List of geographic centers of the United States facts for kids
This is a list of geographic centers of each U.S. state. Note that the geographic center of the entire U.S. is northeast of Belle Fourche in Butte County, South Dakota 44°58′N 103°46′W / 44.967°N 103.767°W, while that of the contiguous 48 is near Lebanon in Smith County, Kansas 39°50′N 98°35′W / 39.833°N 98.583°W. The geographic center of North America lies near Rugby, North Dakota 48°22′2″N 99°59′46″W / 48.36722°N 99.99611°W, though this designation has no official status.
Centers of the states and Washington, DC
State | County | Location | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Chilton County | 12 mi (19 km) south-west of Clanton | 32°50′5″N 86°38′0″W / 32.83472°N 86.63333°W |
Alaska | Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area (Unorganized Borough) |
60 mi (97 km) northwest of Denali | 64°43′54″N 152°28′12″W / 64.73167°N 152.47000°W |
Arizona | Yavapai County | 55 mi (89 km) east-southeast of Prescott | |
Arkansas | Pulaski County | 12 mi (19 km) northwest of Little Rock | |
California | Madera County | 38 mi (61 km) east of Madera, near North Fork, northwest of Fresno | 37°9′58″N 119°26′58″W / 37.16611°N 119.44944°W |
Colorado | Park County | 40 mi (64 km) west of Colorado Springs, southwest of Castle Rock | 39°00′00″N 105°32′50″W / 39.00000°N 105.54722°W |
Connecticut | Hartford County | in East Berlin | |
Delaware | Kent County | 11 mi (18 km) southwest of Dover | 38°58′48″N 75°30′42″W / 38.98000°N 75.51167°W |
District of Columbia | Near 4th and L Streets, Northwest | 38°54′15″N 77°00′58″W / 38.90417°N 77.01611°W | |
Florida | Hernando County | 12 mi (19 km) north-northwest of Brooksville | 28°40′53″N 82°27′36″W / 28.68139°N 82.46000°W |
Georgia | Twiggs County | 18 mi (29 km) southeast of Macon | 32°39′43.6″N 83°26′17.9″W / 32.662111°N 83.438306°W |
Hawaii | Maui County | off-shore southwest of Molokai and west of Lanai | |
Idaho | Custer County | on the Yankee Fork River, southwest of Challis | |
Illinois | Sangamon County | 1.5 mi (2.4 km) southeast of Rochester | 39°44′21.5″N 89°30′13.1″W / 39.739306°N 89.503639°W |
Indiana | Hendricks County | 2 mi (3.2 km) west of Avon | 39°45′57.7″N 86°26′28.6″W / 39.766028°N 86.441278°W |
Iowa | Story County | 5 mi (8.0 km) northeast of Ames | |
Kansas | Barton County | 15 mi (24 km) northeast of Great Bend | |
Kentucky | Marion County | 3 mi (4.8 km) north-northwest of Lebanon | |
Louisiana | Avoyelles Parish | 3 mi (4.8 km) southeast of Marksville | |
Maine | Piscataquis County | 18 mi (29 km) north of Dover-Foxcroft | |
Maryland | Prince George's County | 4.5 mi (7.2 km) northwest of Davidsonville | |
Massachusetts | Worcester County | 12 mi (19 km) northwest of Worcester, in Rutland | 42°22′37.62″N 71°55′30.93″W / 42.3771167°N 71.9252583°W |
Michigan | Wexford County | 5 mi (8.0 km) north-northwest of Cadillac | |
Minnesota | Crow Wing County | 10 mi (16 km) southwest of Brainerd | |
Mississippi | Leake County | 9 mi (14 km) west-northwest of Carthage | |
Missouri | Miller County | 20 mi (32 km) southwest of Jefferson City | |
Montana | Fergus County | 11 mi (18 km) west of Lewistown | |
Nebraska | Custer County | 10 mi (16 km) northwest of Broken Bow | 41°31′30″N 99°51′42″W / 41.52500°N 99.86167°W |
Nevada | Lander County | 26 mi (42 km) southeast of Austin | |
New Hampshire | Belknap County | 3 mi (4.8 km) east of Ashland | |
New Jersey | Mercer County | 5 mi (8.0 km) southeast of Trenton | 40°08′23.1″N 74°22′34.5″W / 40.139750°N 74.376250°W |
New Mexico | Torrance County | 12 mi (19 km) south-southwest of Willard | |
New York | Madison County | 26 mi (42 km) southwest of Utica, near Syracuse | |
North Carolina | Chatham County | 10 mi (16 km) northwest of Sanford | |
North Dakota | Sheridan County | 5 mi (8.0 km) southwest of McClusky | |
Ohio | Delaware County | 25 mi (40 km) north-northeast of Columbus | |
Oklahoma | Oklahoma County | 8 mi (13 km) north of Oklahoma City | |
Oregon | Crook County | 25 mi (40 km) south-southeast of Prineville | |
Pennsylvania | Centre County | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) southwest of Bellefonte, in State College | |
Rhode Island | Kent County | 1-mile (1.6 km) south-southwest of Crompton | 41°40′18″N 71°34′36″W / 41.67167°N 71.57667°W |
South Carolina | Richland County | 13 mi (21 km) southeast of Columbia | |
South Dakota | Hughes County | 8 mi (13 km) northeast of Pierre | |
Tennessee | Rutherford County | 5 mi (8.0 km) northeast of Murfreesboro | |
Texas | McCulloch County | 15 mi (24 km) northeast of Brady | 31°23′29.52″N 99°10′14.34″W / 31.3915333°N 99.1706500°W |
Utah | Sanpete County | 3 mi (4.8 km) north of Manti | |
Vermont | Washington County | 3 mi (4.8 km) east of Roxbury | |
Virginia | Buckingham County | 5 mi (8.0 km) southwest of Buckingham | |
Washington | Chelan County | 10 mi (16 km) west-southwest of Wenatchee | |
West Virginia | Braxton County | 4 mi (6.4 km) east of Sutton | |
Wisconsin | Wood County | 9 mi (14 km) southeast of Marshfield | 44°26′16.00″N 90°07′48.67″W / 44.4377778°N 90.1301861°W |
Wyoming | Fremont County | 58 mi (93 km) east-northeast of Lander |
Updated list of geographic centers
The list above has been only slightly modified since it was first produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in the early 1920s. At that time, the center for a state was found by suspending a cardboard cutout of the state by a string, and then drawing a vertical line from the suspension point. After rotating the cutout 90 degrees and drawing another vertical line from the new suspension point, the intersection of the two vertical lines was used as the geographic center. The result is dependent upon the type of projection used. Although there have been different definitions offered for the geographic center, an intuitive one, and one used by the USGS, is "the center of gravity of the surface, or that point on which the surface of the area would balance if it were a plane of uniform thickness." An updated list of geographic centers using this definition (which is equivalent to the state's centroid) is given below. It was derived by minimizing the sum of squared great circle distances from all points of land in a state (including islands, but not coastal waters, following the earlier practice of the USGS). It represents a slight improvement over the list originally published
The geographic center of the contiguous United States, determined in this way, is at (39.8000 N, 99.1086 W); this is 2.7 miles from Agra, Kansas, 4.7 miles from Kensington, Kansas, and 27.9 great circle miles west of the longstanding designated center of Lebanon, Kansas.
State | Location | Coordinates |
---|---|---|
Alabama | 12.1 mi (19.5 km) southwest of Clanton | 32°46′46″N 86°49′43″W / 32.7794°N 86.8287°W |
Alaska | 77.9 mi (125.4 km) northwest of Denali | 64°04′07″N 152°16′42″W / 64.0685°N 152.2782°W |
Arizona | 49.7 mi (80.0 km) east-southeast of Prescott | 34°16′28″N 111°39′37″W / 34.2744°N 111.6602°W |
Arkansas | 14.2 mi (22.9 km) northwest of Little Rock | 34°53′38″N 92°26′33″W / 34.8938°N 92.4426°W |
California | 36 mi (58 km) northeast of Madera, | 37°11′03″N 119°28′11″W / 37.1841°N 119.4696°W |
Colorado | 29.2 mi (47.0 km) northwest of Pikes Peak, | 38°59′50″N 105°32′52″W / 38.9972°N 105.5478°W |
Connecticut | 1.1 mi (1.8 km) east of East Berlin | 41°37′19″N 72°43′38″W / 41.6219°N 72.7273°W |
Delaware | 11.7 mi (18.8 km) south of Dover | 38°59′23″N 75°30′18″W / 38.9896°N 75.5050°W |
District of Columbia | Near 3rd and P Streets, Northwest | 38°54′36″N 77°00′53″W / 38.9101°N 77.0147°W |
Florida | 5.8 mi (9.3 km) northwest of Brooksville | 28°37′50″N 82°26′59″W / 28.6305°N 82.4497°W |
Georgia | 17.7 mi (28.5 km) southeast of Macon | 32°38′29″N 83°26′33″W / 32.6415°N 83.4426°W |
Hawaii | 27.7 mi (44.6 km) off-shore south of Wailea-Makena | 20°17′34″N 156°22′25″W / 20.2927°N 156.3737°W |
Idaho | 21.4 mi (34.4 km) west-southwest of Challis | 44°21′03″N 114°36′47″W / 44.3509°N 114.6130°W |
Illinois | 28.8 mi (46.3 km) northeast of Springfield | 40°02′30″N 89°11′47″W / 40.0417°N 89.1965°W |
Indiana | 10.8 mi (17.4 km) northwest of Indianapolis | 39°53′39″N 86°16′54″W / 39.8942°N 86.2816°W |
Iowa | 7 mi (11 km) northeast of Ames | 42°04′30″N 93°29′46″W / 42.0751°N 93.4960°W |
Kansas | 22.6 mi (36.4 km) northeast of Great Bend | 38°29′37″N 98°22′49″W / 38.4937°N 98.3804°W |
Kentucky | 3.4 mi (5.5 km) southwest of Lebanon | 37°32′05″N 85°18′08″W / 37.5347°N 85.3021°W |
Louisiana | 5.8 mi (9.3 km) southeast of Marksville | 31°04′08″N 91°59′48″W / 31.0689°N 91.9968°W |
Maine | 12.6 mi (20.3 km) northwest of Dover-Foxcroft | 45°22′10″N 69°14′34″W / 45.3695°N 69.2428°W |
Maryland | 12.6 mi (20.3 km) northwest of Davidsonville | 39°03′18″N 76°47′27″W / 39.0550°N 76.7909°W |
Massachusetts | Irving St. and Wellington St., Worcester | 42°15′35″N 71°48′30″W / 42.2596°N 71.8083°W |
Michigan | 6.6 mi (10.6 km) west of Cadillac | 44°20′48″N 85°24′37″W / 44.3467°N 85.4102°W |
Minnesota | 10 mi (16 km) southwest of Brainerd | 46°16′51″N 94°18′19″W / 46.2807°N 94.3053°W |
Mississippi | 7.7 mi (12.4 km) west-northwest of Carthage | 32°44′11″N 89°40′04″W / 32.7364°N 89.6678°W |
Missouri | 21 mi (34 km) southwest of Jefferson City | 38°21′24″N 92°27′29″W / 38.3566°N 92.4580°W |
Montana | 10.1 mi (16.3 km) west of Lewistown | 47°03′10″N 109°38′00″W / 47.0527°N 109.6333°W |
Nebraska | 12.3 mi (19.8 km) northwest of Broken Bow | 41°32′16″N 99°47′42″W / 41.5378°N 99.7951°W |
Nevada | 26 mi (42 km) southeast of Austin | 39°19′44″N 116°37′52″W / 39.3289°N 116.6312°W |
New Hampshire | 2.6 mi (4.2 km) east of Ashland | 43°40′50″N 71°34′52″W / 43.6805°N 71.5811°W |
New Jersey | 4.3 mi (6.9 km) southeast of Trenton | 40°11′27″N 74°40′22″W / 40.1907°N 74.6728°W |
New Mexico | 13.8 mi (22.2 km) south-southwest of Willard | 34°24′26″N 106°06′45″W / 34.4071°N 106.1126°W |
New York | 11.5 mi (18.5 km) south-southeast of Oneida | 42°57′14″N 75°31′36″W / 42.9538°N 75.5268°W |
North Carolina | 12.7 mi (20.4 km) northwest of Sanford | 35°33′21″N 79°23′16″W / 35.5557°N 79.3877°W |
North Dakota | 2.7 mi (4.3 km) southwest of McClusky | 47°27′00″N 100°27′57″W / 47.4501°N 100.4659°W |
Ohio | 24.9 mi (40.1 km) north-northeast of Columbus | 40°17′10″N 82°47′37″W / 40.2862°N 82.7937°W |
Oklahoma | 4.4 mi (7.1 km) south of Edmond | 35°35′20″N 97°29′39″W / 35.5889°N 97.4943°W |
Oregon | 29.1 mi (46.8 km) southeast of Prineville | 43°56′01″N 120°33′30″W / 43.9336°N 120.5583°W |
Pennsylvania | 2.7 mi (4.3 km) southwest of Bellefonte, in State College | 40°52′41″N 77°47′59″W / 40.8781°N 77.7996°W |
Rhode Island | 2.4-mile (3.9 km) west of Crompton, in West Warwick | 41°40′34″N 71°33′22″W / 41.6762°N 71.5562°W |
South Carolina | 9.7 mi (15.6 km) southeast of Columbia | 33°55′01″N 80°53′47″W / 33.9169°N 80.8964°W |
South Dakota | 7.9 mi (12.7 km) northeast of Pierre | 44°26′39″N 100°13′35″W / 44.4443°N 100.2263°W |
Tennessee | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) northeast of Murfreesboro | 35°51′29″N 86°21′02″W / 35.8580°N 86.3505°W |
Texas | 23.6 mi (38.0 km) north of Brady | 31°28′33″N 99°19′52″W / 31.4757°N 99.3312°W |
Utah | 3.1 mi (5.0 km) northwest of Manti | 39°18′20″N 111°40′13″W / 39.3055°N 111.6703°W |
Vermont | 3.7 mi (6.0 km) southeast of Roxbury | 44°04′07″N 72°39′57″W / 44.0687°N 72.6658°W |
Virginia | 16.6 mi (26.7 km) west of Buckingham | 37°31′17″N 78°51′13″W / 37.5215°N 78.8537°W |
Washington | 7 mi (11 km) west-southwest of Wenatchee | 47°22′57″N 120°26′50″W / 47.3826°N 120.4472°W |
West Virginia | 4.9 mi (7.9 km) east-southeast of Sutton | 38°38′27″N 80°37′22″W / 38.6409°N 80.6227°W |
Wisconsin | 9.3 mi (15.0 km) east-southeast of Marshfield | 44°37′27″N 89°59′39″W / 44.6243°N 89.9941°W |
Wyoming | 60.6 mi (97.5 km) east-northeast of Lander | 42°59′45″N 107°33′04″W / 42.9957°N 107.5512°W |