Largest US Cities ABC

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OK, so we had this in the Blockbuster section of the pub quiz last week - name the largest US cities by population beginning with each letter of the alphabet.

Not as easy as it might seem. I've extended it from the 16 we were asked to 24 (I couldn't find any US cities beginning with X and Z).

So have a guess at each one and see how you do:

--------------------	Name of city	Population
A	--------------------	--------------------
B	--------------------	--------------------
C	--------------------	--------------------
D	--------------------	--------------------
E	--------------------	--------------------
F	--------------------	--------------------
G	--------------------	--------------------
H	--------------------	--------------------
I	--------------------	--------------------
J	--------------------	--------------------
K	--------------------	--------------------
L	--------------------	--------------------
M	--------------------	--------------------
N	--------------------	--------------------
O	--------------------	--------------------
P	--------------------	--------------------
Q	--------------------	--------------------
R	--------------------	--------------------
S	--------------------	--------------------
T	--------------------	--------------------
U	--------------------	--------------------
V	--------------------	--------------------
W	--------------------	--------------------
X	--------------------	--------------------
Y	--------------------	--------------------
Z	--------------------	--------------------

One point for each correct answer. I'll post a league table showing how you all did when lots of people have guessed. No googling allowed!

BONUS: guess the population for each one. 10 points will be awarded to anyone guessing within 100,000 of the correct answer for each city. 20 points for anyone within 50,000!

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 12:47 (twenty-two years ago)

these are probably totally way off but i swear i didn't use Google (notice the gaps where i couldn't think of a city that began with that letter).

Amarillo - 3.5m
Boston - 9.2m
Chicago - 11.9m
Detroit - 10.1m
E
F
G
Houston - 6.7m
Indianapolis - 2.5m
J
Kansas City - 3.9m
Los Angeles - 13.8m
Miami - 8.5m
New York - 14.2m
Oklahoma City - 5.2m
Philadelphia - 6.2m
Qu
R
San Francisco - 7.9m
Tucson - 3.5m
U
V
Washington DC - 7.5m

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Woah - no way does the US have that many enormous cities.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:05 (twenty-two years ago)

i guess not, it's just based on the idea that there's 60m or so in the UK and at a least a twelfth of that in London (which may also be bollocks but is what I am assuming based on memory)

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:08 (twenty-two years ago)

DC's population is around 600,000.

― adam (adam), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:18 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah a voice was telling me it was really small but i just panicked

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I think DC is one of those places whose population balloons if you loosen the definition of DC - it can't be more than 500,000 in the diamond but maybe 4-5m in the metropolitan area (into Maryland, Virginia).

There can't be more than 10-12 US cities with pop'n of 1m+.

xpost w/Adam

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:22 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd go with Stevem attempt for the names except:

A - Austin or Atlanta
B - Baltimore
G - Grand Rapids??
J - Jacksonville??

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:28 (twenty-two years ago)

(Um, hint before I dash off -- my birthplace/current home, with a population of over 1 million, is larger both population-wise and area-wise than a certain West Coast city that gets much more representation in the movies and on TV but in reality is much smaller than its image may have people to believe.)

― Mellow Dee (Dee the Lurker), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm guessing Dee lives in San Diego?

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Ooh, hang on - Y must be Yonkers! That's bonkers!

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:40 (twenty-two years ago)

(Ok, another hint now that I've fact-checked with Google.

My birthplace/current home is not as big population-wise as another city with a name that begins with the same letter. This city is in the same time zone as the aforementioned "West Coast city that gets much more representation in the movies and on TV but in reality is much smaller than its image may have people to believe". In fact, this city that is even larger than my current home doesn't really get that much representation at all in terms of movies or TV shows.)

(Clicking Submit, finding new answer.)

(Michael Jones, thank you for giving the correct answer in terms of this question. You get a huge gold star.)

(And no, I don't live in San Diego. I do, however, live in a city that is larger than the city that San Diego will supplant.) (Supplant a correct word for this instance? Ah well, don't have time to double-check.)

― Mellow Dee (Dee the Lurker), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:42 (twenty-two years ago)

U = Utah?
V = Virginia?

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Cities, Tuomas, cities.

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 13:52 (twenty-two years ago)

not that easy, because it depends on whether city size or metropolitan area size is used, but anyway, heres my guess, im not going to do the numbers for the above reason

A: Atlanta
B: Baltimore
C: Chicago
D: Detroit
E: El Paso
F: Ft Worth
G: Grand Rapids
H: Houston
I: Indianapolis
J: Jacksonville
K: Kansas City
L: Los Angeles
M: Memphis
N: New York City
O: Orlando
P: Philadelphia
Q:
R: Reno
S: San Diego
T: Tucson
U:
V:
W: Washington DC
X:
Y: Yuma
Z:

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:14 (twenty-two years ago)

actually dee is rigtht about san antonio, i forgot about that, i went for san diego and forgot about there. i think san jose has a surprisingly large population also

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:15 (twenty-two years ago)

can't believe i forgot Atlanta

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:17 (twenty-two years ago)

San Francisco proper barely has a million people.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:21 (twenty-two years ago)

which san are you going for, Gareth?

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:26 (twenty-two years ago)

san antonio, if such revisionism is permitted

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:29 (twenty-two years ago)

yes I'll make an exception seeing as its you.

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmmm, late contender for A (if Googling is forbidden, am I allowed to browse the gazetteer in the office?)...Albuquerque.

Agree for the most part with Gareth's additions/corrections, except for Orlando, which really isn't that big (sis-in-law lives near there). From another family connection - I think Raleigh, NC is a contender for R.

From the map (if this is cheating, DELETE MY POSTS!) - there's a Quincy, MA. (Should be Quincy, ME, but never mind).

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:30 (twenty-two years ago)

This is totally cheating! As is looking at what other people have already posted, I guess.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:34 (twenty-two years ago)

What about Phoenix? I think it's bigger population-wise than Philadelphia.

― sgs (sgs), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:34 (twenty-two years ago)

And I think Dallas might be larger than Detroit. Detroit has been losing population for years.

― Nemo (JND), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:35 (twenty-two years ago)

In fact the whole contest is fatally flawed.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:35 (twenty-two years ago)

OK, N., I withdraw.

In fact, I've just Googled (I could no longer resist) and I now know all the answers. So, I'm just going to sit here po-faced, possibly offering wordless encouragement to people I like.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Detroit = 10.1 MILLION people? WTF? Where are the other 9 million, hiding behind the abandoned buildings?

― webcrack (music=crack), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:38 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah the whole question depends on whether you're counting population in the city limits or the metro area. Of course I would suggest using media markets as the final arbiter.

― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Steady Mike, please put us out of our misery.

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:40 (twenty-two years ago)

[...]

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:41 (twenty-two years ago)

ok, i looked also, i didnt do to badly, 15 right, 3 stupid mistakes

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:46 (twenty-two years ago)

We have between 3.5 and 4 million in the entire southeast region of the state, and about 10 million in the ENTIRE STATE OF MICHIGAN. The figures quoted at the beginning of this thread are seriously inflated.

― webcrack (music=crack), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:46 (twenty-two years ago)

I bet you lot all txt yr mates when yr at the pub quiz :-p

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:47 (twenty-two years ago)

U: Utica

― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:47 (twenty-two years ago)

no, i only looked just now, after posting my guesses. there was no cheating.

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:49 (twenty-two years ago)

We all cheated in the sense that we didn't print out the original list and retire to a darkened room to consider our answers in isolation, which is what Commandant Dastoor would prefer. Thankfully, this is not bloody Russia and we can do as we please.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:54 (twenty-two years ago)

actually, i kind of did, i didnt look at any post until after posting mine. i like communist russia.

mike, i still(!) havent picked up my records have i? are you free later this week or next?

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Gareth, you are good Soviet.

Er, bit busy this week/weekend - perhaps one evening next week? Sorry I've had them so long. Email me anyway.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 14:58 (twenty-two years ago)

A: Atlanta
B: Baltimore
C: Chicago
D: Dallas
E: El Paso
F: Ft Worth
G: Grand Rapids
H: Houston
I: Indianapolis
J: Jacksonville
K: Kansas City
L: Los Angeles
M: Minneapolis
N: New York City
O: Oakland
P: Philadelphia
Q: cheating answer - Quad Cities, IA; only one I can come up with is Queets, WA, and I maybe made that up and if I didn't I'm sure it's not right
R: Richmond, VA
S: San Jose
T: Tampa
U: Upper Darby, PA or Ukiah, CA
V: Ventura or Van Nuys, CA? Vicksburg, MS?
W: Washington, DC
X:
Y: Ypsilanti, MI or Youngstown, OH?
Z: Zanesville, OH?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 15:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Some of the correct answers are here, but if you want to keep guessing, don't click on that link.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 15:05 (twenty-two years ago)

How big is Quincy, Massachusetts?

― Nemo (JND), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 15:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Which is where things get interesting, Tuomas, cos my Googling yielded a different answer from one of your apparently correct entries.

Ooh, this could run and run.

(Quincy, MA - 88,025 by 2000 census)

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 15:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Ooh, this could run and run.

I hope so Mike, it's just not running in the orderly fashion that I wished for.

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

My answers are from the 2000 census, but things might've changed.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 15:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, it was always going to be a shambles. You can't expect people to follow simple instructions.

Looking back, it was me who started the rot. Soz.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 15:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I think G is Grand Rapids. Also, don't forget Milwaukee is pretty big too!

― marianna, Tuesday, 10 February 2004 16:12 (twenty-two years ago)

V = Virginia Beach (bigger than Ventura or Vicksburg)

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 16:27 (twenty-two years ago)

i think san jose has a surprisingly large population also

i'm interested in why (for the UK residents) this is suprising? what kind of computers do you use!!?!?!?!??!

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 16:33 (twenty-two years ago)

what kind of computers do you use!!?!?!?!??!

Haight-Ashbury 9600Z.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 16:34 (twenty-two years ago)

the ones on west tasman drive. i think maybe we (i?) think of san jose as business parky not not urban, i think it doesnt have a high profile here, maybe due to IT it now has a larger one

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 16:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Interesting.

2-3 years ago it was the #10 most populous city in the US.

San Francisco (as noted above) is tiny. 700k people at latest estimate.

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 16:42 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm thinking that Fresno (raisin capital of the world) may be bigger than Ft. Worth proper.

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 16:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Even with Google, I'm having real problems with X and Z.

― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 16:54 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.mothers.com/powertour/powertour98/PT98_Pics/PT98_May8_Pics/36.JPG

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 17:00 (twenty-two years ago)

There are Xenias in Ohio and Illinois.

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 17:05 (twenty-two years ago)

There's one in a James Bond film too.

― ailsa (ailsa), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 17:10 (twenty-two years ago)

There are no US municipalities with pop'n over 50,000 starting with X or Z, according to the 2000 census.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 17:14 (twenty-two years ago)

I know it's part of NYC, but could you not have Queens as your Q; it must have 2m+ people I'd have thought judging by NYC's size.

― Nick H (Nick H), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 17:17 (twenty-two years ago)

i know that philadelphia's population has shrunk over the years ... but there's no way is its population smaller than boston, washington dc, or san francisco (or their metro areas).

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 17:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Philadelphia - 6.2m

Ha ha. (I shouldn't laugh since I'm not guessing.)

― Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 10 February 2004 18:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I used to go swimming in Zenia, California... in the Humboldt County Redwoods. Most of the town washed away in the '64 flood.

― andy, Tuesday, 10 February 2004 19:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Would Ypsilanti, MI be bigger than Yuma, AZ perchance?

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 19:38 (twenty-two years ago)

(Ypsilanti being part of the greater Detroit area, I believe)

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 19:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Is Anaheim, CA possibly bigger than Atlanta, GA?

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 19:40 (twenty-two years ago)

A caution about cities and metropolitan areas - the metro area figures are for entities invented by the Bureau of the Census that are not governed by a single public authority and that combine the population of separately-incorporated localities, typically a central city and its suburbs but often more than one city, or even more than one major city. I'm assuming we're using the city numbers here, not the metro ones. And using actual bars us from the use of localities that have a distinct place name but are not separately-incorporated (there's at least one of these on this thread).

Of course, the city numbers rely upon the arbitrary extent of any given city's incorporation of its suburbs (Jacksonville and Indianapolis are two big examples of cities that have incorporated most of their suburbs), perhaps skewing the results somewhat (though not sufficiently as to the two just mentioned, I don't think).

I'll post the correct answers (per the 2000 census) later on Tuomas' linked thread, if I get a chance. He's already posted a list there, but it's incomplete and at least one of his answers is incorrect (per the 2000 census).

I am willing to bet that no one here comes up unassisted with the correct answer for "U", though I-95 people might come up with what I think is the runner-up. (Teeny's guess beats mine by a longshot - at least I didn't guess Great Neck or Valley Stream - but hers is 4th at best).

For the hardcore, the next step should be to list one town A-Z for each state.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 22:38 (twenty-two years ago)

For a guide on population size - Houston is the fourth-largest city in the US with a pop. of ~2 million and as of a few years ago, Arlington was the 100th largest city in the nation, with a sub-300k population.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 22:42 (twenty-two years ago)

A Atlanta 2.6 million
B Buffalo .9 million
C Chicago 3.6 million
D Dallas 2.2 million
E El Paso .8 million
F Fort Worth .8 million
G Grand Rapids .2 million
H Houston 4.1 million
I Indianapolis 1.1 million
J Jacksonville .9 million
K Kansas City 1.1 million
L Los Angeles 5.0 million
M Miami 2.0 million
N New York City 8.6 million
O Oakland .5 million
P Philadelphia 2.8 million
Q Quincy .1 million
R Rochester 1.0 million
S Seattle 2.1 million
T Tucson 1.0 million
U Upper Derby .5 million
V Virgina Beach .3 million
W Washington .7 million
X Xenia (Ohio) .05 million
Y Yuma .2 million
Z Zion (Illinois) .05 million

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 22:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Oops, revise Upper Derby (Philly suburb) to .05 million.

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 22:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Dallas is about half of that.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 22:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe I was thinking DFWDentonMetroPlex.

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:01 (twenty-two years ago)

heh, mine look evermore ridiculous. i'd just like to point out it's not like i go around thinking there are really that many people in those cities...just makes London seem even more crowded...

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:01 (twenty-two years ago)

No way is Houston bigger than Chicago!!!

US Census - Houston - 1,953,631 Chicago - 3.something something.

Number three and proud of it!

― Kerry (dymaxia), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Seattle is smaller than San Diego certainly... not by much, but I know Seattle ain't the "S" winner.

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I think there is only one city in the US with a larger area than London, and it's kind of a cheat. I mean, London really is huge.

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Must be Houston.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, it was guesswork. I missed a whole bunch. And I gambled on a few, as if we're making odds or something.

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:17 (twenty-two years ago)

No to Houston! I think Houston is marginally smaller than London (like, a square mile or two-- if either place were hilly and we were really talking surface area, there wouldn't be a contest).

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:18 (twenty-two years ago)

And using actual bars us from the use of localities that have a distinct place name but are not separately-incorporated (there's at least one of these on this thread).

"actual cities". Now I'm confused. I may have been wrong about the example I was thinking of (thus rendering something else I said wrong).

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:20 (twenty-two years ago)

ooh, well now I'm super curious! My life revolves around Arbitron markets, so that's what I go by as far as rankings of metro areas by population. I can't think of another U city that's not included in a larger city's metro area, but Arbitron metros can be super weird and it's all politics anyway, like market #36 is Middlesex-Somerset-Union, NJ, I mean wtf.

― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Fruit of more research: apparently Houston conquered some suburbs in the 1990s, adding nearly 40 square miles and passing London in the sprawlstakes. And by looking farther down the population list, I found two other US cities with a greater land area than London (they're sort of laughably described as urban areas, though). So we're up to four.

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:27 (twenty-two years ago)

DAMMIT I KNEW THAT WAS A TRICK QUESTION.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Arizona
California
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Illinois
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington

Easy.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Hooked On Phonics can work for you, too!

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:34 (twenty-two years ago)

A - Atlanta
B - Baltimore
C - Chicago
D - Detroit
E - El Paso - a little over a million, but I can't think of any other 'E'
F - Ft. Wayne - Ft. Worth is small, less than a half-million
G -
H - Houston
I - Indianapolis
J - Jacksonville
K - KC
L - LA (but that's the not-incorporated one, right?) (so Lafayette?
M - Miami
N - New Orleans
O -
P - Portland
Q -
R -
S - Seattle
T - Tuscon
U -
V - Virginia City?
W - Wilmington NC? Is that a real city?
X
Y
Z

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:48 (twenty-two years ago)

(Just in case people haven't gotten it yet, look at Michael Jones' post. San Diego wins for the "S" slot. San Diego contains approximately 100,000 more people than my hometown does. Michael Jones is right -- I was just in need of Googling to set me straight.)

― Mellow Dee (Dee the Lurker), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:51 (twenty-two years ago)

(San Antonio: 1,114,000 people.
San Diego: 1,214,000 people. Approximately.)

― Mellow Dee (Dee the Lurker), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 23:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Wait a minute... we're talking population or square area?

If we're talking square area, greater Jacksonville, FL is the biggest in the U.S.

― donut bitch (donut), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 00:26 (twenty-two years ago)

I think the collective view of the thread is that square area can go and spin on San Antonio's ass.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 00:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Wilmington NC? Is that a real city?

Hollywood of the East, yes it is. I wonder if it's bigger than Wilmington, DE.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 00:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Jacksonville is bigger than Juneau???

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 00:41 (twenty-two years ago)

D.F., México dice "Ja Ja Ja"

http://www.surf-mexico.com/states/DF/images/mexicocity_skyline.jpg

― donut bitch (donut), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 00:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I posted my compilation of the right answers - including one that remains an open question, as I posited earlier - on the thread that Tuomas links to above.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 03:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Would Ypsilanti, MI be bigger than Yuma, AZ perchance?

Ypsi isn't very big, less than 100,000 for sure.

― webcrack (music=crack), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 05:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Yuma is pretty small, too. 70k-ish I think.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 08:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Among the letters that may not have been answered correctly thus far is "G".

I know it's part of NYC, but could you not have Queens as your Q; it must have 2m+ people I'd have thought judging by NYC's size.

The boroughs of NYC are not separately incorporated and thus can't be used here. Were they separate, however, Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn would be the largest cities of their respective letters, with the Bronx the B runner-up. Per the 2000 census, Brooklyn would be the third-largest city in America. Queens, at just under 2M, would be 5th. Manhattan would be 7th. And the Bronx would be 10th.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 13:52 (twenty-two years ago)

thanks, ian, you just made me spit out water laughing with the comment about the people hiding behind abandoned buildings.

didn't detroit drop below a million in the 2000 census? i remember a big push to go out and register homeless people and stuff because cities lose so many subsidies if they have a population under a million...

― colette (a2lette), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 14:07 (twenty-two years ago)

An British version of this is urgent and key.

― Pete (Pete), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 14:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Also handily, there is lots of population information already looked out on this thread here...Which English town or city is most poorly represented on the football pitch?

― ailsa (ailsa), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 14:15 (twenty-two years ago)

i think i would be equally wrong with the British one

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 14:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Dudley? Gotta be 9.1 million at least.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 15:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Colette, we're down to about 950,000 now officially, though there may be more as uneducated people are often extremely suspicious of the census and won't answer even though it ends up hurting them in the long run. However, I believe that there are less than a million at this point.

― webcrack (music=crack), Wednesday, 11 February 2004 17:29 (twenty-two years ago)

three years pass...

[i]For the hardcore, the next step should be to list one town A-Z for each state[/]

Texas:

Austin
Brownsville
Corpus Christi
Dallas
El Paso
Fort Worth
Garland
Houston
I
Junction
Kileen
Longview
Midland
Nacogdoches
Odessa
Plano
Q
Round Rock
San Antonio
Texarkana
U
Van Horn
Waco
X
Y
Zephyr

― maricopa john, Thursday, 15 March 2007 10:35 (nineteen years ago)

California

Alameida
Burbank
Costa Mesa
uhh Davis
Emeryville
Fresno
Glendale
Huntingdon Beach
Inglewood
J
K
Los Angeles
Modesto
N
Oakland
Pasadena
Q
Riverside
San Diego
Torrance
U
Victorville
W
X
Y
Zzyzx;)

― maricopa john, Thursday, 15 March 2007 10:47 (nineteen years ago)

Surely the most mentions for Ypsilanti in any ILX thread!

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 15 March 2007 10:53 (nineteen years ago)

I figured doing Arkansas would be cheating, so here's Missouri

Alton
Bolivar
Columbia
Eagleton
Fulton
Hannibal
Independence
Jefferson City
Kansas City
Liberty
Moberly
Neosho
Osage Beach
Rolla
St. Louis
Thayer
Versailles
Witt Springs

I'm missing eight, and I'd bet that at least two of them are really obvious.

― Pleasant Plains, Thursday, 15 March 2007 16:47 (nineteen years ago)

Looking at y'all earlier answers seems you have your consensus on Grand Rapids for largest G, but i'd take Garland (or Glendale) over Grand Rapids for the overall G

― maricopa john, Thursday, 15 March 2007 16:56 (nineteen years ago)

OK, I haven't read this thread. I also haven't consulted any maps or lists.

Austin, TX
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX
El Paso, TX
Fargo, ND
Greensboro, NC
Houston, TX
Indianapolis, IN
Jacksonville, FL
Kansas City, MO
Los Angeles, CA
Memphis, TN
New York, NY
Oklahoma City, OK
Philadelphia, PA
Quincy, MA
Richmond, VA
San Diego, CA
Tampa, FL
Upper Darby, PA
Virginia Beach, VA
Washington, DC
Yonkers, NY

There are a few I have doubts on (if Memphis is bigger than Milwaukee, it's not by much ... I'm also not sure if Yuma has surpassed Yonkers ... and Greensboro can't be right, but I'm at a loss for other G cities -- Gary IN? Garden Grove CA?)

― jaymc, Thursday, 15 March 2007 17:23 (nineteen years ago)

Haha, I also didn't see it was a revive.

― jaymc, Thursday, 15 March 2007 17:25 (nineteen years ago)

Anyway, wtf, there are no answers to the initial question?

Here they are, from the 2005 estimates:

Austin, TX
Baltimore, MD
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX
El Paso, TX
Fort Worth, TX
Glendale, AZ
Houston, TX
Indianapolis, IN
Jacksonville, FL
Kansas City, MO
Los Angeles, CA
Memphis, TN
New York, NY
Oklahoma City, OK
Philadelphia, PA
Q*
Raleigh, NC
San Diego, CA
Tucson, AZ
U*
Virginia Beach, VA
Washington, DC
Yonkers, NY

None above 100,000. I should try to find these, anyway.

I got at least 17 right. Of the ones I missed...

Baltimore vs. Boston is tricky -- the former has only about 70,000 more people.

Fargo was probably the stupidest guess I could've made, since I forgot not only Ft. Worth, but also Fresno, Ft. Wayne, Fremont, Ft. Lauderdale, etc. -- all bigger than Fargo, which I should've realized is tiny since it's in N.Dak.

Greensboro actually wasn't as bad a guess as I thought -- it's second behind Glendale.

Richmond, however, is a lot smaller than I thought -- it's trumped by Raleigh, Riverside, Rochester, and Reno.

And I don't think Tampa was totally off-base -- but I forgot both Tucson and Tulsa.

― jaymc, Thursday, 15 March 2007 17:40 (nineteen years ago)

None above 100,000. I should try to find these, anyway.

This should have an asterisk before it. Referring to Q and U.

― jaymc, Thursday, 15 March 2007 17:41 (nineteen years ago)

only read so far to see the by-state test

california in less than 10 minutes

arcata
bakersfield
carmel
death valley?
emeryville
foster city
guerneville
half moon bay
indio
joshua tree?
k?
laytonville
mission viejo
napa
oakland
palo alto
q?
redlands
san diego
templeton
u?
ventura
whittier
x?
yosemite village
does zabriskie point count?

― gabbneb, Thursday, 15 March 2007 18:00 (nineteen years ago)

washington state in 10 minutes

anacortes
bow
cle elum
d (i have some sort of d block)
elbe
freeland
glacier
hoquiam
ilwaco
j (j is hard too)
kent
langley
mt vernon
nooksack
okanagan
puyallup
quileute
renton
skykomish
tacoma
u
vashon island
walla walla
x
yakima
does szmania count?

― gabbneb, Thursday, 15 March 2007 18:10 (nineteen years ago)

new york state

annandale-on-hudson
bethel
cooperstown
dobbs ferry
elmira
freehold
geneseo
huntington
ithaca
lake placid
mt kisco
new york
oneonta
pocantico hills
q
ronkonkoma
skaneatles
tarrytown
utica
v
woodstock
x
y
z

― gabbneb, Thursday, 15 March 2007 18:30 (nineteen years ago)

I just noticed that Gabbneb listed the answers on the HTML playground, using the 2000 census figures.

Interesting, though -- in 2000 Greensboro, NC, was still larger than Glendale, AZ.

As for Upper Darby, PA, I believe that it wasn't in Gabbneb's almanac because it's a township and not a city.

Q is Quincy MA
U is Upland CA (or possibly Union City NJ or Union City CA -- all three were hovering around 70,000 as of 2000)

― jaymc, Thursday, 15 March 2007 18:31 (nineteen years ago)

gabb, I think Albany is larger than Annandale.

― jaymc, Thursday, 15 March 2007 18:32 (nineteen years ago)

Anaheim's gotta be the biggest Cal "A" And I'd guess Palmdale is the biggest "P."

― nickn, Thursday, 15 March 2007 18:36 (nineteen years ago)

i'm not picking largest, I'm just going for names, sorry

― gabbneb, Thursday, 15 March 2007 18:42 (nineteen years ago)

Oh right. I didn't see that bit. Illinois should be easy-peasy then.

Arlington Heights
Belvidere
Chicago
Downers Grove
Elmhurst
Farmington
Glendale Heights
Hanover Park
I
Joliet
Kankakee
Lisle
Metamora
Naperville
Oak Park
Peoria
Quincy
Rockford
Springfield
Tampico
U
Vernon Hills
Waukegan
X
Y
Zion

― jaymc, Thursday, 15 March 2007 18:51 (nineteen years ago)

Altus
Batesville
Concord
Dover
England
Fayetteville
Greers Ferry
Higden
Ink
Jacksonville
Kensett
Little Rock
Murfreesboro
North Little Rock
Osceola
Paragould
Quitman
Rogers
Stuttgart
Tillar
Ulm
Van Buren
Wabbaseeka
Yellville
Zinc

Ha! I just wrote that Arkansas list without looking up!

― Pleasant Plains, Thursday, 15 March 2007 18:52 (nineteen years ago)

Michigan

Albion
Bloomfield Hills
Clarkston
Detroit
East Lansing
Farmington
Grand Rapids
Hamtramck
I
Jackson
Kalamazoo
Lansing
Mt. Pleasant
Novi
Oakland? (I know there's an Oakland Co.)
Paw Paw
Q
Rochester
Sault Ste. Marie
Traverse City
U
V
Whitehall
X
Ypsilanti
Z

― jaymc, Thursday, 15 March 2007 18:59 (nineteen years ago)

What about Phoenix? I think it's bigger population-wise than Philadelphia.

not yet (and hopefully never) -- but there's only like a 2,000 difference in population between the two cities.

;__;

― Eisbaer, Thursday, 15 March 2007 19:36 (nineteen years ago)

A few years ago there was a huge agonized article in the Philadelphia about Phoenix overtaking Philadelphia as the 5th or whatever biggest city. Did they miscount? I can understand the annoyance...isn't Phoenix like 100X the area of Philadelphia (which isn't that small in the first place)?

― Chris H., Thursday, 15 March 2007 20:18 (nineteen years ago)

I don't know, I think using the population of a municipal entity makes a lot less sense than using the population of an entire metropolitan area. The former is largely arbitrary, dependent on history, laws, etc. The latter at least has some vague legitimacy to it. Like, San Francisco is a tiny city area -wise, and so it has only like 700,000 people in it. But the bay area has 4 mill + people. Boston is similar in this respect, I think. And the opposite is presumably true of someplace like Houston or Phoenix...

― askance johnson, Thursday, 15 March 2007 20:25 (nineteen years ago)

the last year estimates had Philly (the city alone) ~2000 people larger than Phoenix, which surely has overtaken it by now. but the Philly metro area is much more populous than the Phoenix metro area.

― gabbneb, Thursday, 15 March 2007 20:27 (nineteen years ago)

Texas:

Amarillo
Beaumont
Corpus Christi
Dallas
El Paso
Ft. Worth
Garland
Houston
I ...
J ...
Killeen
Laredo
Midland
New Braunfels
Odessa
Plano
Q ...
Richmond
San Antonio
Texas City
Uvalde
Victoria
Waco
X ...
Y ...
Z ...

― kenan, Thursday, 15 March 2007 20:28 (nineteen years ago)

same deal with Houston - bigger 'city', smaller metro

― gabbneb, Thursday, 15 March 2007 20:29 (nineteen years ago)

Do'h! A is Austin, obviously! *smacks head*

― kenan, Thursday, 15 March 2007 20:32 (nineteen years ago)

The alphabet thing is a lot harder than it looks.

― Pleasant Plains, Thursday, 15 March 2007 20:34 (nineteen years ago)

I only got 13. Lubbock is bigger than Laredo, that's another one I'm smacking myself for.

― kenan, Thursday, 15 March 2007 20:35 (nineteen years ago)

by my best guess based on hazy recollections...

massachusetts:

AArlington? Attleboro?
B Boston
C Cambridge
D Danvers?
E Everett
F Fall River
G Gloucester
H Haverhill
I Ipswich
J ???? (i can't think of a city/town that starts with a j)
K Kingston (the only city/town i can think of that starts with a k)
L Lowell
M Medford? Malden?
N New Bedford
O Oxford
P Pittsfield? Peabody?
Q Quincy
R Revere
S Springfield
T Taunton
U Uxbridge
V
W Worcester
X
Y Yarmouth
Z

i can't think of ANY for the blanks...

― chicago kevin, Thursday, 15 March 2007 20:52 (nineteen years ago)

this one was much harder than the others

Alexandria
Ballston
Charlottesville
Dulles Airport
East Falls Church
Falls Church
G
Herndon
I
Jamestown
King George
Lexington
Mt Vernon
Norfolk
Occoquan
Potomac
Quantico
Richmond
Staunton
The Plains
U
Virginia Beach
Williamsburg
X
Yorktown
Z

― gabbneb, Thursday, 15 March 2007 21:56 (nineteen years ago)

Ballston and East Falls Church are not cities are not cities, towns, or anything. East Falls Church is barely even a neighborhood...it's a metro stop.

― Chris H., Thursday, 15 March 2007 22:00 (nineteen years ago)

Dulles isn't a city either

― gabbneb, Thursday, 15 March 2007 22:10 (nineteen years ago)

I want to see someone do Hawaii.

― Pleasant Plains, Thursday, 15 March 2007 22:11 (nineteen years ago)

jaymc: for illinois

Itasca for i
urbana for u

― t0dd swiss, Thursday, 15 March 2007 22:13 (nineteen years ago)

Ah yes! Those are both good. I'm surprised I couldn't think of Urbana. Also Yorkville for Y, home of Denny Hastert.

― jaymc, Thursday, 15 March 2007 22:39 (nineteen years ago)

gabby: YONKERS!!

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 16 March 2007 01:45 (nineteen years ago)

A Atlanta 2MM
B Boston 800K
C Chicago 4MM
D Dallas 1MM
E El Paso 600K
F Fort Worth 400K
G There is a Greenwich somewhere I am sure? Grant's Pass? Am I missing something obvious?
H Houston 2MM
I Indianapolis 1MM
J Jacksonville 750K
K Kansas City, MO 400K
L Los Angeles 5MM
M Miami 1MM
N New York City 9MM
O Orlando 400K
P Philadelphia 2MM
Q No fucking idea.
R Richmond, VA 200K
S San Diego 1MM
T Toledo 400K (I think Toledo is bigger than Tampa or Trenton)
U No fucking idea?!?!
V Vancouver, WA? Jesus that's impossible
W Washington DC 700K
Y Yreka, CA 40K???

― Alex in SF, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:09 (nineteen years ago)

Is Austin really bigger than Atlanta according to the census? That seems hard to believe.

― Alex in SF, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:14 (nineteen years ago)

Also my pop figures are very losely based on my memory of the city proper stats from my old almanac.

― Alex in SF, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:15 (nineteen years ago)

ha, Amarillo - 3.5m

― milo z, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:17 (nineteen years ago)

Also can't believe I forgot Virginia Beach. And am curious what the largest R city is now.

― Alex in SF, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:18 (nineteen years ago)

Okay I guess the city of Austin proper is, but Atlanta Metro Area is larger. That's tricky.

― Alex in SF, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:22 (nineteen years ago)

C'mon, someone do Ohio -- I bet it's the only state where you'd have a shot at the X and the Z w/o consulting an atlas.

― Jeff Wright, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:22 (nineteen years ago)

Raleigh?

― maricopa john, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:23 (nineteen years ago)

California is easy. I'm blanking on G & J though.

Arnold
Bakersfield
Concord
Dublin
Eureka
Fresno
G
Huntington Beach
Indio
J
Kern
Lompoc
Modesto
Northridge
Ojai
Palm Springs
Q
Riverside
San Jose
Tustin
Ukiah
Ventura
West Hollywood
X
Yreka
Zzyzx

― walterkranz, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:23 (nineteen years ago)

Glendale is surely largest for Ca

― maricopa john, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:24 (nineteen years ago)

and Irving for Tx.

― maricopa john, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:25 (nineteen years ago)

Oh people are just listing any old city instead of the largest ones? even for the easier states like Ca?

― maricopa john, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:27 (nineteen years ago)

many xps - Fort Wayne Indiana is still a touch larger than Fort Worth, I believe

― milo z, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:28 (nineteen years ago)

oh, I was doing the list any a-z from yr state subthread thing, not the biggest cities of the US thread from 3 yrs ago. can't believe I forgot glendale though.

― walterkranz, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:28 (nineteen years ago)

No i meant largest a-z from each state

― maricopa john, Friday, 16 March 2007 02:30 (nineteen years ago)

For the hardcore, the next step should be to list one town A-Z for each state.

gabbneb (gabbneb) on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 2:38 PM (3 years ago)

― walterkranz, Friday, 16 March 2007 03:30 (nineteen years ago)

Amory
Biloxi
Columbus
D'Iberville
Ecru
Forest
Gulfport
Hattiesburg
Itta Bena
Jackson
Kiln
Laurel
Meridian
Natchez
Oxford
Panola
Quincy
Rosedale
Starkville
Tupelo
University (lol@technicality)
Van Vleet
West Point
X
Yazoo City
Z

― Rock Hardy, Friday, 16 March 2007 03:51 (nineteen years ago)

thats not very hardcore!

― maricopa john, Friday, 16 March 2007 03:52 (nineteen years ago)

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