The simple answer here is sugar, it's the great divider! Generally, although not always, what most folks consider Northern cornbread is a little cakier and is definitely sweeter. Traditionally, most cooks in the South do not put sugar in their cornbread, including me. However, that said, I love any type of cornbread, and I will happily eat a slice of sweet cornbread any day.  There are no hard and fast rules, and the lines are blurred. No matter where you live, everyone has a favorite recipe or way they like their cornbread made, and it usually has to do with what kind you ate growing up.