We figured out exactly where the South is by plotting every Chick-fil-A location on a map

The North/South debate is the issue that has defined American politics for generations. What does it mean to be a Southerner? Where does the North end and the South begin? Is it just Southerners that love Chick-Fil-A ? It's easy to say a state like Georgia is in the South – but what about, for example, Maryland? Or Delaware? D.C.?

America needs a way to resolve this national identity crisis – and clearly the Mason-Dixon Line is out of date. What we need is a newer, more modern way of identifying the South – a cultural unifier that everyone can get behind, so we can settle this once and for all.

And what better symbol of Southern culture is there than Chick-fil-A?

We mapped the locations of over 2300 Chick-fil-A restaurants around America, and examined how they matched up to each state's population. If there's more than one Chick-fil-A for every 100,000 people in your state, then you beat the national average, and earn the title of true Southerner. You could call this new border the Mason-Biscuit Line (sorry).

This means Georgia (home of Chick-fil-A), with its 2.35 restaurants per 100,000 people, is a bonafide Southern state. South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina and Arkansas count as the South as well – no surprises there.

But as you can see from the map, the North-South dividing line has been completely redrawn – Maryland, Delaware, D.C. are now part of the South.

Now we finally have concrete statistical evidence, we can also definitively rule Utah and Colorado as part of the South. They all have more Chick-fil-As than their northern neighbors, making them culturally and geographically Southern.

We can also conclusively say that West Virginia and Missouri are Southern states – they boast an above-average Chick-fil-A density rating, and thus appear south of the Mason-Biscuit Line.

As you would expect, you find way fewer Chick-fil-As in Northern states – New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine all have fewer than 0.2 locations per 100,000. This proves the North is a flavorless wasteland, where Chick-fil-A is a novelty that you have to travel to, instead of a daily food source – that's not the Southern way.

On the breakdown of states and number of CFAs per person, Georgia comes top as there is at least one Chick-Fil-A per 42,000 people. South Carolina and Alabama come second and third – all the way down to Oregon, where two million people have to share the same Chick-Fil-A. See the full list here:

And for a complete list of Chick-fil-A locations, see our nationwide map here.