There is certainly influence, but the Federal Reserve regions map doesn't align especially well with the study map. As a New Yorker from Connecticut, the gigan

There is certainly influence, but the Federal Reserve regions map doesn't align especially well with the study map. As a New Yorker from Connecticut, the gigantic barrier between New York and New England would have to be nearly completely explained by the Fed. Having also grown up in Connecticut, New Englanders aren't as likely to go to New York as one would expect from the proximity. Young folks, especially in Connecticut, tend to go back and forth, but people in the city only tend to visit New England in the fall, and people in New England only visit the city on special occasion. In fact, the line between New York and New England is the only place I have ever seen a road sign for "New England" and not an actual state name. It is a very culturally polarized region where city folk like the city, country folk the country. There's also very little in up-state New York (which is mostly park land) that would cause lots of travel there from Vermont... If you're from the area it isn't as weird as it looks on a map. If the Federal Reserve regions were actually causing the currency movements, why do regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, and Louisiana not line up?