Bruh, I moved out here two years ago, and holy shit! These are the most miserable, hateful, rude, nasty, violent, stupid, lazy, and just all-around shitty people I have encountered in my life. Really, damn near everywhere I go in this state, I observe this behavior. I'm originally from Michigan, but I've been all over the US and really have not been anywhere like this.
I get that this is basically a politcal compass meme overlayed on a map (and also that this is in cartography anarchy), but here's how I'd actually divide things up based on basically 0 practical experience:
Acts nice, is nice: West Coast (WA, OR, CA, HI) (WA might have to move down to the next category if they're feeling surly)
I get the perception Cali can be prickly too, although I've never been there. Maybe orange for them too? And come to think of it, inland Oregon is very Idaho.
And of course that only aims to divide things up into big blocks similar to the original image. If I wanted to get more granular I'd probably put UT in "Acts nice, is mean" for example.
The colder the weather gets, the more we tend to be nice. Its just natural when you're living in a state/province where breaking down on the side of the road in winter can mean death.
And I'm only half kidding. I do honestly believe that a shared experience of harsh winters creates empathy. Same reason Nordic countries are nice to each other mostly as well.
When I lived in an apartment, many times I would shovel my neighbor's parking spot if it looked like they were working late during a snow storm. There's nothing worse than coming home after a long day to three feet of snow you have to shovel immediately.
Or helping someone whose car is stuck in snow and can't drive away. We've all helped at least one person by giving them a push.
My experience having lived across the US has been closer to https://youtu.be/u3qJlWQNNxA?si=EU_dgGLT-vWgmNXy - I haven't met a kind ("actually nice") person in Northern California who grew up there.
Near as I can tell since moving back, being "Iowa nice" means "be white and republican and talk down to everyone else" so no, more like acts nice, is mean for us.
Quick context, if you ask for directions in Seattle, people will gladly help, but you will see the terror in their eyes that they have to socialize with someone they don't know.
If you want to start an argument without seeming like you are trying to, in Seattle, ask two different people what neighborhood you are currently in, and what its borders are.
Frellingford? Did not exist when I moved to Seattle originally, now it somehow does... sort of?
Ballard? Gets larger the older a person is, smaller the younger a person is.
Is it more racist to call it the International District, refer to the entire thing as China Town, or should we go block by block through different asian ethnicities based on street signage?
As someone who used to live in new York, can confirm. New Yorkers come off as rude but usually they just have places to be, when they're not trying to get somewhere they're quite nice.
I would say this is more true of the midatlantic/northeast. Very direct, say what they mean, it can come off as rude, or mean, but the subject outside of delivery, is not so.
After living in the southwest (born in LV, lived in PUMA, lived in Phoenix, lived in Prescot AZ, dad was stationed at edwards for a while too). I agree with this chart in a very superficial, this is a joke on the internet, way, honestly. Never met so many people who were just abrasive all around, than the SW. Hey, it's been a lot of years though. There might have been a big cultural shift. Even if it hasn't, I would take it over the "southern hospitality" mask of the SE, any day.
Maybe curmudgeonly is a better way of putting it. They say what they mean and they don't feel like anyone is owed niceness or personal interaction. That doesn't mean they hate you, they just don't care about you and aren't afraid to let you know.