Culture

22 maps that explain America

By Andy Kiersz
US satellite map night
NASA/GSFC
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At Business Insider, we love maps. There is no better way to convey data about people and places than with a map.

To that end, we've put together 22 maps that explain various economic, social, demographic, and linguistic aspects of the United States of America. Check them out.

Rob Wile contributed to an earlier version of this post.

This map shows jobs that are held at a much higher rate in each state than in the country as a whole.

occupation location quotients map 2015
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Bureau of Labor Statistics

And here are jobs that pay much more in a state than they do in the country as a whole.

disproportionately high paying job state map
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Bureau of Labor Statistics

America's population is always dynamic. This map shows overall population change between 2014 and 2015, and the next few maps show the various components of that change.

total county population change 2016
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from US Census Bureau

Counties in oil-heavy regions and the west saw many more people born than dying, while Appalachian and northern counties had the opposite.

natural change county map 2016
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from US Census Bureau

Coastal cities like San Francisco, New York, and Miami all had a lot of immigration from other countries.

net international migration county map 2016
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from US Census Bureau

Counties in the northeast saw more people move out than move in, while the south, especially Texas and Florida, had a major influx of domestic movers.

domestic migration county 2016
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from US Census Bureau

Here were the most popular names for baby boys in 2015 in every state. William was quite popular in the southeast while Noah cleaned up in the southwest.

boys names 2015
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Social Security Administration

And here are the girls' names. Emma dominated the middle of the country.

girls names 2015
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Social Security Administration

Educational inequality still exists in the US. Large parts of the south still have relatively low high school graduation rates.

high school graduation rates map
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from 2010-2014 American Community Survey

The US government owns a bunch of land out West. Purple dots represent federally owned land.

Fed lands map
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from USGS

Marriage is much more common in the heartland than in the northeast and a few other states.

2015 marriage map
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Minnesota Population Center

Age varies among the nation's counties. Northern areas tend to be older, while southern and western counties have lower median ages.

county median age residents
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from US Census Bureau

Large publicly traded companies have their headquarters scattered among the states.

biggest corporation in every state
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Fortune

The US economy is so large that the GDP of individual states is often comparable to entire other countries.

StateGDP
AEI

Income inequality varies widely among the states.

state income ratios
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Economic Policy Institute

And income for millennials also widely varies.

millennial median income state map
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Minnesota Population Center

While the pay gap between men and women affects Americans across the country, that gap is worse in some states than others.

gender pay gap state map
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from US Census Bureau

The cost of living varies widely across the US, with big coastal cities much more expensive than inland and more rural areas.

regional price parities 2014
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Bureau of Economic Analysis

Here's the country that each state exports the most goods to.

exports state map
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from US Census Bureau

And the country each state imports the most goods from.

state import trade partners map
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from US Census Bureau

Half of the US population lives in a handful of super-dense counties.

haf of US population county map
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from US Census Bureau

New York is one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities. Here's the most commonly spoken language in each NYC neighborhood aside from English or Spanish.

most common nyc non english langauge excluding spanish
Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from 2012 American Community Survey PUMS

NOW CHECKOUT: 16 charts that show why America is the most amazing country in the world

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Andy Kiersz
Andy Kiersz
Andy is a senior economic data editor at Business Insider. He helps lead the economy team, focusing on our coverage of economic and other data, economic trends, the labor market, affordability, and the Fed.He studied mathematics at the University of Chicago and Purdue University.
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