Western United States

==Geographic definition==
{{Further|American frontier}}
[[File:HerdQuit.jpg|thumb|While the West is defined by many occupations, the American [[cowboy]] is often used as an icon of the region, here portrayed by [[Charles Marion Russell|C. M. Russell]].]]
[[File:Monument Valley road.jpg|thumb|The West, as the most recently settled part of the United States, is often known for broad highways and open space. Pictured is a road in Utah to [[Monument Valley]] on the [[Navajo Nation]].]]
The Western United States is the largest region of the country, covering nearly half the land area of the contiguous [[United States]]. It is also the most geographically diverse, incorporating geographic regions such as the [[temperate rainforest]]s of the [[Pacific Northwest|Northwest]], the highest mountain ranges, including the [[Rocky Mountains]], the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]], and the [[Cascade Range]], numerous [[list of glaciers in the United States|glaciers]], and the western edge of the [[Great Plains]]. It also contains the majority of the desert areas located in the United States. The [[Mojave Desert|Mojave]] and the [[Great Basin Desert|Great Basin]] deserts lie entirely within the Western region, along with parts of the [[Sonoran Desert|Sonoran]] and [[Chihuahuan Desert|Chihuahuan]] deserts (the latter extends significantly into Texas, while both extend into [[Mexico]]). Given this expansive and diverse geography it is no wonder the region is difficult to define precisely. Sensing a possible shift in the popular understanding of the West as a region in the early 1990s, historian Walter Nugent conducted a survey of three groups of professionals with ties to the region: a large group of Western historians (187 respondents), and two smaller groups, 25 journalists and publishers and 39 Western authors.<ref name="Nugent1992">{{cite journal|last1=Nugent|first1=Walter|title=Where Is the American West? Report on a Survey|journal=Montana The Magazine of Western History|date=Summer 1992|volume=42|issue=3|pages=2–23|jstor=4519496}}</ref> A majority of the historian respondents placed the eastern boundary of the West east of the Census definition out on the eastern edge of the [[Great Plains]] or on the [[Mississippi River]]. The survey respondents as a whole showed just how little agreement there was on the boundaries of the West.

===Subregions===
The region is split into two smaller units or divisions, by the U.S. Census Bureau:<ref name="CensusRegionsMap">{{cite web|title=Census Regions and Divisions of the United States|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/maps/pdfs/reference/us_regdiv.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053705/https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/maps/pdfs/reference/us_regdiv.pdf|archive-date=September 21, 2013|access-date=November 25, 2014|website=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref>

; [[Mountain states]]: [[Montana]], [[Wyoming]], [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]], [[Idaho]], [[Utah]], [[Arizona]], and [[Nevada]]
; [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific states]]: [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Oregon]], [[California]], [[Alaska]], and [[Hawaii]]

Other classifications distinguish between [[Southwestern United States|Southwest]] and [[Northwestern United States|Northwest]]. Arizona, New Mexico, [[West Texas]], and the [[Oklahoma panhandle]] are typically considered to be the Southwest states. Meanwhile, the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington can be considered part of the Northwest or [[Pacific Northwest]].

The term [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] is commonly used to refer to just California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, whereas Hawaii is more geographically isolated from the [[Continental America|continental U.S.]] and does not necessarily fit in any of these [[subregion]]s.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
![[List of states and territories of the United States|State]]
!2020 Census<ref name="Census2020" />
!2010 Census<ref>{{cite web|url=http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php |title=Resident Population Data: Population Change |date=December 23, 2010 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=December 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225031104/http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php |archive-date=December 25, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
!Change
!Area<br /><ref name="20177766775 ggfghhnnyyhhnnjuuijjyyknnbbnnnjii9jmnhijj0census" />
!Density
|-
|{{flag|Arizona}}
| {{change|invert=on|7151502|6392017}}
|{{convert|113594.08|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|7151502|113594.08|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|Colorado}}
| {{change|invert=on|5773714|5029196}}
|{{convert|103641.89|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|5773714|103641.89|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|Utah}}
| {{change|invert=on|3271616|2763885}}
|{{convert|82169.62|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|3271616|82169.62|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|Nevada}}
| {{change|invert=on|3104614|2700551}}
|{{convert|109781.18|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|3104614|109781.18|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|New Mexico}}
| {{change|invert=on|2117522|2059179}}
|{{convert|121298.15|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|2117522|121298.15|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|Idaho}}
| {{change|invert=on|1839106|1567582}}
|{{convert|82643.12|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|1839106|82643.12|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|Montana}}
| {{change|invert=on|1084225|989415}}
|{{convert|145545.80|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|1084225|145545.80|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|Wyoming}}
| {{change|invert=on|576851|563626}}
|{{convert|97093.14|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|576851|97093.14|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|- class="sortbottom" style="background:#fbfbbb"
|'''Mountain'''
| {{change|invert=on|24919150|22065451|bgcolour=#fbfbbb}}
|{{convert|855766.98|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|24919150|855766.98|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|California}}
| {{change|invert=on|39538223|37254523}}
|{{convert|155779.22|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|39538223|155779.22|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|Washington}}
| {{change|invert=on|7705281|6724540}}
|{{convert|66455.52|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|7705281|66455.52|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|Oregon}}
| {{change|invert=on|4237256|3831074}}
|{{convert|95988.01|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|4237256|95988.01|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|Hawaii}}
| {{change|invert=on|1455271|1360301}}
|{{convert|6422.63|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|1455271|6422.63|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|Alaska}}
| {{change|invert=on|733391|710231}}
|{{convert|570640.95|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|733391|570640.95|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|- class="sortbottom" style="background:#fbfbbb"
|'''Pacific'''
| {{change|invert=on|53669422|49880669|bgcolour=#fbfbbb}}
|{{convert|895286.33|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|53669422|895286.33|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|-
|- class="sortbottom" style="background:#fbfbbb"
|'''West'''
| {{change|invert=on|78588572|71946120|bgcolour=#fbfbbb}}
|{{convert|1751053.31|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|78588572|1751053.31|sqmi|km2|prec=0}}
|}

=== Outlying areas ===
[[File:Ofu_Beach_American_Samoa_US_National_Park_Service.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Ofu Beach on [[Ofu-Olosega|Ofu Island]] in [[American Samoa]]]]
The three inhabited [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] [[Territories of the United States|U.S. territories]] ([[American Samoa]], [[Guam]] and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]]) are sometimes considered part of the Western United States. American Samoa is in [[Polynesia]] in the [[South Pacific Ocean]], while Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are in the [[Mariana Islands]] in the western [[North Pacific Ocean]]. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands have district courts within the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|9th Circuit]], which includes western states such as California and Nevada.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/judicial_council/what_is_the_ninth_circuit.php |website =United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit|publisher= ca9.uscourts.gov|title = What Is The Ninth Circuit?}}</ref> (See [[District Court of Guam]] and [[District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands]]). American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands are also considered part of the western U.S. by the [[U.S. National Park Service]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/partnerships/contactus.htm |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |title=Contact Us |access-date=September 9, 2019}}</ref> the [[Federal Reserve Bank]] system,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/federal-reserve-system-san-francisco.htm |title=Federal Reserve Banks |publisher=United States Federal Reserve |access-date=September 9, 2019}}</ref> [[FEMA]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fema.gov/fema-region-ix-recovery-division |title=FEMA Region IX: Recovery Division |access-date=June 30, 2020 |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701011430/https://www.fema.gov/fema-region-ix-recovery-division |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1152/ |title=Proceedings of a Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning Workshop for the Western United States |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=July 6, 2020}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
![[Territories of the United States|Territory]]
!2020 Population<br />Estimate<br /><ref name="AS">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/american-samoa/ American Samoa]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].</ref><ref name="GU">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/guam/ Guam]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].</ref><ref name="MP">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/northern-mariana-islands/ Northern Mariana Islands]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].</ref>
!2010 Census<br /> population<ref>American FactFinder. 2010 U.S. Census. Retrieved September 9, 2019.</ref>
!Change
!Area<br /><ref name="AS" /><ref name="GU" /><ref name="MP" />
!Density
|-
|{{flag|American Samoa}}
|{{change|invert=on|49,437 |55,519}}
|{{convert|224|km2|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|49437|224|km2|sqmi|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|Guam}}
|{{change|invert=on|168,485|159,358}}
|{{convert|544|km2|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|168485|544|km2|sqmi|prec=0}}
|-
|{{flag|Northern Mariana Islands}}
|{{change|invert=on|51,433|53,833}}
|{{convert|464|km2|abbr=on}}
|{{Pop density|51433|464|km2|sqmi|prec=0}}
|}