12 questions · Ohio to the Dakotas · score tracked
Midwest states map quiz
The twelve Census Midwest states are asked in random order; click each on the map. The Great Lakes states are easy to place, the plains states less so.
How the quiz works
Twelve states are in the pool: the five East North Central states around the Great Lakes (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin) and the seven West North Central states of the plains (Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas). Each is asked once. Click the named state; a correct answer turns green, a wrong one counts as a miss, and after three misses the answer is shown. Kentucky is not in the set — the Census puts it in the South, although it borders four Midwest states across the Ohio River.
Study list: the 12 states
| State | Code | Capital | Census division |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | IL | Springfield | East North Central |
| Indiana | IN | Indianapolis | East North Central |
| Iowa | IA | Des Moines | West North Central |
| Kansas | KS | Topeka | West North Central |
| Michigan | MI | Lansing | East North Central |
| Minnesota | MN | Saint Paul | West North Central |
| Missouri | MO | Jefferson City | West North Central |
| Nebraska | NE | Lincoln | West North Central |
| North Dakota | ND | Bismarck | West North Central |
| Ohio | OH | Columbus | East North Central |
| South Dakota | SD | Pierre | West North Central |
| Wisconsin | WI | Madison | East North Central |
Tips for telling them apart
- Michigan is the mitten. The Upper Peninsula is the part above Wisconsin. Wisconsin is west of Lake Michigan, with a thumb (the Door Peninsula) pointing north-east.
- Ohio, Indiana, Illinois run west from Pennsylvania in that order, each with the Ohio River as its southern edge. Ohio is the rounded one; Indiana is the narrow one; Illinois is the tall one with the pointed bottom where the Ohio meets the Mississippi at Cairo.
- Minnesota has the flat top and the small bump (the Northwest Angle) that is the northernmost point of the contiguous US. Iowa is directly below it, between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.
- Missouri is below Iowa with a boot heel dropping into Arkansas. Its capital Jefferson City is neither Kansas City nor St. Louis.
- The Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas stack from north to south along the west side of the region. North and South Dakota are near-rectangles of almost equal size; Nebraska has a notch cut from its north-east corner by the Missouri River; Kansas is the plain rectangle with a small bite from the north-east.
- Count along the Missouri River: it forms borders for South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, all in this quiz.
Related pages
- Midwest states map — the region with populations and capitals.
- East North Central, West North Central and Great Lakes maps.
- Blank US map to practise on paper, with the labeled map as the key.