Kansas is a part of the Midwestern United States.
Midwestern United States . Although the region is often defined in a number of ways , the Census Bureau 's definition consists of 12 states in the north central United States : Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Michigan , Minnesota , Missouri , Nebraska , North Dakota , Ohio , South Dakota , and Wisconsin . The West North Central Division includes Iowa , Kansas , Minnesota , Missouri , North Dakota , Nebraska , and South Dakota , several of which are located at least partly , within the Great Plains region . Chicago and its suburbs form the largest metropolitan statistical area with 9.8 million people , followed by Metro Detroit , Minneapolis -- St. Paul , Greater St. Louis , Greater Cleveland , Greater Cincinnati ( without the Kentucky portion ) , Kansas City metro area , and the Columbus metro area .