As one of two subregional divisions used to categorize the Midwest, East North Central closely matches the area of the Northwest Territory, excluding a portion of Minnesota.

The East North Central states also form a large part of the Great Lakes region,[2] although the latter also includes Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and the Canadian province of Ontario.

The Great Lakes bordering the area provide access to the Atlantic Ocean via the Great Lakes Waterway and St. Lawrence Seaway, or by the Erie Canal and the Hudson River, or via the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River and the Illinois Waterway.

[4] During European colonization of the Americas, the modern-day East North Central states was occupied by numerous American Indian tribes; with the introduction of European Americans into the region, it was divided between the British colonial empire in America and New France.

The western portion of this region formed part of French Louisiana,[5][6] and following U.S. independence, the eastern half was ceded to the United States from Great Britain.

[2] As half of the Midwest, the majority of it shares a humid continental climate, and many of its coastal settlements encounter lake effect snow during the winter.