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Biggest City in Each U.S. State

Can you name the most populous city in each U.S. state?
Source: 2022 Census estimates
By city proper population
Quiz by Quizmaster
Rate:
Last updated: May 19, 2023
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First submittedJuly 31, 2012
Times taken132,465
Average score72.0%
Rating4.84
6:00
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State
Population
City
Alabama
221,933
Huntsville
Alaska
287,145
Anchorage
Arizona
1,644,409
Phoenix
Arkansas
202,864
Little Rock
California
3,822,238
Los Angeles
Colorado
713,252
Denver
Connecticut
148,377
Bridgeport
Delaware
71,569
Wilmington
Florida
971,319
Jacksonville
Georgia
499,127
Atlanta
Hawaii
343,421
Honolulu
Idaho
236,634
Boise
Illinois
2,665,039
Chicago
Indiana
880,621
Indianapolis
Iowa
211,034
Des Moines
Kansas
396,192
Wichita
Kentucky
624,444
Louisville
Louisiana
369,749
New Orleans
Maine
68,424
Portland
Maryland
569,931
Baltimore
Massachusetts
650,706
Boston
Michigan
620,376
Detroit
Minnesota
425,096
Minneapolis
Mississippi
145,995
Jackson
Missouri
509,297
Kansas City
State
Population
City
Montana
119,960
Billings
Nebraska
485,153
Omaha
Nevada
656,274
Las Vegas
New Hampshire
115,141
Manchester
New Jersey
305,344
Newark
New Mexico
561,008
Albuquerque
New York
8,335,897
New York City
North Carolina
897,720
Charlotte
North Dakota
131,444
Fargo
Ohio
907,971
Columbus
Oklahoma
694,800
Oklahoma City
Oregon
635,067
Portland
Pennsylvania
1,567,258
Philadelphia
Rhode Island
189,563
Providence
South Carolina
153,672
Charleston
South Dakota
202,078
Sioux Falls
Tennessee
683,622
Nashville
Texas
2,302,878
Houston
Utah
204,657
Salt Lake City
Vermont
44,595
Burlington
Virginia
455,618
Virginia Beach
Washington
749,256
Seattle
West Virginia
47,129
Charleston
Wisconsin
563,305
Milwaukee
Wyoming
64,610
Cheyenne
+24
Level ∞
Oct 18, 2017
I reset the quiz to use only the largest city, instead of the two largest. I also made this extreme version for quiz masochists.
+13
Level 76
Oct 18, 2017
what about adding a map?
+6
Level 61
Oct 18, 2017
Memphis is the most populated city in Tennessee. Nashville isn't.
+12
Level 71
Jan 23, 2018
I had to research this for my state capital/largest city quiz

The 2010 census had Memphis ahead, but official Census Bureau estimates as of last year gave Nashville the lead.

+9
Level 88
Jun 26, 2019
Memphis has been stagnant for decades. Nashville has been growing rapidly.
+8
Level 86
Oct 18, 2017
They're pretty close and it seems Nashville is now above Memphis.
+7
Level ∞
May 24, 2019
Nashville is now ahead by 19,000 and the lead grows every year.
+5
Level ∞
May 18, 2023
Nashville now ahead by over 62,000.
+1
Level 76
Aug 23, 2023
YEAH NASHVILLE!!!
+4
Level 88
Jun 26, 2019
The real extreme version is the one with the top 10 for all 50 states, but the accuracy seems to fall apart for much smaller states like Vermont and Rhode Island.
+5
Level 66
Aug 13, 2020
It does get kinda suspect when the smaller states like Vermont or Rhode Island don't even have 10 municipalities classified as "cities." VT has 9 and I believe RI has 8 places officially called "cities."
+3
Level 67
Sep 1, 2019
Challenge Accepted!
+2
Level 31
Jul 26, 2022
one second to spare i named them all
+6
Level 72
Oct 18, 2017
Cool quiz, another one where I'd love to see the split between Native and non native takers.
+5
Level 82
Oct 20, 2017
Maybe we can do it in comments?

Non-native, 47 on first take (but I've done a lot of US quizzes before)

+2
Level 53
Nov 11, 2022
native...38/50
+2
Level 53
Dec 4, 2022
46/50 this time
+6
Level 90
Oct 18, 2017
For 2 minutes I keep typing Rapid City, Pierre, Sioux City before I beat my head against the wall and audibly groaned.
+5
Level 69
Nov 30, 2017
Is Jacksonville really larger than Miami and Orlando?
+8
Level 70
Dec 15, 2017
By city proper population, yes
+18
Level 21
Jan 31, 2018
City proper is the stupidest metric ever. No one says London proper or Shanghai proper. I'm from Atlanta which technically has about half a million people, but the metro area has nearly six million. It's contiguous development. How doesn't that count?
+20
Level ∞
May 24, 2019
People whine regardless of whether I do city proper or metro area. For this quiz, city proper makes the most sense because so many metro areas spill into adjoining states.
+4
Level 75
Jun 26, 2020
Metro populations have downsides too, given definitional problems (i.e. where does a city start/end?). Incorporated cities are relevant in that they determine much about taxation and fiscal policies more generally, as well as policing, schooling, and a host of other things. Many cities allow the renting of particular services (firefighting, for example), but that leads to other issues as well, such as the ability of tiny class-specific enclaves to opt out of Los Angeles, Detroit, etc. When Detroit declared bankruptcy, it wasn't a government representing 5.7 million people that did that.
+1
Level 50
Jun 21, 2023
If you live in california, you would appreciate city proper more. California is pretty much one gigantic metro area
+3
Level 77
May 19, 2023
what people don't realize is Jacksonville is the biggest city in the country by area, so if the quiz is doing city proper, Jacksonville gets a huge advantage.
+1
Level 65
Jun 6, 2023
Jacksonville is actually 6th. Several Alaska cities and a merged city-county in Kansas are larger. Not even the largest major city, as Anchorage is one of those Alaska cities. But, you are right in that it does give Jacksonville a huge advantage in this area.
+7
Level 69
Dec 21, 2017
Funny how in city proper Columbus is way bigger than Cleveland and Cincinnati, but in Metro area Columbus is smaller than the two!
+7
Level ∞
May 24, 2019
Not anymore! Columbus metro population just passed Cleveland's and will likely eclipse Cincinnati in the near future.
+3
Level 78
Sep 2, 2019
If you combine Cleveland's metro area with Akron's metro area it is still way larger than Columbus's metro area. Cleveland and Akron should be the same metro area since the only thing dividing the two is a county line.
+2
Level 61
Oct 7, 2020
Ah but then San Francisco gets much larger and so does Chicago by taking over Milwaukee and San Jose, that also does not include New York taking over Boston on down to Washington DC becoming one metro area by your logic.
+1
Level 86
Dec 2, 2022
This is exactly the difference between Metropolitan statistical areas and Combined statistical areas.
+2
Level 39
Jan 23, 2018
I always forget about New Hampshire till the last second, but I still failed:( but 49/50

I made a pretty interesting quiz that a few temperature guys may wanna check out

+2
Level 66
Jan 23, 2018
On the capital for Virginia, I abbreviated it and it was not accepted. Maybe it should be.
+1
Level 67
Jun 19, 2023
... or better yet, you could name the city in Virginia that has the largest population, which is not the capital.
+3
Level 61
Jan 23, 2018
Well I had no idea Kansas City was in Missouri! You learn something new everyday.
+7
Level 71
Jan 23, 2018
There are two! Right next to each other. KC, MO is bigger than KC, KS
+1
Level 50
Jun 21, 2023
Why would they name a city in Missouri Kansas City. That’s like naming a city in the us Canada city
+1
Level 64
Oct 28, 2023
As someone from Kansas City, it's because it's literally Kansas. I cross the border all the time. It's in Kansas but leaked into Missouri and now most people (including me) live in KANSAS City, MISSOURI.
+4
Level 90
Jan 23, 2018
It's on the border. There is a Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. By city proper the one in Missouri is roughly twice the size. By metro area its a lot more closely divided.
+4
Level 88
Jun 26, 2019
By cultural measurement, everything's in the Missouri city. The skyscrapers, museums, major league sports, broadcasting. KC, Kansas is just part of the suburban carpet.
+3
Level 80
Jan 23, 2018
Funny how Bridgeport is the least guessed answer. It's the butt of every joke here in CT!
+3
Level 36
Jan 25, 2018
How so? It's the only one I missed on the first try...kept rotating Stamford, New Haven, and Hartford around in my head.
+3
Level 70
May 6, 2019
Same except I also threw in Bristol and Mansfield for good measure before eventually remembering that Bridgeport exists.
+3
Level 82
May 26, 2018
Easy for me probably only because my cousin works there.
+3
Level 66
Jan 23, 2018
Native. Got them all with 2:22 remaining. Took 3 tries to guess Bridgeport. Tried Hartford and New Haven first.
+2
Level 73
Jan 23, 2018
3:14. Did a lot better on this one than the one with 4 cities per state. That one was exponentially harder.
+4
Level 16
Jan 23, 2018
got 39/50 but considering I’m 11 and trying to study geography, | think | did well
+2
Level 30
Jan 24, 2018
Wow! Charleston in two different states, and just for now though. May change later.
+4
Level 36
Jan 25, 2018
Charleston just over took Columbia in South Carolina, so I can't see that one changing soon.
+4
Level 48
Jan 24, 2018
I got frustrated trying to come up with Maine cities... not realizing I had already gotten it when I entered Oregon.
+2
Level 16
Jan 24, 2018
Wow, you did better than me I️ suppose!
+3
Level 65
Jan 24, 2018
Just a question, isn't Memphis more populous than Nashville?
+4
Level 36
Jan 25, 2018
Not anymore, though Nashville is only ahead by a slight margin.
+3
Level ∞
May 26, 2018
I believe Nashville overtook Memphis in either 2015 or 2016. Nashville has added over 60,000 residents since 2010 while Memphis has not grown at all.
+3
Level 31
Jan 25, 2018
How did I miss NYC -.-
+5
Level 73
Jun 14, 2019
Well... I got Portland, Maine by accident. And I also got Jackson while typing Jacksonville...
+2
Level 88
Jun 26, 2019
Statistically, according to the list, slightly more people got Portland, Maine than Portland, Oregon with Baltimore in between.
+4
Level 67
Sep 1, 2019
Aw, man. I forgot about Wilmington, Delaware. My old fake ID said I was from there.
+2
Level 82
Sep 1, 2019
Couldn't think of Vermont... all I could think of was that coat factory place...
+1
Level 82
Aug 25, 2021
hey what do you know... now this is the correct answer.
+1
Level 61
Jun 14, 2023
The Burlington that the coat factory is named for isn't even the same Burlington. They do have Bernie Sanders but that's about the only thing I can think of for Burlington VT.
+2
Level 65
Sep 1, 2019
Candy.
+5
Level 43
Jan 14, 2020
Trying to type Jacksonville end up with "ville"! Realized I has just got the one for Mississippi
+7
Level 62
Jun 3, 2020
City proper stats are meaningless, they really don’t tell the story of the size of a city. The idea that Los Angeles only has ~4m people is ridiculous
+1
Level 77
Jun 30, 2021
You are definitely correct.
+2
Level 67
Jun 30, 2021
Same with Boston. There are several different 'cities" that aren't included in the population even though they are really just Boston neighborhoods...Cambridge, Brookline, Somerville. I lived in Brookline when I was younger and didn't even know it was its own city rather than just a neighborhood of Boston. The T runs through it (on three different lines!). Northeastern is five minutes away by car. It's fifteen minutes to downtown with no traffic. I appreciate that there are vital distinctions relating to government, taxes, etc., but in terms of experience, you could walk from Brookline through to Boston to Cambridge and have no idea you had been in three different cities.
+1
Level 50
Jun 21, 2023
If you went by Los Angeles metro area, it would pretty much cover the whole state of California
+1
Level 25
Jun 30, 2021
Columbus is bigger than Cleveland and Cincinnati? I never would've guessed that. Same with Jacksonville over Orlando, Miami, and Tampa
+1
Level 67
Jun 30, 2021
Jacksonville is only bigger because it's enormous. I think the city and county are coterminous. It just goes on forever. The metro areas for Miami, Orlando, and Tampa are all comfortably bigger, but their official city limits are much smaller than Jacksonville's. I don't think it's the same situation in Ohio. I think Cleveland and Cincinnati were much bigger about fifty years ago (which is why they are more famous and have all the sports teams), but they have been steadily losing population. Columbus's population has exploded in the past few decades.
+1
Level 86
Dec 2, 2022
It's at least partly the same situation in Ohio. Check out the city lines for Columbus on Google Maps sometime . . . pretty wild.
+1
Level 76
Jun 30, 2021
50/50 Growing up in New England definitely helped.
+1
Level 67
Jun 30, 2021
I only got Bridgeport because my sister went to school there. Otherwise I would have never had a chance. Got the other 49 without much trouble.
+4
Level 77
Jun 30, 2021
Aaaaargh. Switching between city proper and metropolitan agglomeration populations on these quizzes is so frustrating. The agglomeration data is much more useful to everyone but city councils.
+1
Level 67
Aug 3, 2021
Huh I actually didn't know Virginia Beach and I go to Virginia every week
+3
Level 60
Aug 25, 2021
Why isn't Oklahoma accepted for Oklahoma City?
+2
Level 80
May 19, 2023
Because nobody calls is Oklahoma... OKC is accepted though.
+1
Level 56
Oct 6, 2021
Help i just found out Las vegas is in Nevada not in california
+3
Level 60
Feb 11, 2023
40/50 and I'm from Wales. Not bad at all.
+3
Level 25
Feb 12, 2023
I think Huntsville is higher than Birmingham for Alabama
+5
Level 49
Feb 13, 2023
Yea Huntsville is the only growing big city in Alabama, the other 3 (Birmingham, Montgomery, & Mobile) are shrinking. All 4 cities are within a 30,000 people margin.
+1
Level 59
May 19, 2023
well your thought has been realized
+1
Level 82
May 28, 2023
Thank you for answering my question of what changed that warranted an update.
+2
Level 69
May 20, 2023
Been to 17 of these, lived in two: Fargo and Minneapolis
+1
Level 78
May 22, 2023
i have work to do here.
+1
Level 35
Jun 12, 2023
It blew my mind that Huntsville is now larger than Birmingham.
+1
Level 19
Jun 19, 2023
I thought the same thing. City populations change a lot!
+1
Level 43
Jun 14, 2023
Virginia should be Lynchburg 700k+ people live there
+3
Level ∞
Jun 14, 2023
No
+2
Level 74
Jun 18, 2023
lmao
+2
Level 19
Jun 19, 2023
Huntsville is so hard. How would you know that!