7 states · Census division · 21,616,921 people · 520,356 sq mi
West North Central states map
The West North Central division is the seven plains states of the Midwest: Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. It is the Midwest west of the Mississippi.
How the region is defined
The West North Central division is the larger, emptier half of the Census Midwest region. Its seven states — Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas — lie west of the Mississippi and east of the Mountain states, from the Canadian border to Oklahoma. All seven came out of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, apart from the part of Minnesota east of the Mississippi.
The division had 21,616,921 residents in 2020 on 520,356 square miles. That is 14% of the country's land with 7% of its people: North Dakota and South Dakota together have fewer people than Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Missouri and Minnesota hold 55% of the division's population.
States, capitals and largest cities
| State | Capital | Largest city | Population (2020) | Area (sq mi) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa (IA) | Des Moines | Des Moines | 3,190,369 | 56,273 |
| Kansas (KS) | Topeka | Wichita | 2,937,880 | 82,278 |
| Minnesota (MN) | Saint Paul | Minneapolis | 5,706,494 | 86,936 |
| Missouri (MO) | Jefferson City | Kansas City | 6,154,913 | 69,707 |
| Nebraska (NE) | Lincoln | Omaha | 1,961,504 | 77,348 |
| North Dakota (ND) | Bismarck | Fargo | 779,094 | 70,698 |
| South Dakota (SD) | Pierre | Sioux Falls | 886,667 | 77,116 |
| Total (7 states) | 21,616,921 | 520,356 |
Geography
The division is the transition from the humid, glaciated prairies of the Mississippi valley to the dry Great Plains. Elevation rises steadily westward: about 500 ft on the Mississippi at St. Louis, 1,000 ft at Omaha, 3,000 ft at the western edge of Nebraska and over 4,000 ft in western Kansas. The Black Hills of South Dakota, an isolated mountain group, contain the division's highest point, Black Elk Peak at 7,242 ft, and Mount Rushmore.
The Missouri River is the spine of the division. It enters North Dakota from Montana, crosses both Dakotas through a chain of reservoirs (Sakakawea, Oahe, Francis Case), then forms the borders of Nebraska with South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri before crossing Missouri to meet the Mississippi north of St. Louis. The Mississippi itself rises at Lake Itasca in Minnesota and forms the eastern edge of Iowa and Missouri. The Red River of the North drains the flat lake bed of the Red River valley on the Minnesota–North Dakota line toward Hudson Bay. The Arkansas River crosses Kansas from Colorado to Oklahoma. Missouri also holds most of the Ozarks.
Minnesota has a shore on Lake Superior at Duluth and about 12,000 lakes. The western parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas are on Mountain time; everything else is Central.
Related maps
- Parent region: Midwest; sibling division East North Central.
- Overlapping informal region: Great Plains.
- Quiz: Midwest states quiz.
- Cities: Kansas City, Omaha, Minneapolis; capitals Saint Paul, Des Moines, Jefferson City, Bismarck, Pierre, Lincoln, Topeka.
- Geography: Missouri River, Great Plains, Ozarks.