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The New England accent tends to disappear the further west you go, although you can still hear it in rural areas in northern New England. My hometown of Burlington, VT sounds almost midwestern..
Based on my experiences: Most of CT, Western MA, Most of Upstate NY/Western NY, Ohio (especially in the cities, and north of Columbus), Northern IN, Northern IL, Iowa, most of Nebraska.
I think most of the West coast (CA, OR, WA) is pretty neutral as far as accents go relating to the "general American" accent. I grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and have lived in Toledo, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, Boston, and now live in the San Francisco area.
Iowa has a very similar language patter to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio. Most of the populated areas of Iowa actually lie within some form of a Northern accent.
I think amount of education has to do with how much of an "accent" someone has. DuPage county Illinois (wealthiest county in the Midwest) has many residents who speak PERFECT proper sounding English, with no northern cities shift, however you drive a few miles and can find a very thick Great Lakes blue collar accent.
I've heard people claim, even some locals, that news anchors are scouted after in places like Iowa. That's hilarious. I think, if anything, many anchors over time eliminate their accent and try to neutralize it - that doesn't mean they actually come from places with less of an accent - like little homely Iowa of 3 million people... Goodness.
Most people, especially in rural northern Iowa have a very Minnesota like twang, the further south you go you get into more of the "Midland" sound which is somewhat more slow talking - but nowhere near as southern as parts of Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, or Missouri.
One of the few weird Connecticutisms is pronouncing aunt so it doesn't rhyme with ant. I think people also do this in the Boston area, and of course black people do this nationwide. But it certainly isn't standard American English.
It isn't? I pronounce aunt that other way and I grew up in NEPA. I've been asked if I'm from the Midwest.
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