West Coast of the United States

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Regional definitions vary from source to source. The states shown in dark red are usually included, while all or portions of the light red states may or may not be considered part of the West Coast.

The "West Coast", "Western Seaboard", or "Pacific Seaboard" are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. It is most often comprised of California, Oregon and Washington. Arizona and Nevada, while not coastal states, are often included due to their proximity to the Pacific Coast and their economic and cultural ties to California (such as Arizona's two largest universities which are members of the Pacific 10 Conference).

Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean and could be included in the "West Coast". As of 2007, the estimated population of the West Coast ranged from approximately 50–60 million, depending on which states are included in the estimate.^[1]

The West Coast is sometimes simply referred to as "the Coast", an older term thought to have arisen in the Northeastern United States. The West Coast is also sometimes jokingly referred to as the "Left Coast," a pun based on its reputation for being more politically left-wing than some other parts of the United States.

Major coastal cities on the West Coast include San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Anchorage and Honolulu. Major non-coastal cities include Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada, Portland, Oregon, Sacramento, California and Fresno, California.