12 beautiful midwestern states (2023)

FAQs

What are the 12 Midwest states? ›

The Midwest, as defined by the federal government, comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

1. Marvel at Mount Rushmore. One of the top tourist attractions in the entire country, not just in the Midwest, is Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

The Midwest has everything from stunning seashores and towering mountains to prairies, glimmering lakes and lush forests. While it's hard to pick the prettiest spots (because there are just so many options), we love a good challenge.

Made up of countless small towns that come together to form what some call “America's Heartland,” the Midwest is known for its industry, farming, and residents with friendly, down-to-earth attitudes. On a trip to the region, you'll get a little bit of city, a little bit of country, and everything in between.

Michigan. What is this? Lying at the heart of the Great Lakes region on the border with Canada, Michigan is a breathtakingly beautiful place to explore; it has over 12,000 inland lakes, endless forests, beaches, and rivers, as well as more coastline than any other state apart from Alaska.

The Midwest is a region of the United States of America known as "America's Heartland", which refers to its primary role in the nation's manufacturing and farming sectors as well as its patchwork of big commercial cities and small towns that, in combination, are considered as the broadest representation of American ...

Chicago – The heart of the Midwest.

One Western state and one Southern state made the top 10. Idaho (eighth), Virginia (10th) and Wisconsin (12th) are the safest states in the West, South and Midwest, respectively. Maine had the lowest violent crime rate per capita, and Massachusetts had the lowest property crime rate.

What is the best Midwest city to live? ›

After establishing the geographic area that defines the Midwest, Van Dam set out to understand Midwestern culture. Using words that were mentioned in at least 300 listing descriptions, Van Dam declared that the "the most Midwestern thing on Earth is the walleye," a freshwater fish common throughout the region.

The profile and traits of the Midwest (Friendly and Conventional) implies a regional cluster of personalities that are family-oriented, religious, and thus drawn to more conservative political orientations. There is a psychological dimension to highly innovative, entrepreneurial and creative places.

Hard work, caring for the community, a sense of humbleness, close family ties, and doing what was right were all key ingredients tossed into this Midwest melting pot. The people we met were helpful, loving, honest, proud yet modest, and unafraid to get their hands dirty.

Home to nine national parks (more parks than any other state in the country), California is undoubtedly the most beautiful state in America for natural wonders. From sandy beaches drenched in sunlight to majestic granite mountains, arid desert landscapes and the tallest trees in the world, California has it all.

That's the premise of the famed Midwestern goodbye. It starts with an indication that you're about to leave, usually smacking your knees, standing up, stretching, then the words, “Welp, I/we should probably get going.” The Midwestern goodbye ritual then ensues and can go on for anywhere from a few minutes to an hour.

Why the Midwest is awesome? ›

Cheese curds, lakes, beer, quality education, four seasons: There's a lot to love about being in the Midwest. Ah, the Midwest: Home to Henry Ford, cheese curds, The Great Lakes, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, countless professional sports teams and more acres of farmland than anyone cares to count.

1. Savannah, Georgia. Earning the top spot among the friendliest cities in the U.S., Savannah made quite an impression on travelers this past year. It's hard to say what exactly makes the locals here so happy.

Cincinnati was also featured in the travel section of Into. Into's writer calls our town "the gem of the Midwest" after spending a jam-packed weekend exploring Downtown and Over-the-Rhine and other local favorites.

Hoosier State: Vegas of the Midwest | Midwestern Traveler.

In the 1850s, Americans tried to grapple with those new territories and settled on Middle West because the territory sat between the Southwest of Oklahoma and Texas, and the Northwest of the Dakota Territory. That is, Americans understood the Midwest as a place west of the Mississippi but between North and South.

Chicago is often referred to as “The Jewel of the Midwest” due to the abundance of tourist attractions scattered throughout the city.

The Midwest has a rep for friendly people, cheap land, and a stress-free lifestyle that differs dramatically from other US regions. Many people are flocking to the Midwest because of its affordable cost of living, open spaces, and relaxed pace of life.

Where are Midwesterners moving to? ›

Indiana has been neutral in the report since 2011. Between 2011 and 2021, Michigan and Illinois have seen more people move out of those states than move in, according to the report. The top inbound states for 2021 were South Carolina, Colorado, Oregon, Texas and Florida.

Crime in the U.S.

Those figures saw broad variation among states; Maine saw the lowest rate of violent crime – about 115 per 100,000 people – while Alaska, the state with the highest rate, had about 867 incidents per 100,000 people.

Kansas City is known for its sweet barbeque and rich culture, and is also our number-one pick for best weather of the Midwest. The city enjoys 62% of the year in the sun and maintains an average temperature of 57 degrees, although it can get as cold as -23. Staying in the plains states, second place goes to Omaha.

The growth rate of 0.1 percent between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021, marks the lowest year-over-year increase since the nation's founding, and the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data also show the number of people living in the 11-state Midwest actually on the decline.

Not-so-surprising is that the average age of couples varies according to region. Among 2021 couples, the average age of marriage was highest in the Northeast (34), while couples in the Midwest and Southwest wed at 32.

Everything is more relaxed in the Midwest – and that includes the cost of living. Housing, food, transportation, and entertainment are all much cheaper than on the coast, so your money goes further here, even in well-known cities like Chicago.

North-Central American English (in the United States, also known as the Upper Midwestern or North-Central dialect and stereotypically recognized as a Minnesota accent or Wisconsin accent) is an American English dialect native to the Upper Midwestern United States, an area that somewhat overlaps with speakers of the ...

Midwesterners are generally happier than people living in the South. Of the top ten happiest states in our ranking six of them — Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa — are in the Midwest.

Midwest Nice is the cultural stereotype applied to the behavior of the people in the Midwest as they are known for being unusually polite, reserved, or passive-aggressive. The Midwest includes many states, large cities, and rural communities. This makes Midwest Nice an ever changing standard.

What accent do Midwesterners have? ›

As indicated by the Midwesterner above, Midland American English speakers often don't think they have an accent all. This accent is indeed the closest to General American, but it is rapidly changing. The accent is mostly associated with Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio and parts of Illinois.

Midwestern Work Ethic: A Higher Standard

From youngsters, Midwesterners are raised to work until the work is done, stay humble, treat others as we, ourselves, want to be treated, and never stop learning. We learn from example that by working hard, we can achieve whatever we set out to do. Work first, play later.

The Midwest also has a lot of tall people because so many people have lanky German, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian ancestry, according to the report (those genes must have skipped this reporter).

There are many foods, sayings, weather patterns, and hobbies that are only found in the Midwest. We've gathered up some of the things that only Midwesterners can appreciate. Examples include tornado warnings, steakburgers from Steak 'n Shake, cornhole, spending summers at the lake, and Big Ten team allegiances.

“Midwest” was invented in the 19th Century, to describe the states of the old Northwest Ordinance, a term that became outdated once the nation spread to the Pacific Coast. “Midwest” is applied to a chunk of America that seems unclassifiable to the rest of the country: neither North, South, East or West.

12 States Make up the Midwest Region of the Country.

1 Chicago, Illinois Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the third-most populous city in the United States. With over 2.7 million residents, it is also the most populous city in both the state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States.

Mideast = Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest = Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin; Mountain-Prairie = Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming; Northeast = Connecticut, Maine, ...

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Midwest comprises the Old Northwest states (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin) as well as North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri.

In the Midwest, "jeez" is a polite way of expressing frustration. A lot of words and phrases from the Midwest originate out of politeness. Instead of offensive words, they'll choose soft alternatives such as the word "jeez," used to express frustration, amazement, or surprise.

Why are people moving away from the Midwest? ›

High taxes, more affordable housing and better job prospects are chief reasons more people are leaving the Midwest for other parts of the country including the Southeast and Southwest, a study revealed.

In the Midwest and northern Plains, corn and soybean crops draw moisture from the ground through their roots into their leaves, stems and fruits. The water evaporates into the surrounding air through their leaves, joining forces with neighboring water molecules to humidify the air.

The Midwest has a rep for friendly people, cheap land, and a stress-free lifestyle that differs dramatically from other US regions. Many people are flocking to the Midwest because of its affordable cost of living, open spaces, and relaxed pace of life.

Often called “America's Heartland”, the Midwestern United States is made of large cities, small towns and farming communities spread across a large area of the U.S. Images of the Midwest often focus on flat plains and sprawling farmland, but it's also home to major cities like Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Minneapolis- ...