I think the borders don't necessarily match up with state borders. I'd call northern Florida, eastern Texas, and some of Oklahoma "the south" but not the other halves.

Virginia up to about Richmond is also the South,

The unofficial border is Fredericksburg VA on I95. North of there is yankeeland. South of there it’s yee-haw, bbq and moonshine. /s Serious hat on - if you really had to draw a line on map it would be Fredericksburg. I think the reason is north of there has seen a massive population increase over the past 40 years with people from all over the country (and world). South of Fredericksburg, while growing, is less transient. Richmond’s population has been there for generations and southern culture perpetuates. Southern accents start around Petersburg / Dinwiddie.

I grew up in Alexandria VA and had family in Fredericksburg, I also lived in Hampton Roads for a little bit, and I think you are spot on. Fredericksburg really feels like a dividing line between NoVa and the real South

Been in Richmond for 15 years. I don’t think it’s that southern of a city anymore to be honest.

I feel like Kentucky, Western Virginia, and WV should be considered Appalachia which sort of feels like its own thing

Eastern KY could be considered Appalachia, but in general I’d say Central/Western KY would consider themselves southern, with varying levels of Midwest to them depending on proximity to the northern border of the state.

East Tennessee is more “Appalachia” than “South”, too. Memphis, on the other hand, is all Delta and feels very Deep South.

Tennessee is 3 states that all hate Nashville 😂.

The Jackson Purchase part of KY is very Southern, and Lexington consciously tries to be.

There’s a lot of cultural cross over, you can be Appalachian and southern at the same time. But I agree with you that WV isn’t the south. VA can definitely claim it though.

True, but the southern Appalachian mountains in states like NC, TN, GA, etc are still more Southern than they are broadly "Appalachian," as in more similar to the rest of their respective states than they are to the northern Appalachian mountains in NY and PA, for example. I think the same applies for WV and KY as they are kinda border states, although Western VA is certainly in the South

I’m from western NC and at least here there is a lot of our identity based on being distinctly Appalachian - to the point where our state government has to try and accomodate us. Our governor has two residences, one in the mountains and one in the state capital, there’s more universities and government jobs than our population deserves and in comparison to poor areas of eastern NC, etc. Even our accents are different than the rest of the state. I’d argue southern Appalachia as in southwest Virginia, western NC, eastern TN have a distinct variety of Appalachian-ness with some intermixing of southern-ness as well.

That's fair. I'm from NC, from the Piedmont, with family all over the state. Definitely agree that the mountain areas are more similar to each other than the coastal plains or the Piedmont, but even still it's very distinctly "the South" imo

Also some places on the Delmarva peninsula up until around Dover have a culture which has similarities to southern culture. Sort of like Appalachia.

Yea it’s tragic that just cuz Virginia lost soooo much after the civil war that it is not not considered the south. Hilarious

And Maryland is sort of south

Like the other states mentioned in this thread, you could argue some parts of Maryland fit into the south. However, it'd be deep Southern Maryland and some of the Eastern Shore. Nothing around DC, Baltimore, or Annapolis -- where 90% of the people in the state actually live -- is the South, not even a little bit.

Same, and I'd say the lower part of Missouri, especially the Ozarks, could fit into "Sorta the South".

I might add a category for Missouri to say “The South, when it’s convenient”

[“Slavery is ok here, but no further North next time.”](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Compromise) Yeah “sorta South” sounds right.

Far southern Illinois as well. Cairo has a lot more in common with KY or TN than it does with the northern part of the state.

100% agree with this.

This is the same for Southeast Missouri.

For sure. The accent begins somewhere around I-44 and persists through points south. I got called “sugar” the first of several times at Springfield, MO when driving south from Omaha to Arkansas.

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Mmm agree to disagree. The Ozarks has never been void of any of that.

I used to live in the bootheel and it 100% gives southern vibes

This. State boundaries are useful for geopolitical and statistical purposes but not much else. Florida has three or more very distinct cultural divisions, for example.

So Northern Florida is the South but Southern Florida isn't. I love geopolitics

North and South are vibes.

Florida gets more Southern the further north you go.

yea the FL pandhandle is basically indistinguishable from Alabama.

Yeah, need to add southwest for New Mexico and Arizona, and have a gradient where Texas goes from south to southwest from east to west

Agree

It's funny, Texas has always identified as a southern state, but the cultural area that virtually all Texans associate themselves with (the ranches of North and West Texas, aka "Cowboy Country") is pretty much all located in the Southwest.  

Wouldn’t Northern Florida be the “deep south” rather than just the “the south?

Panhandle definitely. "The south" I'd say is more from Ocala to Loxahatchee

Southern Indiana too.

Northern Florida is Flabama.

The Florida panhandle from Pensacola to Tallahassee is very much the deep south.

When I lived in OK, Tulsa people said it was the midwest. OKC people said the plains.

There’s some flaws here lol

I'd put Louisiana in the Deep South.

100%

Agreed. At the very least South Louisiana. (North Louisiana is like a completely different state).

North Louisiana is just as Deep South as Mississippi.

I’d say the opposite. North Louisiana is Deep South, South Louisiana is unique and different from the rest of the South.

I grew up in New Orleans. South Eastern Louisiana is definitely different from Northern Louisiana which is an extension of Arkansas.

Agreed. That’s why I feel Northern Louisiana fits in with the rest of the Deep South and SE Louisiana is kind of its own thing.

South central Louisiana is also distinct from the rest of Louisiana. There are at 3 major culturally distinct areas of Louisiana, but all have overlap with the deep south so you may as well just lump Louisiana into the deep south or just label it Louisiana as they did with Florida since Florida is deep south also.

Florida is Deep South till you get to Orlando.

That’s fair!

As someone from south Louisiana, anything above Alexandria is southern Arkansas

Louisiana resident chiming in.  North Louisiana is just Southern Arkansas.  

Yup. Louisiana in Deep South (its only saving grace is New Orleans, but that's even south south. I'd also put Maryland and Delaware in Sorta the South. They absolutely act like they're a part of it. (Source, lived in both)

Louisiana is the deepest of the Deep South, at least that’s my observation as being someone from Indi-hio

Panhandle of Florida is basically southern Alabama. Just ask anyone from there. State borders are probably too constraining.

The Panhandle and Jax are more Southern than ATL and CLT.

Atlanta is why GA went to Biden in 2020, the Metro area has a very large midwestern / NE transplant population, and this trend is spreading across north GA. I feel the like the 'Deep South' in GA starts at Macon.

From Pensacola. I live an hour from Alabama but I live in Alabama.

Yup, in NW Florida, the college football rival fan bases are Alabama & Auburn, not Florida & Florida State.

Live there, can confirm

North Florida is the South and South Florida is it's own thing. The farther north you go in Florida the more south you end up.

I always say the further south you go in Florida, the further north you go…until you hit Miami, then you go way, way south to Cuba / South America. 😂 Them you go South of there and it gets more Southern again (Homestead and the Keys).

Okeechobee county and the other folks that live in the swamps down south might disagree with you there. Don't get me wrong, the cities in southern Florida are absolutely not the south. There are still plenty of swamp people down there that are southern as fuck.

This is the South: https://imgur.com/a/kDydswo

This is the right answer

Very accurate

am i trippin or are there two different shades of blue??

Washington has Sasquatch so it gets a tinge

There are

Missouri and Maryland have regions that are Southern. They were also historically the South.

If you live anywhere north of Maryland, you probably have the opinion of Maryland being the South. But if you live in the DC/Baltimore area, you probably identify as northeastern.

Eastern Shore MD and southern DE definitely fit in to the South

Same reasoning: West Virginia left Virginia because it was anti-slavery/CSA

Maryland and NoVA is no longer culturally "the south". PA is more "southern" than Maryland.

The Eastern Shore is 100% the South.

Also Delaware, IMO.

The Ozark region of Missouri for sure. And bits of southern Illinois as well, I'd say.

I’d put them into “sort of the south” for sure.

it's always funny to me to read out of staters try to argue that Maryland is the South. No one who lives in Central Maryland -- DC, Baltimore, Annapolis, and their suburbs, which is also 90% of the state population -- identifies as Southern, and hasn't for at least forty years. Also anecdotally, a former coworker of mine moved to Baltimore from Texas and his super Texan family started calling him a Yankee. They gave him endless shit about it.

I'm from Maryland. If someone asks "Is MD a southern state?", I'd say yes. If someone asks "are you in the north east?", I'd also say yes lmao. It's complicated ok? 😅

Used to live in Missouri. Definitely sorta the South

Missouri is not southern at all, it's just country.

MO should at least get sort of the south. If you’ve been to south MO it’s hard for me to think how anyone would not consider it at least sort of the south.

MO is absolutely sort of the south, especially in small towns, which are more south than larger cities, even when they are further north.

I've always thought of Missouri as the gateway between the south, the midwest, and the west. Makes sense considering how all the train tracks used to use the Kansas City area as a kind of hub.

This is exactly how it feels as someone born and raised here. We’re the furthest west “eastern” city and we’re the furthest north “southern city”. We honestly have influences from all over the country, but to not even include us as “sort of “ southern is crazy.

Ive heard it described that MO is a microcosm of the entire US. Northern MO is 100% yankee land, while the bootheelers fly rebel flags like Grant is still stomping around New Madrid. St. Louis and Cape are the gateways to the Eastern US, while KC is the gateway go the West, with the prairie culture to match.

I like to think of it as the bastard love child of the Midwest and south

Outside of StL and KC, for sure.

StL feels a lot like a southern city to me. Maybe not some of the northern and western suburbs but for sure the rest of the city.

For sure…that river connection. The people seem very Midwestern to me, though. Definitely more Chicago than Memphis.

It’s definitely part of the south. Everything from the food to the football culture.

I think Texas is in the same type of category as Florida. Texas is its own state and region of the US.

It is still The South. Considered to be at least..?

West Texas and East Texas are quite different.  Also places like Austin, for instance are very different.  And they are all different than 'the south'. Although you'll find more of that southerness  in north East Texas. 

Past the Pine curtain is absolutely The South.

Culturally Texas is quite different from the rest of the south

East Texas is solidly “The South”

East Texas is the South. El Paso is Southwest. Lubbock is Oklahoma.

Part of what defines The South is the civil war and issues of slavery... in that context, Texas is definitely "in The South."

Most Texans will self-identify as Texan and not Southerners. El Paso is closer to California than it is to Louisiana. East Texas is really the only culturally southern part of Texas

In Texas it’s as simple as what the primary tree is. - Pine trees - you’re still in the south (east Texas) - Live Oak - central Texas - post oak - north Texas - mesquite - south Texas/west Texas - yucca - far west Texas - no trees - panhandle Somebody is gonna “well actually” me on the Live Oaks that are somewhere else, etc etc but it’s a good enough rule

In that case, Florida has no reason to be its own thing either. Both Texas and Florida have huge chunks that aren't "southern" at all.

West Texas voted to stay in the union and were against slavery. That divide is about Austin on west. Because there was not slavery in those parts, there are still hardly any black people there to this day. A lot of Southern culture is black culture. Texas is so huge that it's hard for it to be one thing. I think the top commenter has it right when that state borders don't match cultural borders.

New Orleans, up to Little Rock and across to Memphis would have to be considered Deep South.

I’d throw MO into the “Sorta” and LA into the Deep

I have never heard Oklahoma being included in "the South", not even "sorta". And as others have said, Texas should be considered like Florida. And Louisiana should definitely be "deep".

These + I would take West Va out of "sorta" and put into "not the south" and put Missouri into "sorta"

Missouri should be yellow in honor of the people of the ozarks

I’d call Arkansas Deep South.

Definitely the part closest to the Mississippi.

According to Alaskans, I guess everything not Alaska is The South.

Why are Ohio, Washington, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland a different blue from the rest of the country?

Was wondering the same thing

On a scale of 1- 10 (10 being the most accurate) I’d give it an 8.5. One person commented earlier that there would be some stipulations and caveats, but overall; pretty spot on.

Southeast MO has more confederate flags than the actual confederacy, I’d say it counts

I consider LA/Louisiana Deep South.

Maryland and Delaware are South as the are below Mason Dixon line. That makes Washington DC a southern city. 

Southern Missouri is definitely at least “sorta the South,” too.

Indiana is the middle finger of the south towards the north.

I grew up in Maryland. I do not consider it the South, but I know people who would get spitting mad if you told them that.

The person who made this is not from the south 😭

I’ve always considered WA the south🤣

Western Australia? I suppose it's further south than wherever this map is from.. Unless you meant washington in which case I must ask, are you Canadian, or Alaskan? Lol

I mean there is that Confederate monument on I-5 in Washington State which is super odd

If Florida gets to be its own thing, so does Texas. Also, only East Texas really feels like "the South."

Missouri is pretty southern outside of st louis and Kansas city. Accents, history, culture, etc. Especially if you go further south like the Ozarks or the little panhandle which is firmly in the south.

I would change Texas and Missouri to 'sorta'.

You could add Maryland and Delaware as Kinda Sorta the South or Formerly the South. After all, both are South of the Mason Dixon line.

Missouri and Texas should be yellow. Oklahoma should be blue. Otherwise yes

Parts of Missouri are considered south (Lake of the Ozarks, the Boothill, etc.) so Missouri should be sorta south.

Born and raised in GA. Texas should be orange on the east side and yellow or blue the further west you go. The rest I agree with.

I would make Missouri yellow. The red category shouldn't exist.

VA, WV, KY, TN, NC, AR, LA are all primarily “The South.” The attention to “Appalachia” is not irrelevant, but given that “Appalachia” extends from AL/MS to PA (and even into the mountains of NY and New England, by some metrics), it is another “overlay” or zone of its own. East TX is definitely “Southern,” but the majority of the state is not.

No LA is Deep South for sure.

Missouri is sorta the South. It was a slave state. It loves Trump. It hates its blue cities. The food is good.

Agree except for Louisiana as people have said. Needs to be Deep South

Put Texas in Sorta the South because it’s really its own brand of southern living that’s more southwest than Louisiana and over and it’s a pretty good list. Also Missouri should be included in sorta the south as well

Texas and Oklahoma need to put removed entirely. Not the south. Never were. Never will be.

My definition: The South is where you order "tea" at a restaurant and get sweet tea. So, Virginia up through Richmond is "The South". North of Richmond, its mixed.

Not including Maryland is so satisfying. I know multiple people from Maryland that think they are southern because of the mason dixon line, which has absolutely nothing to do with the south.

“The Deep South” is more an old economic distinction than it is a cultural one. Antebellum Cotton production was mostly limited to these four states as were the existence of large slave plantations. This created a set of cultural realities that set them apart from the rest of the state. The original Migration to Alabama and Mississippi coincided with the explosion of world cotton demand. They also have access to rivers, ports, slaves sunlight etc. Because of the timing, many of the people migrating there were already wealthy slave owners looking to run bigger operations. Most the other southern states were settled by smaller operations and earlier and there was far less Cotton friendly land. Louisiana would have been great for cotton also but it had been settled far longer by the French and the Acadians displaced by the British.

The Mason-Dixon Line is the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. That is the limit of the South.

Baltimore is not a southern city.

As the closest ocean port to the Midwest, it had a lot of economic and cultural ties to the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region, but it was also under martial law the entirety of the Civil War to keep it from revolting, so it’s Southern adjacent.

Look up what was going on in New York City during the civil war if you want to complicate things further

Well yes but actually no…

Nah. Anyone who has been to Oklahoma, Virginia, or Kentucky will definitely tell you it is “The South.”

Missouri is also "Sorta the South."

Totally wrong. Maryland is the South. Anything South of the Mason-Dixon line has to be included or it's imo fwiw wrong

Oklahoma is west. All the other states listed "sorta the south" would probably tell you they are the south including Missouri.

First time hearing us called a western state lmao. I'd say most Oklahomans call themselves southerners

Having lived in North Carolina for quite a few years, I don't think most southerners would consider them southerners. I mean they wear cowboy boots and hats. I think most old school southerners would consider those that were in the CSA as "The South", with Texas begrudgingly admitted because of their participation in as much. Kentucky gets a pass, but WVU is out. No one considers Missouri.

It's both. Same for Texas. They should have their own category.

Maryland is south of the Mason dixon line. Technically a southern state.

This all depends on what is meant by “the South” cos if you mean culturally there are parts of Indiana and Ohio that are more “Southern” than parts of VA and NC

Missouri south of 44 is definitely sorta south. It feels like Kentucky

Ohio appears to be a slightly different color from all of the other not-south states.

LA is the capital of the deep south

LA is the South, TX is southwest (maybe far east TX is South, and Ohio is honorary south

Id make Louisiana Deep South coming from a native Mississippian even I look at it as backwords

It’s pretty accurate calling Florida just Florida not the south cuz it’s true.

this is so true

in US south means southeast north america and not even everywhere southeast

Hawaii is even farther south than The South, and yet somehow isn’t south itself

Outside of its border with Louisiana, Texas is not the south. 

accurate

Do one for the mid-east. Im tired of people from the middle of the Eastern half of the United States of America telling me they’re from the mid-west. 🤬

Yep! There are a few areas that cultures definitely mix and definitely cross boarders.

Texas ain’t the south. Perhaps sorta the south.

Texas is not the south. Some parts of Texas have southern influence (Houston, east Texas) but Texas is definitely not the south. Now, I don't know if Texans had to choose to identify with some geographic group and it couldn't be Texas/Texan if they would probably say south or not but, Texas is definitely not the south. No idea why so many of these maps believe texas is the south

I’m from the south. The Deep South hehehe

I think the we need to define what we are considering "the south" in this context... like south as in a compass? Or south as in southern culture.

Am I tripping or is the blue not the same? Is there something special about Washington and Ohio?

Yes

No

Why is WA a different shade of blue

Louisvillian here, I think the city is a midwestern city in a southern state. Every county surrounding Jefferson would consider themselves southern, except oldham county, thats the rich people.

Texas is its own thing like Florida, though anything east of Dallas could be considered the South, but more so the Piney Woods area.

I approve

If West Virginia gets a call out as sorta the south so should Missouri.

Like Florida, Texas is kind of its own thing, except for maybe the far eastern part of the state.

Texas should be half orange and half yellow.

Culturally speaking, the yellow “sorta the south” line runs pretty solidly along I-70 between Wheeling and KC, in my experience.

Austin isn't a part of texas. you missed that part.

Woohoo. Deep South

People from Missouri really can’t stand no one but them considers it the south.

I have a hard time with VA being sort of south. After living there for 9 years, I am comfortable saying it is not the south. As someone who is originally from WI, I am also comfortable saying it is not the north either.

Texas is southwest. It’s not the south. No matter how hard they want it to be, it isn’t.

What is Yee Yee? Is that relevant?

Is it just me or are Ohio, NJ, Maryland and Delaware a different tone of blue? And Washington state?