The old saying that Midwesterners are the friendliest people might be rooted in truth, according to a new study the Huffington Post reported.

A multi-national team of researchers led by psychologist and American ex-pat Jason Rentfrow of the University of Cambridge in the U.K. looked particularly at five personality dimensions - neuroticism, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness and extraversion - over 12 years to see how they mapped out in the United States.

The study, which spanned 13 years, found that friendly and conventional were the most common traits among people living in the South and north-central Great Plains region, while relaxed and creative were the most common traits for those in the Western and Eastern seaboard areas. New Englanders were most likely to possess the traits of uninhibited and temperamental.

For example, top scorers on extroversion were jovial folks of Wisconsin, Vermont is the least extroverted state. Utah is the most agreeable place in the country and Washington D.C., is the least.

"This analysis challenges the standard methods of dividing up the country on the basis of economic factors, voting patterns, cultural stereotypes or geography that appear to have become ingrained in the way people think about the United States," study researcher Peter J. Rentfrow, Ph.D., of the University of Cambridge, said in a press release. "At the same time, it reinforces some of the traditional beliefs that some areas of the country are friendlier than others, while some are more creative."

Researchers analyzed personality traits through the use of Facebook, surveys and other methods of nearly 1.5 million people living in the U.S. and Washington D.C., excluding Hawaii and Alaska.

In addition, researchers focused on the role finances, religion and education played on people from region to region, according to the Huffington Post.

People who lived in the friendly and conventional regions of the U.S. were also more likely to be conservative, less healthy, less educated and less affluent. Meanwhile, regions that were more relaxed and creative were more likely to be liberal, more educated, healthier and more diverse. According to the Huffington Post, The temperamental and uninhibited regions were more likely to be liberal, women and not Protestant.