Western United States

==Demographics==
[[File:Ethnic Origins in the Western United States.png|thumb|Ethnic origins in the Western U.S.]]The population distribution by race in the Western United States (2010):<ref name=AFFRaceHispOrigin2010>{{cite web|title=Race and Hispanic or Latino Origin: 2010|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/QTP3/0200000US4|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212201911/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/QTP3/0200000US4|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 12, 2020|website=American Fact Finder|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=November 25, 2014}}</ref>
* 66.4% [[White Americans|White]]
* 28.6% [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (of any race)
* 9.3% [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
* 4.8% [[African Americans|Black]] or [[African Americans|African-American]]
* 1.9% [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]] or [[Alaska Natives|Alaska Native]]
* 0.6% [[Pacific Islander American|Pacific Islander]]
* 12.4% [[Race and ethnicity in the United States|Some other race]]
* 4.6% [[Multiracial Americans|Two or more races]]

As defined by the [[United States Census Bureau]], the Western [[region]] of the United States includes 13 states,<ref name=CensusRegionsMap /> with a total 2020 population of 78,588,572.<ref name="Census2020"/>

The West is one of the most sparsely settled areas in the United States with {{convert|49.5|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|inhabitants&nbsp;|inhabitants|}}. Only [[Texas]] with {{convert|78.0|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|inhabitants|inhabitants|abbr=on}}, [[Washington (state)|Washington]] with {{convert|86.0|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|inhabitants|inhabitants|abbr=on}}, and [[California]] with {{convert|213.4|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|inhabitants|inhabitants|abbr=on}} exceed the national average of {{convert|77.98|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|inhabitants|inhabitants|abbr=on}}.

[[File:American West census maps.png|thumb|center|upright=4.25|These maps from the 2000 US Census highlight differences from state to state of three minority groups. Most of the American Indian, Hispanic, and Asian population is in the West.]]

The entire Western region has also been strongly influenced by [[European Americans|European]], [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]], [[Asian Americans|Asian]] and [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]; it contains the largest number of minorities in the U.S. While most of the studies of racial dynamics in America such as riots in [[Los Angeles]] have been written about [[European Americans|European]] and [[African-Americans]], in many cities in the West and [[California]], [[White Americans|whites]] and [[African Americans|blacks]] together are less than half the population because of the preference for the region by [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanics]] and [[Asian Americans|Asians]]. [[African Americans|African]] and [[European Americans|European]] Americans, however, continue to wield a stronger political influence because of the lower rates of citizenship and voting among [[Asian Americans|Asians]] and [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanics]].

The West also contains much of the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] population in the U.S., particularly in the large [[Indian reservation|reservations]] in the [[Mountain States|Mountain]] and [[Great Basin Desert|Desert States]].

The largest concentrations for [[African-Americans]] in the West can be found in [[San Diego]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]], [[Fresno]], [[San Francisco]], [[Seattle]], [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]], [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], [[Las Vegas]], [[Denver]], and [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]].

The Western United States has a higher [[Human sex ratio|sex ratio]] (more [[male]]s than [[female]]s) than any other region in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/people/a_gender.html |title=Gender in the United States |website=nationalatlas.gov |access-date=October 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051018165404/http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/people/a_gender.html |archive-date=October 18, 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Because the tide of development had not yet reached most of the West when [[Conservation (ethic)|conservation]] became a national issue, agencies of the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]] own and manage vast areas of land. (The most important among these are the [[National Park Service]] and the [[Bureau of Land Management]] within the [[United States Department of the Interior|Interior Department]], and the [[United States Forest Service|U.S. Forest Service]] within the [[United States Department of Agriculture|Agriculture Department]].) [[National park]]s are reserved for recreational activities such as [[fishing]], [[camping]], [[hiking]], and [[boating]], but other government lands also allow commercial activities like [[ranch]]ing, [[logging]], and [[mining]]. In recent years, some local residents who earn their livelihoods on federal land have come into conflict with the land's managers, who are required to keep land use within environmentally acceptable limits.

The largest city in the region is [[Los Angeles]], located on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]]. Other [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] cities include [[San Diego]], [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]], [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], [[San Francisco]], [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], [[Bakersfield, California|Bakersfield]], [[Fresno]], [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]], [[Seattle]], [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]], [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]], and [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]] – some of which are dozens of miles inland. Prominent cities in the [[Mountain States]] include [[Denver]], [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]], [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]], [[Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque]], [[Las Vegas]], [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]], [[Salt Lake City]], [[Boise, Idaho|Boise]], [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]], and [[Billings, Montana|Billings]].