Flyover country
Flyover country and flyover states are American phrases describing the parts of the United States between the East and the West Coasts. The terms, which are often used pejoratively, but sometimes used defensively, refer to the interior regions of the country passed over during transcontinental flights, particularly flights between the nation's two most populous urban agglomerations - the Northeastern Megalopolis and the Southern and Bay areas in California. Other regions, albeit less populated, that are sometimes considered part of the phenomenon are flights to and from the Pacific Northwest region, the Texas Triangle, as well as in general flights to and from all of the Megaregions in the US. The term is often used in reference to the general economic, developmental, cultural, and political differences between the urban coastal and rural central regions of the United States. "Flyover country" thus refers to the part of the country that some Americans, especially urban, middle- and upper-class, white-collar Americans, only view by air when traveling and never actually see in person at ground level.
Although the term is most commonly associated with states located in the geographic center of the country, the states with the most planes flying over without taking off or landing are located on the East Coast, with number one being Virginia, then Maryland, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
The circumstances surrounding alleged "flyover country" locations are prone to vary depending on changes related to urban development, business opportunity, and culture.
