One of the many mysteries of The Simpsons is the exact location of their beloved town of Springfield. There are many populated places named Springfield in the United States but none of them seem to fit with the characteristics and descriptions of The Simpsons’ town. The series has addressed this in its peculiar sense of humor, adding further contradicting descriptions, interrupting conversational references, or simply obscuring or blocking the view of map representations, thus leaving its true location a mystery.
Because The Simpsons’ Springfield has been shown to have a bit of everything, from gorges and desserts to beaches, and the size of it has also been inconsistent (Lisa once said West Springfield is “three times the size of Texas”), the town can’t be placed in a specific location within the U.S. The mystery of Springfield’s place on the map has become a running gag that even Matt Groening and company have taken advantage of when attending conventions, and truth is that Springfield isn’t really meant to be in one area of the real life map of the U.S.
Still, many fans have dedicated their time to try to come up with possible locations for The Simpsons’ Springfield, which is very tricky given the aforementioned characteristics. By elimination process, there are a couple of states that could be the home to Springfield... if only they were slightly bigger (you know, to fit an area as big as West Springfield).
States The Simpsons’ Springfield Can’t Be In (& Why)
Many states have been mentioned or shown in both Ned Flanders tells Bart that the state where Springfield is happens to be bordered by the states of Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Kentucky. This is impossible given that only Ohio and Kentucky are actual neighboring states, but it rules them out as possible locations. YouTube TheRealJims compiled all references in the series to other states, narrowing down the list considerably.
The Simpsons drive to Alaska inMuch Apu About Nothing”, Lisa is about to show Apu and Homer where Springfield is on the map, only for viewers to be blocked by Bart. However, it’s clear that Lisa is pointing somewhere in the middle of the map, leaving the West Coast behind (even if Springfield is near an ocean), along with Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, and a big part of the East Coast. Other states that are out are Alabama and Minnesota, as in the episode “Mr. Lisa Goes To Washington” there are other kids representing these states.
All the states the Simpsons have visited in different episodes are also ruled out, such as Michigan, Tennessee, and Florida, and the family mentions at some point that the two states they can consider for vacation in the future are North Dakota and South Dakota. In “Kiss Kiss Bangalore”, Homer thinks he’s traveling to Indiana but it’s actually India, which leaves the state of Indiana out of the list. Iowa, West Virginia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Georgia, New Mexico, Colorado, South Carolina, Mississippi, Wisconsin, and Missouri are also out as they are mentioned by different characters as states different to theirs. Texas can’t be the one either as Chief Wiggum mentions in “Who Shot Mr. Burns” that it’s the only state that might try Maggie for shooting Burns.
Taking all those references into , that leaves the following states out of the list of possible locations for Springfield:
- Ohio
- Nevada
- Maine
- Kentucky
- Alaska
- Hawaii
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- Idaho
- Utah
- Arizona
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Pennsylvania
- Maryland
- Delaware
- New Jersey
- New York
- Washington D.C
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Massachusetts
- Rhode Island
- Connecticut
- Alabama
- Minnesota
- Michigan
- Tennessee
- Florida
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Iowa
- West Virginia
- Louisiana
- North Carolina
- Georgia
- New Mexico
- Colorado
- South Carolina
- Mississippi
- Wisconsin
- Missouri
- Texas
Where The Simpsons’ Springfield Can Be
The previous list leaves six possible locations: Virginia, Illinois, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska – although depending on who you talk to, all of them would also be ruled out due to Springfield having both beaches and deserts. However, others will argue that they shouldn’t be left out that easily as, funny enough, these states haven’t been mentioned in the series (except for a joke about Oklahoma, which makes it debatable). With these six states as the last ones standing, it’s up to every Simpsons fan to pick their winner depending on the details about Springfield they want to accept. For example, if they want to stick to Springfield being connected to an ocean, then it would be located in Virginia.
Speaking of Virginia, there’s another detail that TheRealJims points out that can rule this state out completely. The Simpsons has many references to the Civil War, and has stated Springfield was part of the Union and not the Confederacy. If this is taken into , then the only possible states are Arkansas and Illinois. This last one seems to fit the descriptions of Springfield best as it gets a consistent amount of snow during the winter, it connects to a lake (even if the series shows an ocean. This detail is the source of many debates among Simpsons fans), and there have been a couple of images in the series that imply the town is in Illinois, albeit a very big version of it.
However, the best option might be that of the fictional state of North Takoma. David Silverman, director of The Simpsons’ Springfield located” is that there’s no answer. Groening and company have had a lot of fun making Springfield an impossible state, and it could be that the U.S. doesn’t have the same geographic division in the series as it does in real life, making it possible for Springfield to have such large and diverse areas. For now (and quite possibly until the end of the series and beyond), Springfield’s location is an impossible and mysterious one.