The Simpsons live in Kentucky as I saw in a Simpsons special episode where a narrator said "But what opportunities may confront this family from Kentucky?" also, in an episode where they go to Italy and find out that Sideshow Bob is Mayor of Rome, Homer gives an elderly woman with a goat, a mug that said "Kentucky" on it, and she slaps him, saying that in Italian, Kentucky is a swear word.
There is never a state given.
The short answer is that Springfield does not exist. It doesn't have a real state, and the fact that it has no state is nothing more than a running gag. Springfield is more like "Anytown, USA". It's as if all of America was compressed into a single town, or a single state. Springfield is everywhere and nowhere.
Proof? No state's capital city is called "Capital City". No state's motto is "Not just another state". And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There is an enormous number of geographical contradictions between episodes which make it impossible for Springfield to actually exist in any real American state.
Still, there's no harm in looking. This document attempts to record all the evidence - direct and indirect, contradictory or not - for Springfield's whereabouts. Some parts of Springfield and the wider Simpsons universe do exist in the real world, so we also list places where fantasy and reality appear to cross.
There are an enormous number of real Springfields; this is intentional. Rohit Gupta writes, "I'm from Springfield, Illinois, and one of the local papers recently had an interview with Matt Groening. In it he was asked about 'Springfield' and he replied that he chose it because it is one of the most common city names." Springfield isn't the most common city name in America; Fairview beats it, with 275 Fairviews in 42 states (and Puerto Rico), but Springfields do indeed exist in almost every American state. As our source of data we use the United States Geographical Survey search engine, which according to Andrew Gill, returned the following 71 Springfields in 36 states and possessions:
Springfield, Alabama x4
Springfield, Arkansas x2
Springfield, California
Springfield, Colorado
Springfield, Florida x2
Springfield, Georgia x9
Springfield, Idaho
Springfield, Iowa
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Indiana x2
Springfield, Kentucky
Springfield, Louisiana
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield, Maryland x4
Springfield, Maine
Springfield, Michigan x2
Springfield, Minnesota
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Mississippi
Springfield, North Carolina x4
Springfield, Nebraska
Springfield, New Hampshire
Springfield, New Jersey x2
Springfield, New York
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield, Oregon
Springfield, Pennsylvania x2
Springfield, South Carolina x3
Springfield, South Dakota
Springfield, Tennessee x2
Springfield, Texas x3
Springfield, Virginia x8
Springfield, Virgin Islands
Springfield, Vermont
Springfield, Wisconsin
Springfield, West Virginia
Comment
The Simpsons live in Kentucky as I saw in a Simpsons special episode where a narrator said "But what opportunities may confront this family from Kentucky?" also, in an episode where they go to Italy and find out that Sideshow Bob is Mayor of Rome, Homer gives an elderly woman with a goat, a mug that said "Kentucky" on it, and she slaps him, saying that in Italian, Kentucky is a swear word.
Parent comment
There is never a state given. The short answer is that Springfield does not exist. It doesn't have a real state, and the fact that it has no state is nothing more than a running gag. Springfield is more like "Anytown, USA". It's as if all of America was compressed into a single town, or a single state. Springfield is everywhere and nowhere. Proof? No state's capital city is called "Capital City". No state's motto is "Not just another state". And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There is an enormous number of geographical contradictions between episodes which make it impossible for Springfield to actually exist in any real American state. Still, there's no harm in looking. This document attempts to record all the evidence - direct and indirect, contradictory or not - for Springfield's whereabouts. Some parts of Springfield and the wider Simpsons universe do exist in the real world, so we also list places where fantasy and reality appear to cross. There are an enormous number of real Springfields; this is intentional. Rohit Gupta writes, "I'm from Springfield, Illinois, and one of the local papers recently had an interview with Matt Groening. In it he was asked about 'Springfield' and he replied that he chose it because it is one of the most common city names." Springfield isn't the most common city name in America; Fairview beats it, with 275 Fairviews in 42 states (and Puerto Rico), but Springfields do indeed exist in almost every American state. As our source of data we use the United States Geographical Survey search engine, which according to Andrew Gill, returned the following 71 Springfields in 36 states and possessions: Springfield, Alabama x4 Springfield, Arkansas x2 Springfield, California Springfield, Colorado Springfield, Florida x2 Springfield, Georgia x9 Springfield, Idaho Springfield, Iowa Springfield, Illinois Springfield, Indiana x2 Springfield, Kentucky Springfield, Louisiana Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield, Maryland x4 Springfield, Maine Springfield, Michigan x2 Springfield, Minnesota Springfield, Missouri Springfield, Mississippi Springfield, North Carolina x4 Springfield, Nebraska Springfield, New Hampshire Springfield, New Jersey x2 Springfield, New York Springfield, Ohio Springfield, Oregon Springfield, Pennsylvania x2 Springfield, South Carolina x3 Springfield, South Dakota Springfield, Tennessee x2 Springfield, Texas x3 Springfield, Virginia x8 Springfield, Virgin Islands Springfield, Vermont Springfield, Wisconsin Springfield, West Virginia