What would the state capitals be if all were at the center of their states?

[jlam]

Colorado's geographic center is west of Colorado Springs, so it would make sense to place the capital there. The population center is near Ken Caryl; you could move it there, Lakewood, Littleton, or keep it in Denver. Anywhere in the southwestern Denver suburbs would work splendidly.

[mgk920]

Isn't Wisconsin's geographic center just south of Neillsville?

Mike

[mgk920]

What point did the USCensus Bureau determine to be the USA's centroid of population in the 2020 Census?

Mike

[Rothman]

New York-Syracuse
Utah-Provo

The meaning of "center" eludes you.

[Rothman]

I think if we're going to do this exercise, it should be "closest city to the geographic center that could feasibly be capital", not just "oh, here's a town of 10,000 people that's close". The OP had several good examples (Colorado Springs instead of something like Buena Vista).

Some others:
New Mexico - Albuquerque
Alaska - Fairbanks (much better option than Yukon River)
Minnesota - St. Cloud
Maine - Bangor
North Carolina - Greensboro
Oregon - Bend
Nebraska - Kearney/North Platte
Massachusetts - Worcester

If Carson City can be the capital of NV, then any rinkydink town can be a capital.

[tchafe1978]

Isn't Wisconsin's geographic center just south of Neillsville?

Mike

There is a town south of Marshfield, Pittsville, that has signs up claiming to be the geographical center of Wisconsin. At least it did last time I was through there a few years back.

[roadman65]

Louisiana's geographic center- near Marksville

Population center- New Roads

It's well known here but just amazing that majority of Louisiana's population is either below I-10/I-12 or just east of the Mississippi River.


iPhone

Well considering over 60 percent of New York's population is south of The Bronx- Westchester Border, that seems very likely.

[brad2971]

What point did the USCensus Bureau determine to be the USA's centroid of population in the 2020 Census?

Mike

Hartville, Missouri: https://www.noaa.gov/media-advisory/noaa-and-us-census-bureau-to-celebrate-new-us-center-of-population. It only moved 12 miles from its 2010 center near Plato in Texas County, MO.

[Revive 755]

Using the geographic centers and going off of Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_geographic_centers_of_the_United_States

* For Iowa, it would probably be a shifted version of Ames.  Wondering if this had happened if I-80 might have been built closer to US 30?

* Missouri would be around what Google Maps calls Etterville.

* Nebraska's would be Merna.

[webny99]

New York-Syracuse
...

The meaning of "center" eludes you.

For New York, I think I'd go further south and east. Syracuse works in terms of road connectivity and being a decent-sized city, but you could do better in terms of location. Oneonta, maybe.

[mgk920]

Louisiana's geographic center- near Marksville

Population center- New Roads

It's well known here but just amazing that majority of Louisiana's population is either below I-10/I-12 or just east of the Mississippi River.


iPhone

Well considering over 60 percent of New York's population is south of The Bronx- Westchester Border, that seems very likely.

ISTR that New York (state)'s centroid of population was somewhere in the area between Oneonta and Catskill, NY in 2000.  Remember that the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse metro areas are pretty far north and west and that will tend to balance out the population blop in the NYC area.

Mike

[mgk920]

What point did the USCensus Bureau determine to be the USA's centroid of population in the 2020 Census?

Mike

Hartville, Missouri: https://www.noaa.gov/media-advisory/noaa-and-us-census-bureau-to-celebrate-new-us-center-of-population. It only moved 12 miles from its 2010 center near Plato in Texas County, MO.

Right now, (barring any potential changes to the border between now and then) I'm expecting it to move a similar distance, or less, to the south or even a smidgen to the south-southEAST in 2030.

Mike

[J N Winkler]

Kansas-Salina (honestly that's probably not great, would Hutchinson be any better?)

What's wrong with Salina?  I mean, other than it being kind of a lousy town..

Salina is not a good choice since it's actually pretty far away from the geographic center of Kansas, which is at Bushton in Rice County.  Hutchinson is more or less equally distant.

The population centroid is in Chase County about three miles from Strong City (US 50/K-177 junction).  But--as a general rule--if this is used as the criterion for siting a state capital, then there has to be provision for it to move.  The US population centroid has moved all the way from Kent County, Maryland in 1790 to Wright County, Missouri in 2020.

[Takumi]

Virginia's would be Dillwyn.

[kirbykart]

Kansas-Salina (honestly that's probably not great, would Hutchinson be any better?)

What's wrong with Salina?  I mean, other than it being kind of a lousy town..

Salina is not a good choice since it's actually pretty far away from the geographic center of Kansas, which is at Bushton in Rice County.  Hutchinson is more or less equally distant.

The population centroid is in Chase County about three miles from Strong City (US 50/K-177 junction).  But--as a general rule--if this is used as the criterion for siting a state capital, then there has to be provision for it to move.  The US population centroid has moved all the way from Kent County, Maryland in 1790 to Wright County, Missouri in 2020.

That's what I meant about Salina not being great; I didn't know how central it was.

New York-Syracuse
Utah-Provo

The meaning of "center" eludes you.

The way the Interstates (and US Highways) are laid out sure makes Syracuse seem like the center of New York.


   This whole thing was to be a pointless hypothetical. I would neither want nor expect any of these changes, just an interesting idea.

(And I like JayhawkCO's interpretation of the prompt!)

[Dirt Roads]

West Virginia's geographic center is located near aptly-named Centralia.  But that locale has dwindled in population since the world's largest bandsaw sawmill shut down in 1937.  Historically, one would look to Braxton County's seat of Sutton as the next best location for a centralized capital, but I suspect that nearby Flatwoods would be a better choice in today's world.  It has the local high school, the regional jail, and an outlet mall.  Not to mention UFOs.

[kphoger]

People in rural areas are more used to driving to get somewhere, so I'm fine with the center being weighted toward high population.  I like the idea posted up-thread, to use the midpoint between the population centroid and the geographical center.

[hbelkins]

Kentucky's would be either Springfield or Lebanon, which are county seats 11 miles apart. The geographical center is in Marion County, near Lebanon, while the population center is in Washington County (the city of Willisburg, near Springfield.)

The biggest towns in that area are Campbellsville and Bardstown, if city size becomes a factor in the selection.

[vdeane]

Kansas-Salina (honestly that's probably not great, would Hutchinson be any better?)

What's wrong with Salina?  I mean, other than it being kind of a lousy town..

Salina is not a good choice since it's actually pretty far away from the geographic center of Kansas, which is at Bushton in Rice County.  Hutchinson is more or less equally distant.

The population centroid is in Chase County about three miles from Strong City (US 50/K-177 junction).  But--as a general rule--if this is used as the criterion for siting a state capital, then there has to be provision for it to move.  The US population centroid has moved all the way from Kent County, Maryland in 1790 to Wright County, Missouri in 2020.

That's what I meant about Salina not being great; I didn't know how central it was.

New York-Syracuse
Utah-Provo

The meaning of "center" eludes you.

The way the Interstates (and US Highways) are laid out sure makes Syracuse seem like the center of New York.


   This whole thing was to be a pointless hypothetical. I would neither want nor expect any of these changes, just an interesting idea.

(And I like JayhawkCO's interpretation of the prompt!)

Keep in mind that NY isn't just upstate, and has an odd shape at that.  Measuring from a given city to the farthest extremes of the state (NY/QC border at Lake Champlain, NY/PA border at the corner south of Lake Erie, and Montauk Point), Binghamton is actually more central (although still not the true center) despite being near the NY/PA border!

[webny99]

The meaning of "center" eludes you.

The way the Interstates (and US Highways) are laid out sure makes Syracuse seem like the center of New York.
...

Keep in mind that NY isn't just upstate, and has an odd shape at that.  Measuring from a given city to the farthest extremes of the state (NY/QC border at Lake Champlain, NY/PA border at the corner south of Lake Erie, and Montauk Point), Binghamton is actually more central (although still not the true center) despite being near the NY/PA border!

That's largely thanks to Lake Ontario. I-81 is central south of Syracuse, and I-90 is central east of Syracuse, but north and west of Syracuse is a different story. Other than the Rochester area and adjacent lakeshore counties, very little of the would-be northwest "quadrant" formed by I-81 and I-90 is actually a populated part of of New York. Most of it is either the lake, or belongs to Ontario.

So, that's one major factor dragging the center southeastward, and downstate (where 2/3 of the population is) drags it much further. Put it all together and Oneonta makes a lot of sense... and the population center would be even further southeast than that.

[kirbykart]

Casper for Wyoming?

SM-G996U

Probably. And that would make sense, because it's where the escalators are! (#StupidLogicBasedOnAFunFact)

[Bruce]

I like the idea posted up-thread, to use the midpoint between the population centroid and the geographical center.

Washington's would be on a slope overlooking Salmon La Sac, a collection of campgrounds in the Cascades north of Cle Elum. An alpine state capital would be fun, but pretty hard to access for the first few months of the legislative session.

[kphoger]

I like the idea posted up-thread, to use the midpoint between the population centroid and the geographical center.

Washington's would be on a slope overlooking Salmon La Sac, a collection of campgrounds in the Cascades north of Cle Elum. An alpine state capital would be fun, but pretty hard to access for the first few months of the legislative session.

Nice!

[Flint1979]

Michigan's capital is near the center of population in the state of Michigan. The center of population is right near Morrice which is in between flint and Lansing off of I-69. As for geographically the center of the state is in Wexford County near Cadillac. The center of the lower peninsula is in Gratiot County near St Louis.

[dlsterner]

I like the idea posted up-thread, to use the midpoint between the population centroid and the geographical center.

Washington's would be on a slope overlooking Salmon La Sac, a collection of campgrounds in the Cascades north of Cle Elum. An alpine state capital would be fun, but pretty hard to access for the first few months of the legislative session.

At least Washington's is on land.  Hawaii's geographic center is actually off shore.  Also hard to access for the first few months of the legislative session.