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Biggest Coastal City by U.S. State

Name the most populous coastal city in the U.S. states which have a coastline.
By city proper population. 2019 census estimates.
Does not include the Great Lakes
Coastal city = a city that touches the sea within its city limits
Quiz by itsajetman
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Last updated: March 24, 2021
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First submittedMarch 23, 2021
Times taken10,739
Average score69.6%
Rating4.09
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State
Population
City
Alabama
188,720
Mobile
Alaska
288,000
Anchorage
California
3,979,576
Los Angeles
Connecticut
144,399
Bridgeport
Delaware
70,166
Wilmington
Florida
911,507
Jacksonville
Georgia
144,464
Savannah
Hawaii
345,064
Honolulu
Louisiana
390,144
New Orleans
Maine
66,215
Portland
Maryland
593,490
Baltimore
Massachusetts
692,600
Boston
State
Population
City
Mississippi
71,705
Gulfport
New Hampshire
21,927
Portsmouth
New Jersey
282,011
Newark
New York
8,336,817
New York City
North Carolina
123,744
Wilmington
Oregon
16,361
Coos Bay
Rhode Island
179,883
Providence
South Carolina
137,566
Charleston
Texas
326,586
Corpus Christi
Virginia
449,974
Virginia Beach
Washington
753,675
Seattle
+3
Level 95
Mar 25, 2021
Just curious why the Great Lakes were excluded. Those states have coastlines as well.
+13
Level 80
Mar 25, 2021
I guess that's explained in the description.
+4
Level 67
Jun 5, 2021
The question was why the Great Lakes were excluded. The explanation for that is not offered in the description. There is a great deal of shipping done through the Great Lakes and there are U.S. Coast Guard stations throughout. There is an international border there. It's a peculiar omission.
+4
Level 57
Jun 5, 2021
There's no reason why the Great Lakes should be included. Countries that touch the Caspian Sea are considered landlocked, even though they're much larger than all of the Great Lakes. Same thing with lake Victoria in Africa. There's no reason why in North America it should be any different
+26
Level 71
Mar 25, 2021
The most annoying thing about this quiz is that Houston is literally only a few yards from being the biggest coastal city in Texas.
+3
Level 70
Jun 5, 2021
I only learned today that Houston doesn't touch the coast, I always assumed that it just had a very small coastline, but apparently not.
+3
Level 84
Jun 5, 2021
If Wilmington, DE, a city on the Delaware River near Delaware Bay counts as coastal, then Houston, which includes the Houston Ship Channel, an extension of Galveston Bay, should also count.
+3
Level 30
Jun 6, 2021
few *METERS*
+4
Level 52
Jun 7, 2021
we're talking about america, we can use imperial if we want, you could say that if this was the uk or france or something
+1
Level 65
Mar 25, 2021
Salt Lake City??
+22
Level 82
Mar 25, 2021
it's not Salt Sea City, is it?
+7
Level 86
Mar 25, 2021
Double Wilmington!
+11
Level 64
Mar 25, 2021
Because of its name, I had always assumed Portland, Oregon was on the coast. I was wrong.
+8
Level 84
Mar 26, 2021
Here's your fun trivia for the day then. It was named after Portland, ME in a coin flipping contest. :-)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Penny

+3
Level 89
Apr 1, 2021
If the coin had gone the other way we'd have 2 Bostons.
+12
Level 28
Apr 8, 2021
Thankfully, we don’t.
+6
Level 67
Jun 5, 2021
One is enough.
+1
Level 66
Sep 22, 2023
Hey, Boston's a nicer place than Portland.
+2
Level 43
Jun 6, 2021
Haha I only got Portland, ME because I guessed Portland, OR
+1
Level 55
Mar 26, 2021
It's on two rivers (pretty much) tho
+2
Level 91
Jun 9, 2021
Emphasis on the LAND, rather than the port.
+2
Level 71
Mar 26, 2021
Damn you Oregon!
+2
Level 55
Mar 26, 2021
I spent forever typing in every coastal city in Oregon I could think of...
+2
Level 68
Jun 5, 2021
Me too. And I'm from Oregon... I've mostly spent time on the northern part of the coast, though.
+4
Level 84
Mar 31, 2021
This is me living in Texas my whole life and just realizing that Houston does not technically touch the sea. Clear Lake (the body of water NASA is on) is, in fact, a lake and not connected to Galveston Bay.

I believe that Houston technically owns land on Burnet Bay, though I think it's a park and nobody lives there.

+2
Level 77
Apr 8, 2021
It'd be nice if all quizzes on this site used the same source for city populations. It's strange to see zoning bylaws the determinant of how big a city is rather than the actual population that considers themselves part of the city. Agglomerations seems to be a more realistic way of viewing populations of cities.
+2
Level 52
Jun 5, 2021
In my experience Americans in the "cities" of the suburbs quite vehemently do not consider themselves to be part of the city at the heart of the urban area.
+1
Level 72
Jun 5, 2021
same here in Canada, cities and suburbs may be one continuous area, but theyre two separate jurisdictions. One could live 20 minutes from the core of downtown Toronto, but would not consider themselves to live in Toronto
+2
Level 75
Jun 5, 2021
Actually, the Canadian practice is quite distinct from that of the U.S. The norm is "unicities," which is why Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Ottawa, and Quebec have larger incorporated populations than almost all U.S. cities. The results in both cases have been the result of battles over municipal taxation - typically decided in different directions in the two countries.
+1
Level 73
Aug 15, 2021
Just get all 50 states to agree upon a uniform definition of "city" and readjust all local zoning ordinances without any exceptions and you're good!
+1
Level 65
Jun 5, 2021
Ah~

Portland!

+4
Level 70
Jun 5, 2021
I wonder why Oregon never developed a significant coastal city.
+2
Level 67
Jun 5, 2021
Washington hasn't either (Seattle is on an inland sound). I assume that it has something to do with avoiding rainfall, and maybe also the availability of flat land near the coast.

I'm not sure, though.

+2
Level 68
Jun 5, 2021
I'm not sure about the southern part of the coast, but I know that Astoria, Seaside, etc. are frequently far more overcast and about 10-20 degrees cooler than even a hours drive inland.
+1
Level 42
Jun 5, 2021
Great quiz! I'm curious about why Miami isn't included though
+7
Level 66
Jun 5, 2021
Because Jacksonville is bigger
+1
Level 62
Jun 5, 2021
Miami has a larger metro population, but by city limits, Jacksonville is bigger. Jacksonville has a little over 900k in the city proper and 1.5 million in the metro while Miami has less than 500k in the city proper, but over 6 million in the metro.
+1
Level 59
Jun 6, 2021
omg i got 100%
+2
Level 91
Jun 9, 2021
Are you from Oregon?
+1
Level 70
Jun 8, 2021
Houston is actually coastal. The San Jacinto State Historic Battleground touches the sea, and is in Houston.
+2
Level 40
Jun 26, 2022
Oy vey, Coos Bay?!
+1
Level 66
Nov 6, 2022
Astoria is the biggest city on the Oregon coast.
+1
Level 32
Nov 29, 2023
I typed Portland for Oregon, I didnt even know there is another in Maine