The most conservative states are typically in the South and West. The least conservative states are in the Eastern part of the country and on the West Coast.

Where do people who call themselves liberals and conservatives live in the United States?  A new Gallup Poll shows Mississippi has the largest percentage of people who self-identify as conservatives, at 50.5%, followed by Idaho(48.5%) and Alabama (48.3%).

On the other end of the political spectrum, the District of Columbia (41.1%) has the most people who say they’re liberals, followed by Vermont (30.5%) and Rhode Island (29.3%).

Overall, conservatives outnumber liberals in every state, Gallup says. In the nation’s capital, more D.C. residents identify themselves as liberals.

Mississippi — where Republicans hold both U.S. Senate seats, the governorship and the state Senate — is the first state where more than half of its people call themselves conservatives, Gallup says.

Gallup’s Jeffrey Jones writes that the impact of how people identify themselves can be seen in how state governments are solving their political challenges, such as with budget deficits and dealings with union workers.

To come up with the rankings, Gallup interviewed 182,538 adults in 2010 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The margins of error for each state are up to plus or minus 6 percentage points, with most 3 points or less. The District of Columbia margin is plus or minus 7 points.

Via USA Today