Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north; Missouri on the east; Oklahoma on the south; and Colorado on the west. It is located equidistant from the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. The geodetic center of North America is located in Osborne County. This spot is used as the central reference point for all maps produced by the government. The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is located in Smith County near Lebanon, Kansas, and the geographic center of Kansas is located in Barton County.

The eastern part of the state, containing the suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Kansas, and the towns of Leavenworth, Atchison, and Lawrence, are usually considered a part of the Midwest. The area roughly around Hutchinson and west is the general dividing line between eastern Kansas and western Kansas. Western Kansas is considered by many to be the West, rather than Midwest. The southwest part of the state is often classifed as the Southwest U.S., since the area once was part of Spain, Mexico, and Texas (while the rest of Kansas was not), and other historical, cultural, and economic ties to New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado. Southwest Kansas even tried to secede from the rest of Kansas in the early 1990s. The far southeast is a part of the Ozarks. The Kansas Ozarks are wooded, hilly, have a long mining history and much rural poverty. The area is Southern in feel.