The Mid-Atlantic is a region of the United States located in the eastern part of the country. Traditional definitions include seven US states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, as well as the national capital of Washington, D.C. Depending on various criteria used for inclusion in the Mid-Atlantic, however, other different regional divisions exist.

The Mid-Atlantic region played an instrumental and historic role in the nation's founding and development.

As of the 2020 census, the region had a population of 60,783,913, representing close to 20 percent of the nation's population. The Mid-Atlantic is a relatively affluent region of the nation, with nearly half of the nation's 100 highest-income counties based on median household income and one-third of the nation's top 100 counties based on per capita income. Most of the Mid-Atlantic states rank among the nation's 15 highest-income states.

The Northeast Corridor and Interstate 95 connect the region's major cities and suburbs, forming the Northeast megalopolis.

Geographic composition Definitions of the geographic components of the Mid-Atlantic region differ slightly among sources. Generally speaking, the region is inclusive of the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the federal district of the District of Columbia.

Some additional sources include or exclude other areas in parts of the Northeast region and the South Atlantic states for various reasons.:

The United States Census Bureau defines the Mid-Atlantic as a sub-region of the Northeast and includes only New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The Bureau of Labor Statistics excludes New York. The Environmental Protection Agency excludes New York and New Jersey.EPA Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic) | Serving Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and 7 federally recognized tribes. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (n.d.). https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-3-mid-atlantic The U.S. Department of Transportation - United States Maritime Administration includes North Carolina.Mid-Atlantic Gateway (Washington, DC). Mid-Atlantic Gateway (Washington, DC) | MARAD. (n.d.). https://www.maritime.dot.gov/about-us/gateway-offices/mid-atlantic-gateway-office-washington-dc The United States Geological Survey, within the context of Ground-Water Vulnerability to Nitrate Contamination, defined the region as including Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, DC, along with parts of New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina.Earl A. Greene et al. "Ground-Water Vulnerability to Nitrate Contamination in the Mid-Atlantic Region". USGS Fact Sheet FS 2004-3067. 2005. Retrieved April 25, 2013. Note: Although the locator map appears to exclude part of northwestern Pennsylvania, other, more detailed maps in this article include the entire state. Often, when discussing climate, southern Connecticut is included with the Middle Atlantic.

Virginia and particularly West Virginia are atypical of this region in a few ways. These states both lie primarily within the Southern American dialect region,Labov, William, Sharon Ash and Charles Boberg, Atlas of North American English: Phonetics, Phonology and Sound Change, Mouton de Gruyter, 2005 Southern Regional Map and the major religious tradition is largely Evangelical Christian, with 30 percent of the population in Virginia and 39 percent in West Virginia identifying as evangelical. As for West Virginia, although a few of its eastern panhandle counties may be considered part of the Washington, DC metropolitan area, the state is largely rural and there are no major or even large cities.

History

The first European to see the region was the explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. Henry Hudson later extensively explored the region in 1611 and claimed it for the Dutch, who then created a fur-trading post in Albany, New York in 1614. The first permanent English colony in North America was Jamestown, Virginia, established in 1607.

The Mid-Atlantic region was settled during the colonial era between the early 17th century and the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 by European Americans of primarily Dutch, German, Swedish, English, and other Western European ethnicities. From early colonial times, the Mid-Atlantic region was settled by a wider range of Europeans than New England or the South. The two great bulwarks of English settlement were divided from each other by the Dutch New Netherland settlement along the Hudson River in New York City and New Jersey, and—for a time—by the Swedish New Sweden settlement along the Delaware River in Delaware.

The region's original English settlements notably provided refuge to religious minorities: Maryland to Roman Catholics, and Pennsylvania to Quakers and Anabaptist Pennsylvania Dutch. In time, all these settlements came under English colonial control, but the region remained a magnet for people of diverse nationalities.

In the original Thirteen Colonies—which comprised six of the seven Mid-Atlantic states—religious pluralism and freedoms existed, particularly prevalent in the Province of Pennsylvania and in the geographic region that ultimately broke away from Pennsylvania to form the Delaware Colony. The Province of Maryland was the only one of the Thirteen Colonies with a substantial Catholic population.

In the 17th century, the region was known as the "Middle Colonies." It initially included four colonial provinces: the Delaware Colony and the provinces of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, each of which were among the Thirteen Colonies in pre-revolutionary British America. Afterward, the area was recognized geographically as the "Middle States," with Maryland, Virginia, and, in some instances, North Carolina as well as the Ohio Territory.

The area that came to be known as the Middle Colonies served as a strategic bridge between the North and South, as well as the location of the early governing documents of the young nation. More battles than in any other theater of the American Revolutionary War took place in the New York and New Jersey campaign. Philadelphia, midway between the northern and southern colonies, was home to the Continental Congress, the convention of delegates who organized the American Revolution. Philadelphia was also the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the United States Constitution in 1787, and it was there that the United States Bill of Rights was drafted and ratified. The first Supreme Court of the United States sat for the first time, in the first capital under the Constitution of New York.

Shipping and trade have been important to the region's economy since the beginning of the colonial era.

Although the early settlers were mostly farmers, traders, and fishermen, the Mid-Atlantic states provided the young United States with heavy industry. They served as the "melting pot" of new immigrants from Europe. Cities grew along major ports, shipping routes, and waterways, including New York City and Newark on opposite sides of the Hudson River, Philadelphia on the Delaware River, Allentown on the Lehigh River, and Baltimore on the Chesapeake Bay.

Following the American Revolutionary War, the Mid-Atlantic region hosted each of the United States' historic capitals. The nation's capital was constructed in Washington, DC in the late 18th century and was relocated there from Philadelphia in 1800.

In the early part of the 19th century, New York and Pennsylvania overtook Virginia as the nation's two most populous states, and the Mid-Atlantic region overtook New England as the nation's most important trading and industrial center. During this period, large numbers of German, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Polish, and other immigrants arrived in the region's coastal cities, including Baltimore, Newark, New York City, Philadelphia, and interior cities such as Pittsburgh, and Rochester, Albany, and Buffalo (the latter also being included in the Great Lakes region) with their skyscrapers and subways, which would emerge in the 20th century as icons of modernity and American economic and cultural power.

In the late 19th century, the region played a vital and historic role in the development of American culture, commerce, trade, and industry sectors.

Major states, cities, and urban areas

Metropolitan areas +Largest metropolitan statistical areas by population in the Mid-Atlantic Region MSA 2020 census 2010 census 1 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ 20,140,470 18,897,109 2 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA 6,385,162 5,649,540 3 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE 6,245,051 5,965,343 4 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 2,844,510 2,710,489 5 Pittsburgh, PA 2,370,930 2,356,285 6 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA 1,799,674 1,713,954 7 Richmond, VA 1,314,434 1,186,501 8 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 1,166,902 1,135,509 9 Rochester, NY 1,090,135 1,079,671 10 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 899,262 870,716

+Top ten largest cities by population in the Mid-Atlantic Region City 2020 censusTotal area 1 New York, NY 8,804,190472.43 sq mi 2 Philadelphia, PA 1,603,797142.70 sq mi 3 Washington, DC 689,54568.35 sq mi 4 Baltimore, MD 585,70892.05 sq mi 5 Virginia Beach, VA 459,470497.50 sq mi 6 Newark, NJ 311,54925.88 sq mi 7 Pittsburgh, PA 302,97158.35 sq mi 8 Jersey City, NJ 292,44921.03 sq mi 9 Buffalo, NY 278,34952.48 sq mi 10 Chesapeake, VA 249,422350.95 sq mi +Top ten largest towns/townships by population in the Mid-Atlantic regionTownship2020 census1.Hempstead, NY793,4092.Brookhaven, NY485,7733.Islip, NY339,9384.Oyster Bay, NY301,3325.North Hempstead, NY237,6396.Babylon, NY218,2237Huntington, NY204,1278Ramapo, NY148,9199Lakewood, NJ135,15810.Amherst, NY129,595

States and federal district State or federal district2020 censusTotal area 1New York20,201,24954,555 sq mi2Pennsylvania13,002,70046,055 sq mi3New Jersey9,288,9948,722.58 sq mi4Virginia8,631,39342,774.2 sq mi5Maryland6,177,22412,407 sq mi6West Virginia1,793,71624,230 sq mi7Delaware989,9482,489 sq mi 8Washington, DC689,54568.35 sq mi

State capitals and federal district Capital2020 censusTotal area1Washington, DC689,54568.35 sq mi 2Richmond, VA226,61062.57 sq mi 3Albany, NY99,22421.94 sq mi4Trenton, NJ90,8718.20 sq mi 5Harrisburg, PA50,09911.86 sq mi6Charleston, WV48,86432.64 sq mi 7Annapolis, MD40,8128.11 sq mi 8Dover, DE39,40323.97 sq mi Note: The Mid-Atlantic region is also home to the nation's capital, Washington, DC.

Presidential elections Parties Nonpartisan Federalist Democratic-Republican National Republican Democratic Whig Know Nothing Republican Constitutional Union Progressive Bold denotes election winner.