United States of America

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic situated mostly in central North America, where its fourty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.

United States in GTA
In the Grand Theft Auto World in which the main Grand Theft Auto games take place, most of the locations in the games are based on cities and states found in the actual USA. For example, Liberty City is based on the city of New York, Vice City is based on the city of Miami and the Keys located in South Florida, and the State of San Andreas is inspired by the actual states of California and Nevada, comprised of fictional cities based on real cities in those states, these are: Los Santos (Los Angeles), San Fierro (San Francisco) and Las Venturas (Las Vegas).

Bullworth is a town in New England, and is where the game Bully takes place, apparently in the GTA IV Era. GTA IV contains references to Bully.

Carcer City is an industrial city in Liberty State, and is where the game Manhunt takes place. It most likely takes place in the GTA III Era. There are references to Manhunt in GTA III during a news segment on the radio saying that Carcer City is not too far from Liberty City.

The State of San Andreas, which contains 3 large cities and huge rural areas with small towns between, is located in the southwest, considering it has large deserts. The GTA III Era's Liberty City is located somewhere in the north, since it snowed in the mission Saint Mark's Bistro in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, while the Grand Theft Auto IV rendition of Liberty City is in Liberty City State. Note that the GTA III era and GTA IV Era do not follow the same canon. Vice City is located in the state of Florida down south, and this is directly said to be true by Salvatore Leone in The Introduction video for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Tommy Vercetti refers to the residents of the city as "dumb Florida morons" early after his arrival. Various NPCs also confirm that Vice City is in Florida.

In all the games, the cities are always located on several islands connected by bridges. They appear to be isolated islands in the middle of the sea, but this is down to game limitations. Rockstar Games have stated that they avoid placing unreachable pieces of land within the games to keep the complete feel to the game. There are multiple islands, and every game starts with certain bridges blocked, restricting the player from exploring the entire city at the start of the game. There is always a story as to why the bridges are shut, sometimes relative to the location of the game, for example; the bridges in Vice City are shut due to hurricane warnings, while in Liberty City they are blocked due to to terrorist threats against the city (GTA IV Era), and bridges in San Andreas are blocked because of a major earthquake and because Officer Tenpenny told CJ that he can't leave town. These restrictions are lifted as the story progresses, with the earlier reason for them being closed having been blown over, unlocking new parts of the city/state.

Even though the Grand Theft Auto video games are made in the United Kingdom, specifically Edinburgh, Scotland, they are released first in the United States of America, and subsequently Canada followed by the UK and Europe. The games are primarily based on American popular culture, and nearly all have been set in fictitious (or copied) locations on the American mainland. The music, the clothes, the slang, and the abundance of vehicles in the game are considerably of American origin.

During the mission 'Practice Swing' in The Ballad of Gay Tony, Tony refers to Rocco as being under the age of consent in Utah, thus confirming the State of Utah's existence in the GTA universe.

Tony also refers Ohio as stated in a Liberty Tree article: " If I wanted to go to bed at 8 pm everyday, I would go to Ohio. Not that there's anything wrong with Ohio. I just used it as an example".

New Austin, Nuevo Paraiso, and West Elizabeth are unknown to be in the same universe, as there are no references to indicate this, but nothing to contradict it either. However, the real states of New York and California are mentioned in the game so all 3 regions may be in a different universe.

Leadership
The writers of the game seem to have liberal political beliefs, as they often parody conservatives in a negative light. Most of the Grand Theft Auto titles are set during a Republican presidency (apart from GTA 1, GTA 2, Advance and Liberty City Stories, all during the Clinton administration.)

GTA III Era

 * 1961-1963: John F. Kennedy - In GTA San Andreas, set in 1992, The Truth mentions John F. Kennedy and his assassination.
 * 1986 (Vice City): Alex Shrub, a fictional right-wing Florida congressman whose name and mannerisms are based on George H.W. Bush, voices his intention to run for president, although he fails after his affair with porn star Candy Suxxx becomes public (all of this happening in 1986). Said affair became a very public spectacle, even across the country in San Andreas where photos of Shrub and Suxxx are seen on Carl Johnson's wall.
 * ?-1998: Roger C. Hole, Liberty City Mayor.
 * 1998-?: Miles O'Donovan, Liberty City Mayor.
 * 2001: George W. Bush (GTA III) - The Liberty Tree article "The W Comes To Town" shows George W. Bush having just been elected president at the time of GTA III, entirely canon with real life events.

GTA IV Era

 * 1989-1993: Joe Lawton's father (presumably in this time period, if based on H.W. Bush). He became senator after being president.


 * 2001-2009: Joe Lawton (GTA IV): A parody of then-president George W. Bush.
 * 2001-2009: Julio Ochoa, Liberty City Mayor. Maybe a parody of Michael Bloomberg.
 * There are two men running for governor of the State of Liberty: John Hunter (left wing) and Michael Graves (right wing).

All Locations, GTA 1
Liberty City (New York City)
 * Western Landmass (New Jersey)
 * Central Landmass (Manhattan)
 * Eastern Landmass (Brooklyn, Queens)
 * Minor Islands (Roosevelt Island, Rikers Island)
 * North Eastern Island (The Bronx)

San Andreas (San Francisco)
 * Northern Landmass (San Francisco)
 * South Eastern Landmass (Marin County)

Vice City (Miami)
 * Western Landmass (Miami Mainland)
 * North Eastern Island (Miami Beach)
 * Eastern Island

Liberty City , State of Liberty  (New York - GTA IV Era)

 * Broker (Brooklyn)
 * Dukes (Queens)
 * Bohan (The Bronx)
 * Algonquin (Manhattan)

Liberty City (New York, GTA III Era)
Note: The latter is not included in any gameworld, and therefore inaccessible in-game.
 * Portland (Brooklyn, Queens, Lower Manhattan)
 * Staunton Island (Manhattan, Staten Island)
 * Shoreside Vale (New Jersey, Bronx, Long Island, Westchester)
 * Upstate Liberty (Upstate New York)

Alderney City , State of Alderney  (New Jersey, GTA IV Era)

 * Acter
 * Acter Industrial Park
 * Alderney City (Jersey City)
 * Alderney State Correctional Facility (GTA IV map enlists as it's own municipality)
 * Berchem
 * Leftwood
 * Normandy
 * Port Tudor
 * Tudor
 * Westdyke

Other cities (GTA III Era)

 * Carcer City (Pittsburgh )
 * Capital City (Washington D.C.[?])

State of San Andreas (California/Nevada, GTA III Era)

 * San Andreas City
 * Bone County
 * Area 69
 * Fort Carson
 * Las Brujas
 * Las Payasadas


 * Flint County


 * Las Venturas (Las Vegas )


 * Los Santos (Los Angeles )
 * Red County
 * Blueberry
 * Dillimore
 * Montgomery
 * Palomino Creek
 * San Fierro (San Francisco )


 * Tierra Robada
 * Aldea Malvada
 * Bayside
 * El Quebrados
 * Las Barrancas


 * Whetstone
 * Angel Pine

Florida (GTA III Era)

 * Vice City (Miami)
 * Cottonmouth (Tampa )

New England (GTA IV Era)

 * Bullworth

Midwest (mentioned in GTA IV Era)

 * Chicago
 * Minneapolis
 * Ohio
 * Pittsburgh (mentioned in 'Strange Tramps Seen All Over Liberty City')

Midwest (mentioned in GTA III Era)
(All three locations are mentioned by Toni on Flash FM in GTA Vice City).
 * Indiana
 * Idaho
 * Nebraska

Alaska (mentioned in a radio station in GTA IV)

 * Fairbanks (mentioned in The Science Of Crime ad in radio)

Unknown State (possibly Florida or California)

 * Cottonmouth (Possibly Los Angeles or Tampa)