Eastern United States

The area ceded to the United States by Great Britain in 1783 (light brown) is universally recognized as the Eastern United States. Louisiana and Florida acquisitions were recognized as the Western and Southern frontiers in early days of the Republic. Although East of the Rockies, Texas is considered Western.

The Eastern Half of The United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in regional models that exclude a Central region. As of July 1, 2007, the estimated population of the 26 states east of the Mississippi (not including the small portions of Minnesota and Louisiana that are east of the river) plus the District of Columbia totals 171,222,291 out of 305,986,357 in the whole nation (including Puerto Rico and insular areas in the US but not in the East), or 55.95% of the US population. Sub-regions of the East include the Northeastern United States and the Southeastern United States.

The following is a list of the 24 largest cities in the East in alphabetical order; it does not reflect any preferential treatment to any city not listed:

Atlanta population: 519,145	Baltimore population: 637,455	Boston population: 599,351	Charlotte population: 671,588
Chicago population: 2,836,658	Cincinnati population: 332,458	Cleveland population: 438,042	Columbus population: 747,755
Detroit population: 916,952	Indianapolis population: 795,458	Jacksonville population: 805,605	Louisville population: 557,789
Memphis population: 674,028	Miami population: 409,719	Milwaukee population: 602,191	Nashville population: 590,807
New York City population: 8,274,527	Philadelphia population: 1,449,634	Pittsburgh population: 311,218	Raleigh population: 375,806
Tampa population: 336,823	Toledo population: 295,029	Virginia Beach population: 434,743	Washington, D.C. population: 588,292