Typical Characteristics of North New England

North New England region Map

The data from the State Similarity Index groups the Northeastern states of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine into the North New England region of the United States. Here are some of the characteristics that these three states share:

GEOGRAPHY
Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine have extremely similar geography. They are all located in the Appalachian Mountains, so their terrain is extremely hilly. However, their peaks are not as tall as those in the Rocky Mountains. The vast majority of the region is covered by broadleaf forests. As a result, they do not have very much farmland. This region is also less densely populated than the majority of states. Because these states are so far north, their climate is quite cold and they get a lot of snowfall. They all border Canada. Most of their water eventually flows to the Atlantic Ocean, although Vermont is landlocked.

DEMOGRAPHICS
Over 90 percent of the people in North New England are White. In fact, they are three of the least diverse states in the country. A high percentage of their people have Irish and English ancestry. However, these state have a much lower percentage of people with German ancestry than the Midwest region. These states also have the highest percentage of people with French heritage, since they border Quebec. Another unique characteristic is that Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine are the three states with the highest median age in the United States. They also have a relatively low rate of poverty.

CULTURE
This region is the least religious in the entire country. A low percentage of their people attend church weekly. They have a low percentage of Evangelical Protestants and a comparatively high percentage of Mainline Protestants and Catholics. These states never allowed slavery and were part of the union during the Civil War. In fact, two of the three states never prohibited interracial marriage. Furthermore, these states are some of the safest in the nation. They have extremely low rates of incarceration and homicide. Ice hockey is much more popular in this region than the rest of the country, while football is much less popular.

GOVERNMENT
Since 1992, the Democratic candidate for president has always won Vermont and Maine, while George W. Bush only won New Hampshire in 2000. Despite their preference for Democratic presidential candidates, the states in this region have all had both Democratic and Republican governors in the past 20 years. Independent candidates also tend to fair unusually well in this region. Two senators from this region are independent. Interestingly enough, Vermont and Maine are the only states that allow prisoners to vote. These states have few restrictions on abortion or surrogacy. However, unlike most liberal states, they have relatively few restrictions on guns.

Infrastructure
In North New England there are no skyscrapers and few people use public transportation, since most of their towns are small and land is not scarce. In these rural states, a high percentage of homes have their own septic systems and fuel oil is often their source of heating. Very few semi-trucks are on their roads, because the region is not a major hub of transporting goods. Unlike other mountainous regions, there is little mining in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Unlike the rest of the United States, a high percentage of their electricity is not created using fossil fuels. Hydro, wind, and nuclear power are their biggest sources of electricity. In addition, these states are all part of the Eastern Interconnection power grid.

North New England‘s Most Representative State: Maine (82.1 regional average)

Most Similar Region to North New England: BosWash region

(Statistics as of 2020)

List of states by region

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