 election, while Joe Biden won it in the 2020 election and Kamala Harris won it in the 2024 election.
References