5 states · Census division · 47,368,533 people · 301,370 sq mi
East North Central states map
The East North Central division is the five Great Lakes states of the Midwest: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin — the old Northwest Territory less Minnesota.
How the region is defined
The East North Central division is one of two divisions of the Census Midwest region. Its five states — Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin — are the states carved from the Northwest Territory of 1787 (the territory also included the eastern part of Minnesota, which the Census puts in the West North Central division). The division is bounded by the Ohio River on the south, the Mississippi on the west, Lakes Superior and Huron and the Canadian border on the north, and Pennsylvania on the east.
The five states had 47,368,533 people in 2020 on 301,370 square miles, making it the most populous Census division after the South Atlantic and the Pacific. Chicago (2,746,388) is the third-largest US city, and Columbus, Indianapolis and Detroit are all in the top 30.
States, capitals and largest cities
| State | Capital | Largest city | Population (2020) | Area (sq mi) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois (IL) | Springfield | Chicago | 12,812,508 | 57,914 |
| Indiana (IN) | Indianapolis | Indianapolis | 6,785,528 | 36,420 |
| Michigan (MI) | Lansing | Detroit | 10,077,331 | 96,714 |
| Ohio (OH) | Columbus | Columbus | 11,799,448 | 44,826 |
| Wisconsin (WI) | Madison | Milwaukee | 5,893,718 | 65,496 |
| Total (5 states) | 47,368,533 | 301,370 |
Geography
The division is Great Lakes country: four of the five lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie) border it, and Lake Michigan is entirely within the United States, with all four of its shores in these states. Michigan has 3,200 miles of shoreline, more than any state except Alaska. The land is glacial — flat till plains in Illinois, Indiana and western Ohio, moraine hills in southern Michigan and Wisconsin, and the older, rockier terrain of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin. The highest point is Michigan's Mount Arvon at 1,979 ft; the whole division has no land above 2,000 ft.
The Ohio River forms the entire southern boundary of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois for about 700 miles, and the Mississippi the western boundary of Wisconsin and Illinois. The Wabash separates Indiana from Illinois for much of their length. The Illinois River connects Chicago to the Mississippi via the canal that reversed the Chicago River in 1900. Lake Erie's western basin, off Toledo, is the shallowest part of the Great Lakes.
Ohio, Indiana and most of Michigan are on Eastern time; Illinois and Wisconsin, along with twelve Indiana counties and four in the Upper Peninsula, are Central. The Eastern–Central boundary runs almost exactly down the Illinois–Indiana line.
Related maps
- Parent region: Midwest; sibling division West North Central.
- Overlapping informal region: Great Lakes states.
- Quiz: Midwest states quiz.
- Cities: Chicago, Columbus, Indianapolis, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland.
- Geography: Great Lakes, Ohio River, Lakes.