Many Missouri People Don’t Believe They Live in the Midwest?

By now it should be obvious that I didn't pay attention in school nearly as much as I should have. That being said, even I know that Missouri is a part of the Midwest. There's new data that shows a shocking number of those in my birth state don't agree.

Get our free mobile app

I saw this very surprising graphic shared on the Missouri sub-Reddit, but it appears to have originated from the Wall Street Journal.

Percent of People Who Consider Themselves Living in the Midwest -- WSJ 1/19/24
byu/LeBenjahan inMapPorn

The Wall Street Journal article discusses how many people think they live in the Midwest, but really don't. That's an interesting read, but I'd like to focus on a different aspect of what they shared. I want to hyper-focus on Missouri. It shows that only 95% of Missourians believe they live in the Midwest. (*blank stare*)

I will admit that 95% is a high percentage, but what about that other 5% of Missourians that are in denial about being Midwesterners? Here's my theory. Many in the southern part of Missouri likely consider themselves southerners. That's actually a fair argument as historically Missouri was a very divided place during the Civil War. However, I thought by now it was common knowledge that "officially" Missouri was a Midwestern state. Am I wrong? I see 5% of Missouri raising it's hand right now (or is that just a finger I see?).

Thanks to the always-observant Missouri sub-Reddit crowd for this catch. Always nice to know how our fellow Missourians think (even if they're very wrong).