Where is ...?

Where IS Springfield, anyway?

"Springfield" is a fictional location. One more time for the world: "Springfield" is a FICTIONAL location. It is not in Illinois, not in Massachusetts, not in Southern Missouri, not in Northern Kentucky. MG says he chose the name because it is one of the most common city names (121 Springfields exist in the U.S.) and the setting of the antithesis to The Simpsons, Father Knows Best.

There also happens to be a Springfield in his home state of Oregon. Coincidentally enough, Springfield happens to be located very close to, or even part of, the city of Eugene. The proximity of these two towns to each other may have been the inspiration for the Springfield/Shelbyville rivalry in the show.

On a side note, a L.I.S.A. reader adds, "There is a cemetery in the middle of the University of Oregon (located in Eugene) that has a statue of soldier whose head was cut off as a prank by college students. The prank was universally condemned." (Sound familiar? See 7G07).

According to Producer/Director David Silverman, Springfield is in the state of North Takoma, eight miles from Toon Town (although it appears this still isn't to be considered an "official" answer). In Duffless, the state abbreviation on Homer's driver's license is NT - NT probably representing North Takoma. See next question.

The bottom line, though, is that even when the series makes reference to places and events unique to a specific Springfield, it does not mean that the series takes place in that given state.

According to some sources on the group, Matt Groening has said that although Springfield is basically "anytown USA" it does have features somewhat similar to towns in Oregon, where Matt grew up.

Read Where Is Springfield? if you're still not convinced.

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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 has ever had this flag. 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.

I think I've answered this one a few times:

Groeing has never said where do the Simpsons Live. Here are some clues given to which state it is:

1. It is by the Ocean.

2. There are Redwoods.

3. If there are 6 inches of snow, the schools close.

4. It is a northern state.

5. It is not North Dakota.

6. There are glaciers.

These all point to Possibly Southern Oregon, where Groeing was born

One of the "inside jokes" of the show is that you are never told in which state it's located.

Whenever the state is about to be mentioned, a train passes, or someone crosses across the billboard, etc..

Since there are many springfields in real life, you can never know which one is the one mentioned in the show.

It is in either Springfield, IL or Springfield, MO

matt groening called the town springfield because every state has a town called that. springfield is wherever you want it to be

That's one of the tricky parts of the Simpsons.. They have purposely left this vague and NEVER actually said. They even poked jokes about not telling in some episodes.

Kentucky

In the Behind the Laughter episode they call them a Northern Kentucky family.

i believe its springfield , illinois

It's never actually been stated, and it's basically a running gag for the entire series that they don't say.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_simpsons