Take a look at the map of the locations of the Federal Reserve districts and their headquarters in Figure. Today, the U.S. population is centered just west of the Mississippi River-that is, about half of the population is cither to the west or the east of a line running roughly just west of this river. Can you reconcile the current locations of Fed districts and banks with this fact? Why do you suppose the Fed has its current geographic structure?

The Fed, as we all know, is the Federal Reserve System, which acts as the country's central bank. The Fed is made up of $12$Federal Reserve district banks, each of which is led by a different president.

The following are the present locations of Fed districts and banks as they relate to the Mississippi River to the west:

• St. Louis
• Minneapolis
• Kansas City
• Dallas
• San Francisco

The present locations of Fed districts and banks along the Mississippi River's EAST bank are shown here:

• Boston
• New York
• Philadelphia
• Richmond
• Atlanta
• Cleveland
• Chicago

The fact that the United States' population is concentrated directly west of the Mississippi River is self-evident. If the population grows, the Federal Reserve may decide to open new branches. However, because the population is concentrated, the Federal Reserve districts and headquarters do not need to be relocated.