Is PA in the Midwest or the Mid-Atlantic? You might be surprised

Nearly 10% of Pennsylvanians consider themselves to live in the Midwest.

They are 100 percent wrong.

Despite this confusing discovery Midwest Review and Emerson College Pollsthis United States Census Bureau tells us that the Commonwealth is largely a Mid-Atlantic state, closely related to New Jersey and New York — and not necessarily to Illinois and Nebraska.

But before we assume that Keystone’s roughly 1.3 million citizens have trouble with mapping, let’s consider that many other people also consider the state to be part of the Midwest.

This time of year we hear this nonsense more often when talking about elections. swing state pennsylvania links Down Rust Belt sisters Michigan and Wisconsin as part of the so-called blue wall traditionally Democratic states, which will be worth 44 priceless Electoral College votes to be held on November 5.

There are also those who argue that if Pennsylvania is not officially considered part of the Midwest, the western part of the state certainly is, at least culturally.

‘Pittsburgh is more like Ohio than Philadelphia,’ says Steel City real estate agent Mark McClinchie on YouTube. His evidence? “We say, popNO soda.” And a person named Kristen, who was featured in his video, gushed: “There’s nothing Mid-Atlantic about Pittsburgh. The people are nice, loyal, and stick to their guns.”

More hot-dish than hoagie, but can the geographically left side of Pennsylvania be the Midwest after all? Let’s take a look:

First of all, who said Pennsylvania is in the Midwest?

Democratic Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris Discussed on New York Times Podcast Everyday On July 22, Peter Baker, the paper’s chief White House correspondent, said: “Many Democrats are concerned about how she will fare in some of the Midwestern states, such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, that are key to the election.”

While it was most likely an accidental slip of the tongue, his mix-up about his location lends credence to the whole idea that Pennsylvania isn’t really where we think it is.

“I definitely hear a lot about Pennsylvania being in the Midwest,” the sociologist said. Michael Glassdirector of the urban studies program at the University of Pittsburgh. “You’ll see it on social media, too.”

To quote an article from AgeMelbourne newspaper, @glografik published on X, “[Former President Donald] Trump … is losing his advantage among white women — the same group that helped him win office in 2016, particularly in key Midwestern battlegrounds: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Poster on the topic r/PoliticalDiscussion subreddit wondered, “What is the likelihood of the Midwest states of MI, WI, and PA remaining swing states…?”

By the way, which states do we consider the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic?

According to United States Census BureauThe 12-state Midwest region includes two divisions. There is the East North Central Division, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; and the West North Central Division, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Some Will Argue: ‘I’m from Minnesota,’ Communication Professor Says David Kahl Jr. from Penn State Behrend in Erie, said, “People say Ohio is almost the Midwest, but I don’t think so. Not at all.”

When it comes to what constitutes the Mid-Atlantic region, things get complicated.

This Census Office lists only three Mid-Atlantic states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. It places eight states in the South Atlantic Division: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. The District of Columbia is also in this group.

But U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the Mid-Atlantic includes the three states listed by the Census Bureau, as well as Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. And the U.S. General Services Administration declares the region to include Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, and only parts of Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia. To complicate matters further, U.S. Geological Survey lists even more states, including parts of New England.

What can make the situation even more irritating is this: Federal Reserve Bank decision to divide Pennsylvania into two categories: Eastern Shore-Midwest, placing Philadelphia in one district, and Pittsburgh and 19 western Pennsylvania counties in Cleveland District.

From a federal perspective, Pennsylvania thus becomes both a Mid-Atlantic and a Midwestern state.

So do residents of western Pennsylvania really feel like they’re in the Midwest?

Repeating Emerson’s study, Bloomberg poll As of 2019, the question was asked, “Where is the Midwest?” About 35% of Pittsburgh residents said they felt like they woke up there every morning.

“Get a group of students from western Pennsylvania,” said a geography professor at Villanova University. Frank Galgano“then give them maps and ask them which state they identify with most. They’ll say Ohio every time.”

Galgano, Executive Director Pennsylvania Geographical Societyhe used to live in western Pennsylvania. “My friends think I’m a coward for moving to Philadelphia,” he said.

Residents of Mercer County on the Ohio border say TV broadcasts are available in Youngstown, not Pittsburgh JJ BalabanDemocratic strategist who has lived in Erie, Pittsburgh and currently South Philadelphia.

It just so happens, Patagonia, Mercer Countyis located 2,254 feet from the Ohio state line and 370.2 miles from Philadelphia.

“Calling Pennsylvania the Midwest sounds weird to someone from Bensalem,” he said, “but it’s not weird to someone from Waynesburg [in Greene County].”

It is also inconsistent, Balaban and others say, to treat Pittsburgh as a mid-Atlantic metropolis on the same list as Philadelphia, Newark, and New York. What do they have in common?

Pittsburghers rave about life in their town, which is quieter and friendlier than what one might expect on the East Side of Philadelphia.

“In line at the Giant Eagle supermarket here in Pittsburgh,” said a Pittsburgh history professor Lara Putnamdirector of the school’s Global Studies Center, “you learn about everyone’s health issues. People share with strangers in a beautiful way.”

Journalists tend to describe places like Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania as “more American” than enclaves of “East Coast elites like Philadelphia,” he said. Matt Jordandirector of the Penn State News Literacy Initiative, which, according to its website, helps students and citizens distinguish “accurate journalism” from “the noise that often overwhelms and divides us.”

While avoiding the unofficial definition of Midwesterner or Mid-Atlanticist, many Pittsburgh-area citizens consider themselves to belong to yet another classification:

“We live in Appalachians” said Glass of Pitt, “connecting us to a region stretching from eastern Kentucky to upstate New York.”

Called “Paris of Appalachia” According to author Brian O’Neil, Pittsburgh is the largest city in the Appalachian region, an urban counterweight to the history-rich rural area.

Ultimately, Galgano said, “in three elections, Pennsylvania may no longer be a swing state” from gaining the attention it now attracts during elections.

“And no one will remember whether it was ever considered part of the Midwest.”

Co-author Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.