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What is the most American state? (1 Viewer)

squistion

squistion

Footballguy
Nate Silver of 538 posed this question in the below Tweet:

Nate Silver‏ @NateSilver538 1h1 hour ago

What is the most American state? Defined as: If a foreign visitor was only allowed to visit one state, from which state would they learn the most about what America is really like?

https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1117586439246614528

I am biased but I could say California with its ethnic diversity - plus having metropolitan cities like L.A and San Francisco, but also with much of the state being rural and agricultural.

What say you?

 
Silly question, America is a collective of states unified under one law/ideal.  Yeah, we’ve got our differences, but no one state is somehow more American than another. They’re all uniquely American in their own way and similar in the sense that we journey this path together.  It may seem like a fun thought exercise, but it’s really time we quit trying to create false separations from each other.  

 
That one guy said:
Silly question, America is a collective of states unified under one law/ideal.  Yeah, we’ve got our differences, but no one state is somehow more American than another. They’re all uniquely American in their own way and similar in the sense that we journey this path together.  It may seem like a fun thought exercise, but it’s really time we quit trying to create false separations from each other.  
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Can I get you a warm compress?

California. Diverse, and inviting of diversity, as it gets. Settled through westward expansion and by hardcore miners and seafarers. The height of adventurous spirit and innovation. 6th (?) largest economy in the world. Stunningly beautiful. Plenty of agriculture (wine and garlic!).

The burning shore baby.

 
If you really want them to get a sense of what America is Florida. In the southern part of the state a rich culture influenced by the Caribbean, Central America, South America with a touch of Jewish influence here and there. But go a little north and it's a lot like Georgia. You can find rich Americans, poor Americans and Disney World in Florida. And most importantly you may spot Florida man or woman in the wild. And nothing is more American than them. 

 
NCCommish said:
If you really want them to get a sense of what America is Florida. In the southern part of the state a rich culture influenced by the Caribbean, Central America, South America with a touch of Jewish influence here and there. But go a little north and it's a lot like Georgia. You can find rich Americans, poor Americans and Disney World in Florida. And most importantly you may spot Florida man or woman in the wild. And nothing is more American than them. 
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Dammit Commish, we have company coming over, can't we put Florida at the kid's table or something?

 
I feel like it might be Massachusetts. I was in Boston once and went on that walk where you see Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock stuff and end up at the US Constitution (ship). Other than Washington that seemed like the most patriotic place I’ve been. But I’ve never been to Philadelphia. 

I have been to the Statue of Liberty and that made me cry. 

 
squistion said:
It is 90.9% Caucasian, which is hardly representative of the racial and ethnic diversity of this country overall.

http://worldpopulationreview.com/states/iowa-population/
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I'm not the one who came up with the criteria.  I just remember seeing it a few years ago and thought I'd share it.  I don't know how anyone can determine which state is the most American.

We do get a lot of immigrants in Iowa though.  A good amount are illegals.

 
Joe Bryant said:
Surprised to see no Texas mention.

At least in Spirit, it feels like the most American. 
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They can't be the most American, they consider themselves their own country a lot times.  They may be the most proud state but also the most arrogant.  New York comes pretty close too.

 
Hawkeye21 said:
They can't be the most American, they consider themselves their own country a lot times.  They may be the most proud state but also the most arrogant.  New York comes pretty close too.





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Precisely my point. 

 
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Illinois seems right to me.  Chicago for the big city, "Will it play in Peoria?" for the mainstream shorthand, Springfield to learn about Lincoln and the Civil War.

I might be biased, but Virginia might be another.  Big culture difference between Northern Virginia and the rest of Virginia to get both the North/South in.  And lots of historical sites to learn about many stages of American history.  From Jamestown to Yorktown to Mount Vernon (and Monticello) to lots of Civil War battlefields.  

 
Joe Bryant said:
For the "you can get the southern US and northern US vibe" reason?
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Yeah, that plus I think you can't really understand this country without visiting one of our major cities.  A third of the country lives in one of the ten biggest metropolitan areas. It's a huge part of who we are.

The thing that's missing from Illinois is a substantial Hispanic population, which is certainly a big thing to be missing.  But I'm not sure there's a better answer.  Pennsylvania, maybe?

 
TobiasFunke said:
Yeah, that plus I think you can't really understand this country without visiting one of our major cities.  A third of the country lives in one of the ten biggest metropolitan areas. It's a huge part of who we are.

The thing that's missing from Illinois is a substantial Hispanic population, which is certainly a big thing to be missing.  But I'm not sure there's a better answer.  Pennsylvania, maybe?
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I can see that.

If you'd asked me this question yesterday, Illinois wouldn't have been in the discussion. Even though I love it and was in Chicago last week. But thinking about it, I can see the case. 

But I still think the answer is Texas by a mile.

 
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Don Quixote said:
Illinois seems right to me.  Chicago for the big city, "Will it play in Peoria?" for the mainstream shorthand, Springfield to learn about Lincoln and the Civil War.

I might be biased, but Virginia might be another.  Big culture difference between Northern Virginia and the rest of Virginia to get both the North/South in.  And lots of historical sites to learn about many stages of American history.  From Jamestown to Yorktown to Mount Vernon (and Monticello) to lots of Civil War battlefields.  
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Virginia is a good one.  

 
squistion said:
I would argue that it is more representative of the racial and ethnic diversity in this country currently and the way it is projected in the future than a state that is 90% white.
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I'm not a demographer so I don't fully understand how to deal with the whole race vs ethnicity issue when it comes to Hispanics. But, if we look at Hispanic as a distinct group separate from White Alone (not Hispanic) and Black Alone (not Hispanic), then California is very skewed. You may see that California is about 60% White in the race data but that drops to about 37% for the non-Hispanic White Alone group.

California (US total):

White Alone - 37% (61%)

Black Alone - 5% (12%)

Asian - 14% (6%)

Hispanic - 39% (18%)

2 or more races - 3% (3%)

Iowa (US total):

White Alone - 86% (61%)

Black Alone - 3% (12%)

Asian - 3% (6%)

Hispanic - 6% (18%)

2 or more races - 2% (3%)

If we calculate the variance of each group from the US Total and sum the variances, Iowa (0.086) is closer than California (0.113) to the US breakdown. Looking at all states, Illinois is the closest (0.0007), followed by Connecticut (0.005), New York (0.005), and New Jersey (0.006).

Illinois (US total):

White Alone - 61% (61%)

Black Alone - 14% (12%)

Asian - 5% (6%)

Hispanic - 17% (18%)

2 or more races - 2% (3%)

I left out American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander because the site I found with the best formatted data had many of those population percentages suppressed due to high sampling error in many states. I doubt it would make much of a difference for most states, though.

 
I would put Colorado up there - "America" was written from the top of Pike's Peak. You get the prairies,  mountains, Buffalo, Buffalo Bills grave, railroad history, mining history, 10th mountain division, Indian country nearby from Plains Indians to cliff dwellers - and weed. Walk into a store freedom and buy weed - what is more American than that. Only thing missing is a ton of African American diversity(but plenty of African American history) - you do however have a ton of Hispanic diversity with parts of it pre-dating the founding of our country, some interesting Asian history with the story of internment camps and Governor Ralph Carr. The state  tells the story of America pretty good IMO - with a visual sense of it's vastness.

 
ffldrew said:
I would put Colorado up there - "America" was written from the top of Pike's Peak. You get the prairies,  mountains, Buffalo, Buffalo Bills grave, railroad history, mining history, 10th mountain division, Indian country nearby from Plains Indians to cliff dwellers - and weed. Walk into a store freedom and buy weed - what is more American than that. Only thing missing is a ton of African American diversity(but plenty of African American history) - you do however have a ton of Hispanic diversity with parts of it pre-dating the founding of our country, some interesting Asian history with the story of internment camps and Governor Ralph Carr. The state  tells the story of America pretty good IMO - with a visual sense of it's vastness.
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I can see Colorado too.

 
NCCommish said:
If you really want them to get a sense of what America is Florida. In the southern part of the state a rich culture influenced by the Caribbean, Central America, South America with a touch of Jewish influence here and there. But go a little north and it's a lot like Georgia. You can find rich Americans, poor Americans and Disney World in Florida. And most importantly you may spot Florida man or woman in the wild. And nothing is more American than them. 
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I'll throw another vote to Florida after living here a couple years.  The difference between Florida and the others mentioned is that here everyone's mixed together with "leans" in certain areas.  I don't have to go to a particular part of the state to experience X.....X is found all over the state and might have concentrations in different areas.  There is affluence mixed with poverty.  There is educated mixed with uneducated etc.  I don't "go to central Florida for...." or "go to southern Florida for...." if that makes any sense.

 
@squistion

California is definitely one of the most diverse states, but not necessarily representative of the country as a whole. Above, I did the variance of each group from the US total to show California is not representative. However, if we do the variance from "perfect diversity" (equal population in each category), California is the 2nd most diverse next to Hawaii. Iowa is 46th.

 
I think it has to be California because:

  • It's so large, both from a population but also from a total area perspective
  • You have various climates and topographies
  • You have all the major ethnicities and languages
  • You have several major cities including LA and Hollywood
  • You have Tanner
  • You have rednecks and all manner of groups
  • You have all religions represented in large numbers
  • You have several huge colleges & universities
  • You have Silicon Valley
  • You have an enormous economy
  • You have all major sports represented with many teams

 
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The Commish said:
I'll throw another vote to Florida after living here a couple years.  The difference between Florida and the others mentioned is that here everyone's mixed together with "leans" in certain areas.  I don't have to go to a particular part of the state to experience X.....X is found all over the state and might have concentrations in different areas.  There is affluence mixed with poverty.  There is educated mixed with uneducated etc.  I don't "go to central Florida for...." or "go to southern Florida for...." if that makes any sense.
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After watching Live PD, I'm going to need you to explain to me the mix in Pasco County.    :lol:

 
Ramblin Wreck said:
After watching Live PD, I'm going to need you to explain to me the mix in Pasco County.    :lol:
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I'll be honest...I don't even know where that county is.  If it's in the panhandle I had thought about throwing a huge disclaimer in my post regarding the panhandle.  It really is like a different state altogether best I can tell. :lol:    There seems to be an area between Gainesville and Pensacola that is not as "integrated" as the rest of the state?  I think that's the best way to say that. :scared:  

ETA:  And Clearwater area is it's own WTF is going on in this world section where Scientology seems to have taken over.  Such a weird thing to see.

 
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ffldrew said:
I would put Colorado up there - "America" was written from the top of Pike's Peak. You get the prairies,  mountains, Buffalo, Buffalo Bills grave, railroad history, mining history, 10th mountain division, Indian country nearby from Plains Indians to cliff dwellers - and weed. Walk into a store freedom and buy weed - what is more American than that. Only thing missing is a ton of African American diversity(but plenty of African American history) - you do however have a ton of Hispanic diversity with parts of it pre-dating the founding of our country, some interesting Asian history with the story of internment camps and Governor Ralph Carr. The state  tells the story of America pretty good IMO - with a visual sense of it's vastness.
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Don't forget the Supermax!

+1 for 10th Mtn Division shout out

 
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