The Simpsons location
Springfield (The Simpsons).png
A panoramic view of Springfield, as seen in The Simpsons Movie.
First appearance"Good Night"
Created byMatt Groening
LocationUnited States
Notable locations742 Evergreen Terrace
Notable charactersThe Simpsons
Mayor"Diamond" Joe Quimby

Springfield is a fictional town in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, which serves as its main setting. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society.[2] The geography of the town and its surroundings are flexible, changing to address whatever an episode's plot calls for.[3]



Springfield is intended to represent "anytown, USA" and not be a specific real town,[3] although the producers acknowledge basing the town on numerous locations[4] including The Simpsons creator Matt Groening's hometown of Portland, Oregon, and Mike Scully's hometown, Springfield, Massachusetts.[5] Groening named Springfield after Springfield, Oregon, and also took inspiration from Springfield being the fictitious setting of the series Father Knows Best. He said, "I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do."[6][7] Groening liked Second City Television's use of Melonville, a town with a large cast of recurring characters that serves as a mini-universe for the show, and partially based The Simpsons on it.[8]


Because of the many contradictory statements regarding Springfield, it is impossible for the town to exist in a specific state. In The Simpsons Movie, Ned Flanders tells Bart that the state where Springfield is located is bordered by the states of Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Kentucky – of which only Ohio and Kentucky are real neighboring states.[9] The city's unknown and unknowable geography is a recurring joke in the series; the Dayton Daily News called it the "riddle wrapped in an enigma that is Springfield's location",[10] but Lisa Simpson states that "it's a bit of a mystery, yes. But if you look at the clues, you can figure it out."[11] Episodes frequently make fun of the fact that Springfield's state is unidentifiable by adding further conflicting descriptions, obscuring onscreen map representations, and interrupting conversational references. The 2012 episode "Beware My Cheating Bart" played upon the unidentifiability of the state in its opening chalkboard gag, which stated that "The true location of Springfield is in any state but yours".

David Silverman, who directed the movie and various episodes of the series, joked that Springfield is located in the fictional state of "North Takoma".[12][13] This is substantiated by the state abbreviations NT and TA used within the show.[13][14] The telephone area codes for Springfield are 636 (St. Charles County and Western St. Louis County, Missouri)[15] and 939 (Puerto Rico).

To promote The Simpsons Movie, various actual towns and cities across the U.S. called Springfield competed to hold the premiere.[16] The town of Springfield, Vermont, was chosen.[17][18] In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that "of all the Springfields in America, [The Simpsons] is most popular in Springfields in Virginia, Minnesota and New Jersey, and least popular in Springfields in Louisiana, Arkansas and Georgia".[19]

Fictional history

Springfield was founded in 1796 by a group led by Jebediah Springfield (in reality a cover identity for notorious pirate Hans Sprungfeld) who, after misinterpreting a passage in the Bible, left Maryland (which may be a small clue as to depict Springfield's location; not in Maryland) trying to find "New Sodom."[20] After he refused to found a town where men were free to marry their cousins, half of the group left. The dissenters founded the nearby town of Shelbyville, after fellow pioneer Shelbyville Manhattan, and the two cities remain rivals after centuries.[21] Springfield reached its pinnacle in the mid-20th century, when it became the home of the world's first Aquacar factory; one half of the U.S. was said to wear Springfield galoshes and Springfield's streets were basically paved with gold.[22] The town's prosperity faded; a Time cover story on Springfield was titled "America's Worst City",[23] and Newsweek called the town "America's Crud Bucket".[24]


Springfield's geography is varied, including forests, meadows, mountain ranges, a desert, a gorge, a glacier, beaches, badlands, canyons, swamps, a harbor, waterholes, and waterways; a very varied city indeed. Major named geographical features include Springfield Gorge, Springfield National Forest, the volcanic Mt. Springfield, the West Springfield Desert ("three times the size of Texas!"),[25] the Springfield Badlands (also known as the Alkali Flats),[26] the gigantic Murderhorn Mountain, Springfield Glacier, Mt. Useful National Park, Springfield Mesa, Springfield Monument Park, and Springfield National Park.


Springfield's environment is unusually polluted. Overflowing garbage forced the whole town – both population and structures — to move five miles (8 km) away from the massive dump that the old town of Springfield had become.[27] Springfield is also, unfortunately, home to the state's largest self-sustaining tire fire, which has been burning continuously for many decades.[28] Lake Springfield's pollution almost led to the town's destruction by an Environmental Protection Agency bomb,[29] and pollution from the nuclear power plant has mutated the fish in the river, with the Nuclear Power Plant's mascot being Blinky, with three eyes.[30] Its atmosphere is so polluted that it reduced a comet to a tiny rock the size of a chihuahua's head.[31]

Politics, religion, and media

In politics, the mayor of Springfield is Joe Quimby, while the town's representative in Congress is Herschel "Krusty the Clown" Krustofsky (R) of the 24th congressional district. In "Sideshow Bob Roberts", Sideshow Bob (R) ran for Mayor of Springfield and defeated Mayor Quimby, but was later discovered to have committed pure electoral fraud. Previous representatives include Horace Wilcox, who died of a heart attack while in office, and Bob Arnold, who is forced to resign after Lisa exposes his corruption. Mary Bailey (D) is the governor of Springfield's state.[30] Political corruption and police bribery are common in this corrupt, pathetic town. The town is infamous for its corruption. Mayor Quimby: a sleazy, womanizing politician is known for his stupidity. During the MENSA tenure, Mayor Quimby is confronted by Lisa Simpson after a group of drunks steal their Gazebo for a Shakespeare play. Thinking he is exposed for his corruption, he flees for a while and the MENSA chapter runs Springfield. Other corrupt parties include the Police Force (Specifically Chief Wiggum)



Neighborhoods and attractions






The town is home to the Springfield Isotopes, an AA minor league baseball team which plays its home games at Duff Stadium;[35] the Springfield Atoms football team at Springfield Stadium;[36] the NBA's Springfield Excitement (formerly the Austin Celtics);[37] and the Springfield Ice-O-Topes hockey team at the Springfield Arena.


Springfield Nuclear Power Plant



In one episode, Mr. Burns mentions that he owns the electric company as part of his power monopoly.








In July 2007, convenience store chain 7-Eleven converted 11 of its stores in the United States and one in Canada into Kwik-E-Marts to promote the release of The Simpsons Movie.[41] The locations of the renovated Kwik-E-Marts were: Bladensburg, Maryland/Washington, D.C.; Burbank, California; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Henderson/Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Mountain View/San Francisco; New York City; Orlando/Lake Buena Vista, Florida; Seattle;[42] and Vancouver/Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.[43] These 12 locations, as well as the majority of other North American 7-Elevens, sold products found in The Simpsons, such as "Buzz Cola", "Krusty-O's", "Squishees", pink frosted "Sprinklicious doughnuts", and other Simpsons-themed merchandise. The Squishees were Slurpees that are sold in special collector cups and the Krusty-O's were made by Malt-O-Meal.[42] The promotion resulted in a 30% increase in profits for the changed 7-Eleven stores. This can be seen during the opening of The Simpsons Movie.[44]

The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop



Comics sold there are well-loved by Bart and Milhouse's Radioactive Man, Manboy, Radiation Dude, Batboy, Mr. Hop, Batchick, Mr. Smarty Pants, Birdguy, Nick, Cat Girl, Power Person, Dog Kid, Iguana Girl, Snake Kid, Lava Lady, Star Dog, The Human Bee, Mister Amazing and Tree Man, as well as real-life comics such as The Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four.

Barney's Bowl-A-Rama




"Hurricane Neddy" has the bowling alley briefly relocate to a precarious teetering position on top of a nearby train tunnel after a hurricane blows through Springfield and tears the alley off its foundation.



Costington's is a high-end department store located in Downtown Springfield. Costington's is a parody of Macy's, an American department store. Their slogan is "Over A Century Without A Slogan". Costington's sponsors the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade (an identical move to Macy's) and holds a "Love Day" celebration. Owned by Mr. Costington, the store has employed many Springfieldians, including Homer (as their parade Santa and as a mattress salesman), Gil and The Yes Guy. Lenny and Carl once crashed into Costington's, which sparked a city riot. It was first seen in the episode "Trash of The Titans".

KBBL Broadcasting



King Toot's


The Leftorium

The Leftorium was a store in the Springfield Mall that specialized in products for left-handed people. The store was owned by Ned Flanders, who first started The Leftorium in the season 3 episode "When Flanders Failed".[45] At first, business at the store was going very poorly. Irritated with Flanders, Homer wished that the store would go out of business after Homer received the larger half of a wishbone. Homer got his wish and the Flanders family were forced to sell many of their possessions, much of which Homer purchased at a meager price of $75. The bank repossessed the Flanders' home and the Leftorium was to be the next asset repossessed. Homer then regretted making this wish and the fact that he never told any of his friends who were in need of left-handed items about the Leftorium. As a result, he managed to get everyone he knew in town to shop at Ned's store, saving it from closure.

The Leftorium continued to thrive over the following years. However, Flanders mentioned in several episodes that the store does not do that well, such as in the season 10 episode "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo", where Ned mentions that he purchased most of his possessions cheaply, and that the business moved way downhill since "Leftopolis" moved in next door to it. In the episode "Home Away from Homer", Ned mentions that a recently opened, left-hand megastore, called "Left-Mart" (a parody of Wal-Mart) is threatening his business. The season 25 episode "White Christmas Blues" reveals that competition from the Southpaw Superstore forced Flanders to downsize the business to a mall cart, the "Leftorium Express", which he splits with a cosmetic saleswoman. In the season 29 episode "Left Behind", the Leftorium closes for good, leaving Flanders unemployed until he finds a new job as Bart Simpson's new teacher, substituting the void left by his deceased second wife Edna Krabappel.[46][47]



Noiseland Video Arcade




Springfield Mall

The Springfield Mall is a shopping mall in Springfield. It features stores such as Happy Market, Cost-Mo, and smaller stores such as Girdles N' Such, Eye Caramba, The Ear Piercery, Happy Sailor Tattoo Parlor, Love Your Computer, Gum4Less, Popular Books, The Leftorium, Nick's Bowling Shop, Stoner's Pot Palace, Bookacchino's, Moe's Express (a mini version of Moe's Tavern), a Mapple Store (a parody of the Apple Store), numerous Starbucks coffee shops, several Krusty Burgers, and many others



Jake's Unisex Hairplace

Jake's Unisex Hairplace is a salon/barber in Springfield. As the name implies, it serves both men and women. In the Simpsons app, it is called Jake's Unisex Hair Palace. It is one of the oldest location shown in the series, as it originally appeared in the Tracy Ullman short "Bart's Haircut" (where it was called Snipper Cuts). It is owned and operated by Jake the Barber.

Mapple Store



An IKEA parody, Shøp sells assorted furniture with unique and unusual designs. Their mascot appears to be an anthropomorphic hex key named Allen Wrench, but rather than being a costume is in fact an alien being who needs tungsten to live. Cutlery in the canteen is self-made from Lego, allowing Homer to create a multi-pronged fork.

Coolsville Comics and Toys


Herman's Military Antiques

Formerly Pet Shop, Herman's sells all sorts of war memorabilia, from muskets to a Confederate flag.

I Can't Believe It's A Law Firm!

Also known as "Lionel Hutz also Expert Shoe Repair" or "The Law Offices of Lionel Hutz", it is located near the Springfield mall. It is a law firm visited by the Simpsons on multiple occasions, including when Bart was hit by a car. Hutz usually has an incentive for visiting, such as smoking monkeys. His number is 5-LAWW, or 5-5299.

Phineas Q. Butterfat's 5600 Flavors Ice Cream Parlor

The ice cream parlor actually owns several locations, but most of them are in the Springfield Mall. They serve, indeed, 5600 flavors, with their premier item being "The Ark", a gigantic sundae featuring all the store's flavors, 26 sauces, toppings and nuts. In "You Kent Always Say What You Want", Homer purchased the 1,000,000th ice-cream cone (though briefly lost the prize because he could not decide between a cup or a cone), and won a special interview with Kent Brockman.

Hairy Shearers

A barbershop; pun on the name of the actor Harry Shearer. It is frequented by Marge Simpson whose massive hairdo requires significant effort to maintain. In "Hungry, Hungry Homer", they refused to honor her coupon for discount hair streaks, as their thin profit margins would ruin them, but Homer (in an unusual exhibition of helpfulness) assisted the owner with finding ways of decreasing their spending, and they honored the coupon in return. The shop reappears in "The Blue and The Gray", where it is revealed that Marge's hair has been grey for decades, but the industrial-strength coloring they use keeps wiping out her memory.

1987 Calendars!!!

1987 Calendars!!! is a calendar store in the Springfield Mall that sells calendars from 1987.

Bars and restaurants

The Gilded Truffle


Moe's Tavern


Moe's Tavern (called Moe's Bar in The Simpsons Movie) is a local bar in Springfield frequented by Homer Simpson, Carl Carlson, Lenny Leonard and Barney Gumble. The tavern is named after and run by Moe Szyslak. Moe's Tavern first appeared in the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". In the first season of The Simpsons, the entrance appeared to be a saloon door. The bar sells mostly Duff Beer although other beverages are served. In the episode "Flaming Moe's", Moe's beer payments were delinquent so his beer distributor stopped delivering to him. When Homer shows Moe a drink he developed called the Flaming Homer, Moe sells it as his own, calling it the Flaming Moe. The drink becomes extremely popular until Homer reveals its secret ingredient, allowing other businesses to create a similar product. The drink's popularity wanes significantly. A recurring gag is the dirty and dilapidated state of the bar. In "Mommie Beerest", it is revealed that Moe was long able to avoid several enormous health code violations (among other things, the corkscrew has a severed human ear on it, and there's a toilet on the roof) due to being friends with the health inspector. Another episode reveals that the bar's liquor license is expired, is only valid in Rhode Island and is just signed by Moe himself. The bar is also infested with rats, a large number of whom moved to the bar after the destruction of a derelict factory as seen in "Homer's Enemy". The tavern had to be briefly shut down as shown in "Who Shot Mr. Burns?", due to toxic fumes runover from Mr. Burns' oil rig nearby.


Universal Studios Florida, includes a Moe's Tavern in the Springfield section of the park.

Krusty Burger


It appears that Krusty Burger is located across the entire United States; in the episode "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood", Homer loses the map of the rafting route but tells the group that luckily he has brought a map along. It happens to be a map of the entire United States with locations of Krusty Burger restaurants. There is even a Krusty Burger located on an unmanned offshore oil rig; Homer, Bart, Ned Flanders, and Rod Flanders find it after being lost at sea for several days and reaching the verge of starvation, and place a huge order of food that saves it from going out of business. There is also a Krusty Burger in France, as seen in the episode "The Devil Wears Nada". It exists under the name "Le Krusty Burger". In the episode "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can" it was also revealed that Krusty Burger operates in different markets across the US when Krusty Burger has a new burger called the Ribwich. After the Ribwich stopped selling in Springfield, Homer and a group of Ribwich fans known as the "Ribheads" followed the "Ribwich tour" as the Ribwich was tested in various markets. The Ribwich sandwich is based on a real life McDonald's sandwich called the McRib.



Universal Studios Florida, includes a Krusty Burger in the Springfield section of the park.

Lard Lad Donuts


In The Simpsons Game, the Lard Lad mascot is a boss. Lard Lad Donuts is shut down by a health inspector in The Simpsons Movie, and the Lard Lad is painted in different colors and seen later in the movie during the dome sequence. The former was disproved in "E Pluribus Wiggum" when an explosion violently detaches the correctly colored Lard Lad's head. In "Sweets And Sour Marge" it is revealed to contain the entrance to a secret passage, which leads to an underground bunker where the pro-sugar enclave of Springfield meet. In "Treehouse of Horror VI", the Lard Lad statue is the first advertising mascot brought to life by a mysterious atmospheric disturbance, enraged by Homer Simpson having stolen his giant donut, and ends up leading the various mascot statues of Springfields "miracle mile" business district on a destructive rampage.

Universal Studios Florida, includes a Lard Lad Donuts in the Springfield section of the park.



Luigi takes customer service very seriously.

Universal Studios Florida, includes a Luigi's in the Springfield section of the park.

The Frying Dutchman


Universal Studios Florida, includes a Frying Dutchman in the Springfield section of the park.

The Singing Sirloin


The Happy Sumo


The Java Server

The Java Server is an internet cafe and coffee shop, originally appearing in "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo". On its opening day, it was the site of a robbery by Snake Jailbird, who used uncharacteristic tech savvy to rob the Simpsons' online bank account.

Pimento Grove

The Pimento Grove is an Italian restaurant in the style of "Olive Garden". It is shown to be fairly upscale and features photos of celebrities on its walls.


Springfield Elementary School



For a few episodes the school also had a tower with a winding staircase within which led to an observation area. This has since been removed. Other short period additions include a phony disabled ramp access system built by the local Mafia and other constructions. In one episode, the presentation hall is bulldozed to make way for a mini-mall. The school's address is 19 Plympton Street, revealed in the episode "Bart on the Road" when Principal Skinner receives an envelope addressed to the school containing his airline tickets to Hong Kong.[50] In the episode "Team Homer", school uniforms are temporarily introduced following a riot brought on by Bart wearing a "Down With Homework" T-shirt to school. This policy was rescinded after the uniforms turned out not to be waterproof and washed out into psychedelic colors when it rained.

Most students travel to school by bus, usually driven by Otto Mann. However, in "The Otto Show", Otto is suspended from his job (due to not actually having a drivers license) and Principal Skinner temporarily takes over Otto's role. Additionally, in another episode, the students are forced to carpool when the school bus is wrecked after Otto falls asleep at the wheel and the bus crashes into the auto wrecking yard. In the episode "The Boy Who Knew Too Much", the regular school bus breaks down and a Springfield State Prison bus is used instead. The bus is sometimes shown to be in extremely poor condition, another indicator of the school's low funding.

In "Lisa the Vegetarian", it is shown that both Ms. Hoover and Lunchlady Doris have access to "Independent Thought Alarms" which are sent to Principal Skinner's office and are both triggered by Lisa. Also, in "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song", Superintendent Chalmers fires Ned Flanders, who has become Principal after Skinner being sacked, only because he freely expresses his religious views in the school. Edna Krabappel was Bart Simpson's 4th grade teacher, and from Season 23 onwards also neighbor due to marrying to Ned Flanders until Season 25 established Krabappel's death. In "Left Behind", the Leftorium closes, leaving Flanders unemployed, and he returns to Springfield Elementary School, where he finds a new job as Bart Simpson's new teacher, substituting the void left by his deceased second wife Edna Krabappel.[46][47]

Many of the school faculty seem very bored with their jobs and do not try to help students, leaving them to unfulfilling futures. They also take full advantage of any-and-all time off that they have. Several of the teachers and staff smoke and drink in the staff room and in front of their students. In one episode, the teachers are shown joyfully running out of the school building with the students at the end of the day and subsequently are then shown trooping back into school the following day. Otto Mann is shown to be a user of illegal drugs, and in the episode "Weekend At Burnsie's", Lisa notices a smell of marijuana and remarks that "it smells like the art teacher's office". The teachers like Miss Hoover do not seem to care whether or not the students achieve in their class, and seem to have given up on many of them.

In 1994, the naming of a new, real-life elementary school in Greenwood, South Carolina, was left up to the students, and the name Springfield Elementary was chosen. The school board was unaware of the connection to The Simpsons until a protest by one group of parents, who argued that the character of Bart Simpson was a poor role model. The name stood, and the school opened in August 1994. Bart Simpson weighed in on the controversy, in a statement from the Fox Network where he said "at least they didn't call it Beavis and Butt-head Elementary".[51][52]

West Springfield Elementary School


Lisa arrives at the school by mistake in the episode "Trilogy of Error", one of the differences being that French is taught at the school.

Springfield Preparatory School





Springfield Heights Institute of Technology (S.H.I.T.) focuses on the engineering sciences. Professor Frink is a college professor at the university, and it is where Apu Nahasapeemapetilon earned his doctorate from.

Springfield Community College is a community college.

Springfield High School



Krustylu Studios


Sleep Eazy Motel


Springfield Retirement Castle


For Grampa Simpson, the Retirement Castle is a lonely place to be. He often gets mad when his family does not come and visit him. The door features a sign reading 'Thank you for not discussing the outside world'. The most interesting way to pass time at the home is to "stake yourself out a good spot at the staring window", which overlooks nothing but a barren tree, and bingo (the prize being a banana). The staff of the home have little to no respect for the residents, doing things like vacuuming their hair during "nap time", or switching their IV bags with their catheter bags when the former is empty and the latter is full. In the episode "Old Money," Grandpa inherits $106,000 from his girlfriend Beatrice "Bea" Simmons. He uses both this money and his winnings from a gambling junket to refurbish and redecorate the home and has the dining hall renamed in Bea's honor.

The Springfield City Hall


Springfield Courthouse


Five Corners



Krustyland is The Simpsons version of Disneyland. It appeared in "The Food Wife" at the end where the Simpsons went out for a family fun day, which Homer promised Marge.

Itchy & Scratchy Land


Springfield Mystery Spot

A strange attraction in Springfield, referencing the Mystery Spot. It is quite popular. Its most likely location is somewhere around the Alkali Flats,

It was first mentioned by Lisa Simpson on the way to Discount Lion Safari in “Old Money”. She claimed it was because of paint fumes and completely fake.

In “Homer at the Bat,”Ozzie Smith visits it and literally “vanishes off the face of the earth”

Discount Lion Safari

The Simpsons visit it on Beatrice Simmons’ birthday in Old Money. It references Indiana Jones (“Mr Simpson, I presume?”)

They get trapped in the car and attacked by a lion.


  2. ^ Turner 2004, p. 55.
  3. ^ a b Turner 2004, p. 30.
  7. ^ Simpsons launch hits Springfield BBC News. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
  29. ^ The Simpsons Movie
  31. ^ Bart's Comet
  32. ^ "Elementary School Musical"
  35. ^ "Hungry, Hungry Homer"
  36. ^ "Love Is a Many Strangled Thing"
  37. ^ "The Burns and the Bees"
  42. ^ a b "7-Eleven Becomes Kwik-E-Mart for 'Simpsons Movie' Promotion". Fox News. 2007-07-01. Archived from the original on 2007-07-04. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
  46. ^ a b Perkins, Dennis. "Flanders loses his faith and an inconsequential Simpsons tests ours".
  47. ^ a b "The Simpsons Season 29 Episode 19 Review: Left Behind".
  52. ^ "The Simpsons Archive: "A Brief History of The Simpsons"". simpsonsarchive.com.
  53. ^ Barrett, Heather (2007-07-03). "Meet the man behind 'The Simpsons'". Chelmsford Independent. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2011-01-03. Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links