Located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States of America. According to the most recent information provided by the American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau, Maryland is the second wealthiest state in the United States. Maryland is classified as a South-Atlantic state. It is also commonly referred to as a Mid Atlantic state. It was the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution. Its history as a border state has led it to exhibit characteristics of both the Northern and Southern regions of the United States. As a general rule, the rural areas of Maryland &emdash; such as Western, Southern, and Eastern Maryland &emdash; are more Southern in culture, while densely-populated Central Maryland &emdash;- areas in the Baltimore and the Washington Beltway Regions &emdash;- exhibit more Northern characteristics.