California is home to many of the greatest colleges in the country-- Stanford University, California Institute Technology, and University of Southern California are among the private ones. The university of California system is often considered to the best of any state, and its locations at Los Angeles and Berkeley rank in the top 50 schools nationally. Other major state universities in the West include University of Colorado, University of New Mexico, University of Oregon, and University of Washington.

Culture and Politics

The West has a variety of ethnic groups. California and Hawaii each have large Asian populations, and Hawaii is the only state where Asian Americans outnumber American residents. California, Arizona, and New Mexico all have large Hispanic populations due to their location on the US-Mexico border. The Mormon Corridor, which has a large Mormon population, is located in Utah, as well as parts of Idaho, Arizona, Colorado and Nevada. The desert and mountain states tend to be sparsely populated, and have developed as ranching and mining areas. The Pacific Coast states, on the other hand, are home to many cities which are technology and media centers, such as Los Angeles. The West is home to many Indian reservations, including Navajo Nation, the largest in the United States. The Pacific Coast states have mostly voted Democratic in elections, while other states (Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming) are Republican strongholds. Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado are swing states.