We've assembled a collection of maps that illustrate who Americans are and how they live.

Geography matters — where we reside and where we come from affect many facets of our lives.

The US is a large, complex place, and maps can provide a big-picture sense of how we're doing as a community and as citizens.

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America is a massive, diverse, beautiful, and complicated place.

One of the best ways to understand a country like the US is through maps. Here at Business Insider, maps are a big part of how we cover the world, and that's because where we live and where we come from affect many facets of our lives. Maps provide a window into how places vary and how geography shapes us as individuals and as a nation. Maps like the ones below can provide a big-picture bird's-eye view of the country as a whole, illustrating what keeps us apart — and what brings us together.

As 2019 draws to a close, and with it a wild decade that saw the US change dramatically, we've put together a collection of maps that provide a sense of how the population is doing, both as a community and as individual citizens.

The maps focus on the 50 states and (in most cases) Washington, DC. They're all based on data from the past few years and provide a snapshot of contemporary America and its people's lives and beliefs.

Scroll down for the full list of maps, or click on one of the topics below to zoom to a section.



Who they are

How they live

What they believe

How they make money

How they spend money