South Atlantic states

The South Atlantic United States form one of the nine Census Bureau Divisions within the United States that are recognized by the United States Census Bureau. This region, U.S. Census Bureau Region 3, Division 5, corresponds to the South (states/areas that were geographically part of the Thirteen Colonies) with the addition of Florida.

Terminology

The name of the census division does not refer to the South Atlantic Ocean, but rather to its location along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Farther north are the Census-defined Middle Atlantic and New England (or North Atlantic) states.

Geography

This division includes eight states and one district; Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.^[1] This division is also a recognized geographical division used by the United States Geological Survey.^[2]^: 2 All entities within the region apart from the District of Columbia and West Virginia border the North Atlantic Ocean.

Together with the East South Central States (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee) and the West South Central states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas), the South Atlantic states constitute the United States Census Bureau's broader Census Bureau Region of the South (the other three regions being the Northeast, Midwest and West, all of which have two divisions).

Demographics

As of 2010, the South Atlantic states had a combined population of 61,774,970. The South Atlantic states region covers 292,589 square miles (757,800 km²). With the exception of West Virginia, the region has seen rapid population growth and economic development in recent decades.

**States and Federal District in the South Atlantic**
State	2020 census	Land area
Delaware	989,948	1,982
Florida	21,538,187	65,755
Georgia	10,711,908	59,425
Maryland	6,177,224	12,407
North Carolina	10,439,388	53,819
South Carolina	5,118,435	32,020
Virginia	8,631,393	42,774
West Virginia	1,793,716	24,230
Washington, D.C.	689,545	177

**Ten largest cities by population in the South Atlantic states region**
	City	2020 census
1	Jacksonville, Florida	949,611
2	Charlotte, North Carolina	874,579
3	Washington, D.C.	689,545
4	Baltimore, Maryland	585,708
5	Atlanta, Georgia	498,715
6	Raleigh, North Carolina	467,665
7	Virginia Beach, Virginia	459,470
8	Miami, Florida	442,241
9	Tampa, Florida	384,959
10	Orlando, Florida	307,573

**Largest metropolitan statistical areas in the region**
	Metro area	2020 census
1	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA	6,385,162
2	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA MSA	6,220,106
3	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL MSA	6,138,333
4	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA	3,175,275
5	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD MSA	2,844,510
6	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA	2,673,376
7	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC MSA	2,660,329
8	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA	1,799,674
9	Jacksonville, FL MSA	1,605,848
10	Raleigh-Cary, NC MSA	1,413,982

Politics

Parties
Nonpartisan	Democratic-Republican	Democratic	Nullifier	Whig	Republican	Liberal Republican	Dixiecrat	American Independent

Bold denotes election winner.
Note: Election results for the Upper South Atlantic States (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.) are included in the table of the Mid-Atlantic states article.

Year	Florida	Georgia	North Carolina	South Carolina
Presidential electoral votes in the Lower South Atlantic States since 1789
1789	No election	Washington	No election	Washington
1792	No election	Washington	Washington	Washington
1796	No election	Jefferson	Jefferson	Jefferson
1800	No election	Jefferson	Jefferson	Jefferson
1804	No election	Jefferson	Jefferson	Jefferson
1808	No election	Madison	Madison	Madison
1812	No election	Madison	Madison	Madison
1816	No election	Monroe	Monroe	Monroe
1820	No election	Monroe	Monroe	Monroe
1824	No election	Crawford	Jackson	Jackson
1828	No election	Jackson	Jackson	Jackson
1832	No election	Jackson	Jackson	Floyd
1836	No election	White	Van Buren	Magnum
1840	No election	Harrison	Harrison	Van Buren
1844	No election	Polk	Clay	Polk
1848	Taylor	Taylor	Taylor	Cass
1852	Pierce	Pierce	Pierce	Pierce
1856	Buchanan	Buchanan	Buchanan	Buchanan
1860	Breckinridge	Breckinridge	Breckinridge	Breckinridge
1864	No election	No election	No election	No election
1868	Grant	Seymour	Grant	Grant
1872	Grant	Brown	Grant	Grant
1876	Hayes	Tilden	Tilden	Hayes
1880	Hancock	Hancock	Hancock	Hancock
1884	Cleveland	Cleveland	Cleveland	Cleveland
1888	Cleveland	Cleveland	Cleveland	Cleveland
1892	Cleveland	Cleveland	Cleveland	Cleveland
1896	Bryan	Bryan	Bryan	Bryan
1900	Bryan	Bryan	Bryan	Bryan
1904	Parker	Parker	Parker	Parker
1908	Bryan	Bryan	Bryan	Bryan
1912	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson
1916	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson	Wilson
1920	Cox	Cox	Cox	Cox
1924	Davis	Davis	Davis	Davis
1928	Hoover	Smith	Hoover	Smith
1932	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1936	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1940	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1944	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt	Roosevelt
1948	Truman	Truman	Truman	Thurmond
1952	Eisenhower	Stevenson	Stevenson	Stevenson
1956	Eisenhower	Stevenson	Stevenson	Stevenson
1960	Nixon	Kennedy	Kennedy	Kennedy
1964	Johnson	Goldwater	Johnson	Goldwater
1968	Nixon	Wallace	Nixon	Nixon
1972	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon	Nixon
1976	Carter	Carter	Carter	Carter
1980	Reagan	Carter	Reagan	Reagan
1984	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan	Reagan
1988	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush
1992	Bush	Clinton	Bush	Bush
1996	Clinton	Dole	Dole	Dole
2000	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush
2004	Bush	Bush	Bush	Bush
2008	Obama	McCain	Obama	McCain
2012	Obama	Romney	Romney	Romney
2016	Trump	Trump	Trump	Trump
2020	Trump	Biden	Trump	Trump
Year	Florida	Georgia	North Carolina	South Carolina