Is Missouri the South or the Midwest? See what residents said in a new survey | KCUR

A new survey of Missourians shows that the vast majority claim a Midwestern identity.

Middle West Review scholars and researchers at Emerson University asked Missourians, “Do you live in the Midwest or the South?”

About 94% of poll respondents answered “Midwest.”

Jon Lauck, editor of the Middle West Review, said Missouri's unique geography and history prompted researchers to the study.

“Where does the South begin? The last counties in southern Missouri? On the border of Arkansas? Those are the questions we're trying to answer or at least talk about,” Lauck said.

The Missouri poll was the result of a 2023 regional study that asked people in 22 states whether they consider themselves Midwesterners. The US Census Bureau counts 12 states as part of the Midwest, and most of the people in those states responded positively.

“There are skeptics out there who think the Midwest doesn't exist or isn't a place where people have a strong sense of regional identity,” Lauck told Midwest Newsroom in November. “And this study clearly overturns both of those claims.”

Missouri, arguably the lowest-ranking state in the Midwest, scored highly in the regional survey. More than 90% of respondents said they identify as Midwesterners. There were also some unexpected results. As it turns out, about 40% of Oklahomans polled believe they live in the Midwest. And, about 25% of Ohioans in the study think they don't.

The Middle West Review

/

Provided

The 2023 poll included 600 respondents in Missouri along with hundreds of people from other states. The new poll had a pool of 2,000 respondents, all Missouri residents.

“These results strongly demonstrate that Missourians consider themselves Midwesterners. A small number consider themselves Southerners,” Lauck said. “They are likely in the southern tier of the state near Arkansas. These results match a previous survey that found the vast majority of Missourians consider themselves Midwesterners.”

Missouri borders eight states, four of which are under consideration part of the South from the US Census Bureau: Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

“I think there's a general belief that the strongest regional identity in the country is the Southern identity, and that maybe the weakest regional identity is in the Midwest, because the borders are a little more amorphous,” Lauck said after that first poll.

Most Missourians claim a Midwestern identity – even in counties bordering the South, new poll results show.

An old discussion has been revived

Google the question “Is Missouri a southern or midwestern state?” and you will find a discussion of historical proportions. Even an unscientific poll on X (formerly Twitter) generated a flood of votes and comments.

“Missouri used to be a bellwether state,” Luck said. “Of course, in modern times, it's become heavily Republican, but there's an interesting deeper story there.”

Missouri was a slave state, its past irrevocably linked to that of the South. Missouri was also one of the first stations in the Great Migration, when African Americans from Louisiana, Mississippi, and other states came north to escape segregation and find economic opportunity. Many stayed in Missouri, mostly in and around St. Louis.

“Missouri was a real mix of Southerners, German and Irish immigrants, early French settlers, some Midwesterners, Yankees,” Lauck said. “Missouri was a slave state, but it also included many Union supporters, so it was deeply divided during the war.”

Missouri was once home to an area called Little Dixie near the center of the state. Southern identification was strong there before and after the Civil War. In fact, many residents of Callaway County—part of Little Dixie—still refer to their county as Kingdom of Callawaybecause of an incident involving Confederate sympathizers during the war.

In his 1961 article, “Missouri. A southern or midwestern state?” by Kenneth R. Walker

Arkansas Tech University argued that Missouri is connected to the South by its rivers.

“The Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and their tributaries border and flow through the state of Missouri on their journey from the upper Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico,” Walker wrote. “These rivers early connected Missouri to the Midwest and South through the transportation of people, furs, and trade.”

Many Missourians they have tons leaning towards southern dialects. And, foodies point to the Southern influence on Missouri cuisine – from BBQ on Biscuits. In 2016, British blogger described St. Louis as the “Northern city with a southern exposure”.

And, how to pronounce the name of the state it depends on where you live.

For some, the East-West Interstate 70 corridor is the demarcation between the Midwest and the South in Missouri.

“Missouri is a very unique state and is seen as the crossroads of America, the gateway to the West,” Lauck said.

“I think Missouri illustrates the challenges of categorizing or labeling a state,” said Dustin Gunn, a professor at Midland University in Nebraska and a scholar of Midwestern history.

In an email to Midwest Newsroom, Gann said Missouri's combined past and present create a complex legacy.

“(Missouri's) entry into the Union in 1820 as a slave state and subsequent participation in the series of battles before the Civil War known as the Border War, or Bleeding Kansas, cemented in the minds of many their status as a Southern state.” Goon said.

As a native Kansan, he said it's hard for him to shake that view of Missouri, but:

“Throughout the state's history and to this day, cities like Kansas City and St. Louis have attracted residents from a variety of origins. These new arrivals have brought with them attitudes they held in the past – sensibilities of both the North and the South – which have made it difficult to clearly classify the state.”

This story comes from the Midwest Newsroom, an investigative journalism partnership that includes IPR, KCUR 89.3, New Nebraska Public Media, Public Radio St. Louis and NPR.