If X marks the spot and the spot is the exact middle of America, that X would be in a tiny town in Missouri which is officially as "middle" as it gets thanks to the US census.

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Hartville, Missouri is located in the Missouri Ozarks with a mighty population of 594 according to Wikipedia. It first got a post office way back in 1842 and other than a Civil War battle in 1863 isn't known for much...until now. Robert Santos of the US Census Bureau was in Hartville, Missouri this week to officially declare that this unassuming Missouri town is the population center of the United States of America.

He says that the center of America has moved over 900 miles over the past two centuries. The idea is that the population on one side of America is equal to the population on the other side of America if the center is Hartville, Missouri. Confused? he explained it like balancing a teeter totter on one central location where it doesn't tip more to the one side than the other. Profound.

Since this is based on the census of 2020 and the center is determined every 10 years, even with my limited math skills I can say confidently that Hartville will hold this title until at least 2030 (or 2031) since the 2030 census won't be immediately tabulated.

Some may call it flyover country, but the official designation is middle of America. Fly that flag proudly Hartville, Missouri.

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