History Main / FlyoverCountry

** Columbus: Rarely seen or mentioned in fiction, despite being both the state's capital and largest city and home of The Ohio State University[[note]](''Series/FamilyTies'' was about the only major media production in recent decades to prominently feature Columbus)[[/note]], but it's another hotbed of sociological study and commercial test runs due to its racial and age demographics closely mirroring the United States as a whole. Furthermore, the city lacks a strong regional identity, even compared to other Ohio cities. Basically, it's Peoria or Muncie [[RecycledInSpace as a major metropolis.]]

Culturally, the flyover region is a lot more diverse in religion and ethnicity than popular folklore tends to credit it. Most people are aware of the large African-American and Latino populations within the cities, but these cities receive immigrants from all over the world. For example, the UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} suburb of Dearborn has had a healthy Arab population for over a century, and it's home to the largest mosque in North America; the [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis-Saint Paul]] area contains the largest Hmong and Somali communities in the country; and several Native American reservations are located in UsefulNotes/{{Minnesota}}, UsefulNotes/{{Wisconsin}}, UsefulNotes/{{Montana}}, and [[UsefulNotes/NorthDakota the]] [[UsefulNotes/SouthDakota Dakotas]].

** Columbus: Rarely seen or mentioned in fiction, despite being both the state's capital and largest city and home of UsefulNotes/TheOhioStateUniversity[[note]](''Series/FamilyTies'' was about the only major media production in recent decades to prominently feature Columbus)[[/note]], but it's another hotbed of sociological study and commercial test runs due to its racial and age demographics closely mirroring the United States as a whole. Furthermore, the city lacks a strong regional identity, even compared to other Ohio cities. Basically, it's Peoria or Muncie [[RecycledInSpace as a major metropolis.]]

** Columbus: Rarely seen or mentioned in fiction, despite being both the state's capital and largest city[[note]](''Series/FamilyTies'' was about the only major media production in recent decades to prominently feature Columbus)[[/note]], but it's another hotbed of sociological study and commercial test runs due to its racial and age demographics closely mirroring the United States as a whole. Furthermore, the city lacks a strong regional identity, even compared to other Ohio cities. Basically, it's Peoria or Muncie [[RecycledInSpace as a major metropolis.]]

With that said, that "ridiculous, imagined concept" is in many ways far closer to the truth than many "coastal elites" would care to admit, with New York- and Los Angeles-based media having a nasty habit of writing off everywhere between the Appalachians and the Rockies as hopelessly backward redneck country, whose lot in life would be vastly improved if they would just accept the ''obviously'' superior liberal values and policies of the coasts, with no real understanding of life or the issues in that part of the country - and indeed with no particular desire to understand it, as they're all just a bunch of racist hicks with no redeeming values. As noted elsewhere in this article, there is a great deal more ethnic and political diversity in Flyover Country than fiction would have you believe, and many of its denizens -- particularly its Democrats -- deeply resent being written off this way.

With that said, that "ridiculous, imagined concept" is in many ways far closer to the truth than many "coastal elites" would care to admit, with New York- and Los Angeles-based media having a nasty habit of writing off everywhere between the Appalachians and the Rockies as hopelessly backward redneck country, whose lot in life would be vastly improved if they would just accept the ''obviously'' superior liberal values and policies of the coasts, with no real understanding of life or the issues in that part of the country - and indeed with no particular desire to understand it, as of course they're all just a bunch of racist hicks with no redeeming values. As noted elsewhere in this article, there is a great deal more ethnic and political diversity in Flyover Country than fiction would have you believe, and many of its denizens -- particularly its Democrats -- deeply resent being written off this way.

With that said, that "ridiculous, imagined concept" is in many ways far closer to the truth than many "coastal elites" would care to admit, with New York- and Los Angeles-based media having a nasty habit of writing off everywhere between the Appalachians and the Rockies as hopelessly backward redneck country, whose lot in life would be vastly improved if they would just accept the ''obviously'' superior liberal values and policies of the coasts, with no real understanding of the life or issues in that part of the country, and as such not even worth listening to because of course they're all racist hicks with no redeeming values. As noted elsewhere in this article, there is a great deal more ethnic and political diversity in Flyover Country than fiction would have you believe, and many of its denizens -- particularly its Democrats -- deeply resent being written off this way.

With that said, that "ridiculous, imagined concept" is in many ways far closer to the truth than many "coastal liberal elites" would care to admit, with New York- and Los Angeles-based media having a nasty habit of writing off everywhere between the Appalachians and the Rockies as hopelessly backward redneck country whose lot in life would be vastly improved if they would just do what said media think they should, with no real understanding of the life or issues in that part of the country, and as such not even worth listening to because of course they're all racist hicks with no redeeming values. As noted elsewhere in this article, there is a great deal more ethnic and political diversity in Flyover Country than fiction would have you believe, and many of its denizens -- particularly its Democrats -- deeply resent being written off this way.

Setting a show or a novel here can be shorthand for [[TheFifties '50s-style]] [[TheFundamentalist social conservatism]] [[StopBeingStereotypical (and the common portrayal of this region by Hollywood in the actual Fifties did nothing to help)]], [[NothingExcitingEverHappensHere small-town insularity]], or [[PlaceWorseThanDeath a crushingly unhip, even dorky ambiance]] -- think ''Film/{{Pleasantville}}'' or ''Film/NapoleonDynamite''. However, it gets used at least as often to inspire {{nostalgia|Filter}} for {{Eagleland}} Flavor #1, a friendly, down-home environment full of old-time family values where [[Radio/APrairieHomeCompanion all the women are strong, all the men are good-lookin' and all the children are above average]].[[note]]It should be noted that the above slogan is used by humorist Garrison Keillor to describe the fictional town of Lake Wobegon, which is in the state of UsefulNotes/{{Minnesota}}--which, amusingly, is usually considered a solidly ''blue'' state (Michele Bachmann--who represented a carefully gerrymandered district--notwithstanding).[[/note]] (Think ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', ''Series/FridayNightLights'', or an '80s [[Creator/StevenSpielberg Spielberg]]/Amblin movie.)

Setting a show or a novel here can be shorthand for [[TheFifties '50s-style]] [[TheFundamentalist social conservatism]] [[StopBeingStereotypical (and the common portrayal of this region by Hollywood in the actual Fifties did nothing to help)]], [[NothingExcitingEverHappensHere small-town insularity]], or [[PlaceWorseThanDeath a crushingly unhip, even dorky ambiance]] -- think ''Film/{{Pleasantville}}'' or ''Film/NapoleonDynamite''. However, it gets used at least as often to inspire {{nostalgia|Filter}} for {{Eagleland}} Flavor #1, a friendly, down-home environment full of old-time family values where [[Radio/APrairieHomeCompanion all the women are strong, all the men are good-lookin' and all the children are above average]].[[note]]It should be noted that the above slogan is used by humorist Garrison Keillor to describe the fictional town of Lake Wobegon, which is in the state of UsefulNotes/{{Minnesota}}--which, amusingly, is usually considered a solidly ''blue'' state ([[BlackSheep Michele Bachmann]]--who represented a carefully gerrymandered district--notwithstanding).[[/note]] (Think ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', ''Series/FridayNightLights'', or an '80s [[Creator/StevenSpielberg Spielberg]]/Amblin movie.)

** St. Joseph: Rarely seen or mentioned in fiction, despite being involved in quite a bit of history -- for example, it was the starting point for the Pony Express route which connected the East and West coasts of the United States, and Jesse James died here. Music/{{Eminem}} was born here, though he's more associated with Detroit, where he was raised.

** St. Joseph: Rarely seen or mentioned in fiction, despite being involved in quite a bit of history -- for example, it was the starting point for the Pony Express route which connected the East and West coasts of the United States. Music/{{Eminem}} was born here, though he's more associated with Detroit, where he was raised, and famous outlaw Jesse James died here.

** Fayetteville: The Arkansas Razorbacks, barbecue, a growing theater scene and biker culture. Bill and Hillary Clinton lived here while teaching law at the University of Arkansas School of Law.
** Bentonville: A small city outside Fayetteville that, not unlike Peoria, would be another obscure out-of-the-way mini-city if not for the fact that UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}}, one of the world's biggest and most recognizable retail corporations, was founded and is based there.

** Cedar Rapids: Nicknamed the "City of Five Seasons", for the so-called "fifth season," which is time to enjoy the other four.

** Omaha: A somewhat isolated city used as shorthand for "city in the middle of nowhere", i.e. that podunk town far, ''faaaaar'' away from everything you know and love that you're forced to move to because it was the only job you could find. (See also: Des Moines, Iowa.) Which isn't uncalled for. Firstly, Omaha has a strong job market, anchored by four Fortune 500 companies and a large high-tech sector, and secondly, it ''is'' a long way from anywhere: a three-hour drive to Kansas City, seven and a half to Denver, eight to Chicago, two whole days to New York City, and ''three days'' to Los Angeles. Omaha has featured in a few movies, mostly thanks to native son Creator/AlexanderPayne. It's been the host for the NCAA Men's College World Series since 1950 (and the current hosting contract runs through 2035), so Creator/{{ESPN}} shows up with their broadcast trucks once a year. Also home to [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks the Strategic]] [[UsefulNotes/PeaceThroughSuperiorFirepower Air Command.]]

That's Flyover Country, also known as "the Heartland" or "Middle America" [[note]] which are not necessarily the same thing; see YouKeepUsingThatWord for further details [[/note]]--American slang for the states which trendy liberal BourgeoisBohemian coast-dwellers see only from the window of an airplane as they jet to their vacation or a work trip on the opposite side. Containing roughly half the country's population (if you're using a narrower definition) but much more of its landmass, this region includes everything between UsefulNotes/LasVegas [[note]] although the area between the Sierra Nevadas and the Rockies is more properly termed "the Great Basin" and is culturally either Latin American Catholic or Anglo-Saxon Mormon, in marked contrast to the largely German Protestant or Scandinavian Lutheran character of the upper Midwest, Slavic and Italian Catholic character of the Great Lakes, the Scots-Irish Baptist or Anglo-Saxon Protestant character of the lower Midwest, Slavic Jewish or Southern European and Germanic Catholic character of the East Coast, Latin American Catholic or Anglo-Saxon Protestant character of the West Coast, and the Scots-Irish and West African Baptist character of the South. [[/note]] and UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} at a minimum--and is often extended to everything east of the Sierra Nevada and [[Series/ThirtyRock west of the Alleghenies]] (if not the Hudson River). [[https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/1/the-new-yorker-cover-march-29th-1976-saul-steinberg.jpg This famous (and oft-parodied) Saul Steinberg cover]] for ''The New Yorker'' magazine's March 29, 1976 issue, known as "View of the World from 9th Avenue", parodies the stereotypical attitude of parochial New Yorkers to the rest of the country.

** [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis and St. Paul]]: A strange blend of West Coast weirdness and Midwestern friendliness. The main business center between Chicago and Seattle and home to a massive theater scene and a thriving Somali community, as well as a major airline hub and the only 24-hour rapid transit system outside of New York, Chicago, or Philly. Do not get stuck there in the winter unless you like slowly freezing to death.

* Iowa: A sea of corn that people only ever care about every four years, when it plays a pivotal role as the first state in the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem Presidential primary cycle]], leading journalists and pollsters to swarm the state and politicians to embarrass themselves trying to pander to its 3.1 million people. (If you're wondering why [[AllNaturalSnakeOil corn ethanol]] was ever taken seriously as an alternative energy source: this is why.) After that, it vanishes back into obscurity even before the actual election; despite being a swing state these days, its small population means that it's rarely a decisive factor in the election like Ohio is. Their biggest exports seem to be agriculture, Creator/AshtonKutcher, Creator/ElijahWood and the music of Music/{{Slipknot}} and Music/StoneSour.

* Kansas: The geographic center of the lower 48 states, Kansas' image, even more than the rest of the Midwest, is that of conservative small-town normality. The creators of ComicBook/{{Superman}} had him raised in a Kansas town literally called Smallville to emphasize that he grew up as TheAllAmericanBoy, this very wiki's trope for describing a character pulled into an abnormal world is titled NotInKansasAnymore, and when Thomas Frank (a native son of the state) wrote a sociological non-fiction book exploring the rise of reactionary populism in rural America, he titled it ''What's the Matter with Kansas?''.

The truth is a little more complicated. While the states of the central U.S. do skew more rural than urban, the cities therein are as cosmopolitan as any coastal town. There's plenty of culture, style, and nightlife to be found in cities like [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis]], UsefulNotes/KansasCity, or Omaha (a full list of oft-featured cities is included at the end), and they have a much lower cost of living than the coasts--even Chicago, the great metropolis of the Midwest, is cheaper than NYC or LA (although not by much). And even some of the smaller towns, like Boulder, UsefulNotes/{{Colorado}}[[note]]where ''Series/MorkAndMindy'' was set[[/note]] and Ann Arbor, UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}},[[note]]home of the UsefulNotes/UniversityOfMichigan[[/note]] have their own quirks. There are very few states in the US that don't have at least ''one'' significant metropolitan area (likewise, UsefulNotes/NewYorkState and UsefulNotes/{{California}} both have conservative rural areas of their own as well).

Setting a show or a novel here can be shorthand for [[TheFifties '50s-style]] [[TheFundamentalist social conservatism]] [[StopBeingStereotypical (and the common portrayal of this region by Hollywood in the actual Fifties did nothing to help)]], [[NothingExcitingEverHappensHere small-town insularity]], or [[PlaceWorseThanDeath a crushingly unhip, even dorky ambiance]] -- think ''Film/{{Pleasantville}}'' or ''Film/NapoleonDynamite''. However, it gets used at least as often to inspire {{nostalgia|Filter}} for {{Eagleland}} Flavor #1, a friendly, down-home environment full of old-time family values where [[Radio/APrairieHomeCompanion all the women are strong, all the men are good-lookin' and all the children are above average]].[[note]]It should be noted that the above slogan is used by humorist Garrison Keillor to describe the fictional town of Lake Wobegon, which is in the state of Minnesota--which, amusingly, is usually considered a solidly ''blue'' state ([[BlackSheep Michele Bachmann]]--who represented a carefully gerrymandered district--notwithstanding).[[/note]] (Think ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', ''Series/FridayNightLights'', or an '80s [[Creator/StevenSpielberg Spielberg]]/Amblin movie.)

That's Flyover Country, also known as "the Heartland" or "Middle America" [[note]] which are not necessarily the same thing; see YouKeepUsingThatWord for further details [[/note]]--American slang for the states which trendy liberal coast-dwellers see only from the window of an airplane. Containing roughly half the country's population (if you're using a narrower definition) but much more of its landmass, this region includes everything between UsefulNotes/LasVegas [[note]] although the area between the Sierra Nevadas and the Rockies is more properly termed "the Great Basin" and is culturally either Latin American Catholic or Anglo-Saxon Mormon, in marked contrast to the largely German Protestant or Scandinavian Lutheran character of the upper Midwest, Slavic and Italian Catholic character of the Great Lakes, the Scots-Irish Baptist or Anglo-Saxon Protestant character of the lower Midwest, Slavic Jewish or Southern European and Germanic Catholic character of the East Coast, Latin American Catholic or Anglo-Saxon Protestant character of the West Coast, and the Scots-Irish and West African Baptist character of the South. [[/note]] and UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} at a minimum--and is often extended to everything east of the Sierra Nevada and [[Series/ThirtyRock west of the Alleghenies]] (if not the Hudson River). [[https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/1/the-new-yorker-cover-march-29th-1976-saul-steinberg.jpg This famous (and oft-parodied) Saul Steinberg cover]] for ''The New Yorker'' magazine's March 29, 1976 issue, known as "View of the World from 9th Avenue", parodies the stereotypical attitude of parochial New Yorkers to the rest of the country.

Sparsely populated, largely rural, and lacking in photogenic glamour, it rarely shows up in works which attempt to appear trendy or up-to-date. It gets much more play in political circles, however, as the quirks of the American electoral system make appeals to smaller states essential. When one talks about the "red state/blue state" divide in American politics, this is what is meant by "red state" -- conservative-leaning rural/suburban areas where UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}}, chain restaurants, [[UsefulNotes/AmericanChurches church]], [[UsefulNotes/AmericanEducationalSystem high school football]], and the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem Republican Party]] are pillars of local communities. The phrase "flyover country" was, in fact, coined by right-wing [[TalkShow talk radio]] hosts, to ridicule their imagined concept of what coastal liberal elites thought of the American interior.[[note]]With that said, that "ridiculous, imagined concept" is in many ways far closer to the truth than many "coastal liberal elites" would care to admit, with New York- and Los Angeles-based media having a nasty habit of writing off everywhere between the Appalachians and the Rockies as hopelessly backward redneck country whose lot in life would be vastly improved if they would just do what said media think they should, with no real understanding of the life or issues in that part of the country, and as such not even worth listening to because of course they're all racist hicks with no redeeming values. As noted elsewhere in this article, there is a great deal more ethnic and political diversity in Flyover Country than fiction would have you believe, and many of its denizens -- particularly its Democrats -- deeply resent being written off this way.[[/note]]

The truth is a little more complicated. While the states of the central U.S. do skew more rural than urban, the cities therein are as cosmopolitan as any coastal town. There's plenty of culture, style, and nightlife to be found in cities like [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis]], UsefulNotes/KansasCity, or Omaha (a full list of oft-featured cities is included at the end), and they have a much lower cost of living than the coasts--even Chicago, the great metropolis of the Midwest, is cheaper than NYC or LA (although not by much). And even some of the smaller towns, like Boulder, UsefulNotes/{{Colorado}}[[note]]where ''Series/MorkAndMindy'' was set[[/note]] and Ann Arbor, UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}},[[note]]home of the UsefulNotes/UniversityOfMichigan[[/note]] have their own quirks. There are very few states in the US that don't have at least ''one'' significant metropolitan area (likewise, New York State and California both have conservative rural areas of their own as well).

Culturally, the flyover region is a lot more diverse in religion and ethnicity than popular folklore tends to credit it. Most people are aware of the large African-American and Latino populations within the cities, but these cities receive immigrants from all over the world. For example, the UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} suburb of Dearborn has had a healthy Arab population for over a century, and it's home to the largest mosque in North America; the [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis-Saint Paul]] area contains the largest Hmong and Somali communities in the country; and several Native American reservations are located in UsefulNotes/{{Minnesota}}, UsefulNotes/{{Wisconsin}}, UsefulNotes/{{Montana}}, and the Dakotas.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. [[CreatorProvincialism Shows based in one of the coasts will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, while Midwestern locations are either fictionalized or used as a generic backdrop]]. For example, ''Series/SexAndTheCity'' used real-life bars and restaurants in NYC as the girls' hangouts. Meanwhile, Creator/GarryMarshall, the producer of ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'', never set foot in Milwaukee until long after both shows ended, leading to a horrifically inaccurate portrayal of the city that may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows based in one of the coasts will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, while Midwestern locations are either fictionalized or used as a generic backdrop. For example, ''Series/SexAndTheCity'' used real-life bars and restaurants in NYC as the girls' hangouts. Meanwhile, Creator/GarryMarshall, the producer of ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'', never set foot in Milwaukee until long after both shows ended, leading to a horrifically inaccurate portrayal of the city that may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth.

Culturally, the flyover region is a lot more diverse in religion and ethnicity than popular folklore tends to credit it. Most people are aware of the large African-American and Latino populations within the cities, but these cities receive immigrants from all over the world. For example, the UsefuNotes/{{Detroit}} suburb of Dearborn has had a healthy Arab population for over a century, and it's home to the largest mosque in North America; the [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis-Saint Paul]] area contains the largest Hmong and Somali communities in the country; and several Native American reservations are located in UsefulNotes/{{Minnesota}}, UsefulNotes/{{Wisconsin}}, UsefulNotes/{{Montana}}, and the Dakotas.

Where do you live? [[BigApplesauce New York]]? Awesome. [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles L.A.]]? Awesome. UsefulNotes/KansasCity? Uh... where is that, like, in Idaho or something?[[note]] The name is a clue; [[BaitAndSwitch it's in Missouri, of course.]] Well, [[DoubleSubversion about three quarters of it, anyway.]] There are actually two cities named "Kansas City", with State Line Road marking the division between the two. Usually it's the Missouri one (or the metropolitan area as a whole, including cities like Liberty and Independence on the Missouri side and Overland Park and Shawnee Mission on the Kansas side) people are referring to rather than the Kansas one.[[/note]]

Politically, these cities tend to be much more liberal--socially and economically--than the surrounding region. Many of them are ([[DyingTown or were]]) industrial towns with a strong presence of labor unions and minorities, plus college students who stuck around after graduating. In fact, people in the surrounding, rural areas who don't fit in with the arch-conservative lifestyle will tend to relocate to the nearest decent-sized city. These factors frequently produce Democratic islands within states that are otherwise Republican strongholds. Many don't realize that Milwaukee was one of the hotbeds of the Socialist Party up until the second RedScare, and while North Dakota does lean to the right, it has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_North_Dakota a publicly-owned banking system]] unique in the nation.

Culturally, the flyover region is a lot more diverse in religion and ethnicity than popular folklore tends to credit it. Most people are aware of the large African-American and Latino populations within the cities, but these cities receive immigrants from all over the world. For example, the Detroit suburb of Dearborn has had a healthy Arab population for over a century, and it's home to the largest mosque in North America; the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area contains the largest Hmong and Somali communities in the country; and several Native American reservations are located in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana, and the Dakotas.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows based in one of the coasts will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, while Midwestern locations are either fictionalized or used as a generic backdrop. For example, ''Series/SexAndTheCity'' used real-life bars and restaurants in NYC as the girls' hangouts. Meanwhile, Creator/GarryMarshall, the producer of ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'', never set foot in UsefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}} until long after both shows ended, leading to a horrifically inaccurate portrayal of the city that may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth.

* UsefulNotes/{{Wyoming}}: The least populated U.S. state, has a NewOldWest image of cowboys, valleys and farmland galore, hence it's nickname of "The Cowboy State". Yellowstone National Park is located in this state.

Where do you live? [[BigApplesauce New York]]? Awesome. [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles L.A.]]? Awesome. UsefulNotes/KansasCity? Uh... where is that, like, in Idaho or something?[[note]] The name is a clue; it's in Missouri, of course. Well, about three quarters of it, anyway. There are actually two cities named "Kansas City", with State Line Road marking the division between the two. Usually it's the Missouri one (or the metropolitan area as a whole, including cities like Liberty and Independence on the Missouri side and Overland Park and Shawnee Mission on the Kansas side) people are referring to rather than the Kansas one.[[/note]]

The truth is a little more complicated. While the states of the central U.S. do skew more rural than urban, the cities therein are as cosmopolitan as any coastal town. There's plenty of culture, style, and nightlife to be found in cities like [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis]], UsefulNotes/KansasCity, or Omaha (a full list of oft-featured cities is included at the end), and they have a much lower cost of living than the coasts--even Chicago, the great metropolis of the Midwest, is cheaper than NYC or LA (although not by much). And even some of the smaller towns, like Boulder, Colorado[[note]]where ''Series/MorkAndMindy'' was set[[/note]] and Ann Arbor, UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}},[[note]]home of the UsefulNotes/UniversityOfMichigan[[/note]] have their own quirks. There are very few states in the US that don't have at least ''one'' significant metropolitan area (likewise, New York State and California both have conservative rural areas of their own as well).

* Colorado: While the state is usually associated with a NewOldWest image of winter resorts and former mining towns nestled amidst towering mountain peaks, that image only applies to its western half. The ''eastern'' half is a different story entirely, being an extension of the High Plains of western Kansas and Nebraska. UsefulNotes/{{Denver}}, the state's capital and largest city, has sometimes been said to mark the border between the Midwest and the West both geographically (it is literally nestled on the edge of the Colorado Front Range, with the High Plains to the east and mountains to the west) and culturally.

* UsefulNotes/{{Utah}}: Despite being located quite far from the Midwest, most stereotypes of the state, and of UsefulNotes/{{Mormon|ism}}s in general, are essentially [[MinnesotaNice Midwestern]] [[StepfordSmiler stereotypes]] cranked UpToEleven. Mormonism did indeed spend many of its formative years in the Midwest,[[note]]Specifically, in Jackson, Clay, and Caldwell Counties in Missouri, and later in Nauvoo, Illinois. It originated in upstate New York.[[/note]] before heading to what's now Utah in search of a land without a pre-existing population to disapprove of their religion (at that point Utah was part of Mexico and home to a few scattered indigenous tribes). Like the Upper Midwest, many of the early Mormon converts who settled in Utah came from Scandinavia.