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Largest city in every US state
Ask any American where their state capital sits and most can answer. Ask them where the biggest city sits and the map goes fuzzy. The largest city in a US state is almost never the capital: only 17 of 50 pull double duty. In the other 33 states the biggest population center is a separate town, often several hours' drive from the statehouse. This guide lists the largest city in every state, using US Census Bureau incorporated-place counts from the 2020 decennial census, and flags the ones that trip up quiz players.
The full list of 50 largest cities
Cities marked with a star also serve as the state capital. Population is the 2020 census count for the incorporated city, not the metro area.
| State | Largest city | Capital? | 2020 pop. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Huntsville | No (Montgomery) | 215,006 |
| Alaska | Anchorage | No (Juneau) | 291,247 |
| Arizona | Phoenix ★ | Yes | 1,608,139 |
| Arkansas | Little Rock ★ | Yes | 202,591 |
| California | Los Angeles | No (Sacramento) | 3,898,747 |
| Colorado | Denver ★ | Yes | 715,522 |
| Connecticut | Bridgeport | No (Hartford) | 148,654 |
| Delaware | Wilmington | No (Dover) | 70,898 |
| Florida | Jacksonville | No (Tallahassee) | 949,611 |
| Georgia | Atlanta ★ | Yes | 498,715 |
| Hawaii | Honolulu ★ | Yes | 350,964 |
| Idaho | Boise ★ | Yes | 235,684 |
| Illinois | Chicago | No (Springfield) | 2,746,388 |
| Indiana | Indianapolis ★ | Yes | 887,642 |
| Iowa | Des Moines ★ | Yes | 214,133 |
| Kansas | Wichita | No (Topeka) | 397,532 |
| Kentucky | Louisville | No (Frankfort) | 633,045 |
| Louisiana | New Orleans | No (Baton Rouge) | 383,997 |
| Maine | Portland | No (Augusta) | 68,408 |
| Maryland | Baltimore | No (Annapolis) | 585,708 |
| Massachusetts | Boston ★ | Yes | 675,647 |
| Michigan | Detroit | No (Lansing) | 639,111 |
| Minnesota | Minneapolis | No (Saint Paul) | 429,954 |
| Mississippi | Jackson ★ | Yes | 153,701 |
| Missouri | Kansas City | No (Jefferson City) | 508,090 |
| Montana | Billings | No (Helena) | 117,116 |
| Nebraska | Omaha | No (Lincoln) | 486,051 |
| Nevada | Las Vegas | No (Carson City) | 641,903 |
| New Hampshire | Manchester | No (Concord) | 115,644 |
| New Jersey | Newark | No (Trenton) | 311,549 |
| New Mexico | Albuquerque | No (Santa Fe) | 564,559 |
| New York | New York City | No (Albany) | 8,336,817 |
| North Carolina | Charlotte | No (Raleigh) | 874,579 |
| North Dakota | Fargo | No (Bismarck) | 125,990 |
| Ohio | Columbus ★ | Yes | 905,748 |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma City ★ | Yes | 681,054 |
| Oregon | Portland | No (Salem) | 652,503 |
| Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | No (Harrisburg) | 1,603,797 |
| Rhode Island | Providence ★ | Yes | 190,934 |
| South Carolina | Charleston | No (Columbia) | 150,227 |
| South Dakota | Sioux Falls | No (Pierre) | 192,517 |
| Tennessee | Nashville ★ | Yes | 689,447 |
| Texas | Houston | No (Austin) | 2,304,580 |
| Utah | Salt Lake City ★ | Yes | 200,133 |
| Vermont | Burlington | No (Montpelier) | 44,743 |
| Virginia | Virginia Beach | No (Richmond) | 459,470 |
| Washington | Seattle | No (Olympia) | 737,015 |
| West Virginia | Charleston ★ | Yes | 48,864 |
| Wisconsin | Milwaukee | No (Madison) | 577,222 |
| Wyoming | Cheyenne ★ | Yes | 65,132 |
The 17 states where the capital is also the largest city
These states avoid the political-versus-economic split that defines most of the country. In every case the capital city grew into the dominant metro because it was already the transportation, government or trading center at the time of statehood.
- Arizona (Phoenix), Arkansas (Little Rock), Colorado (Denver), Georgia (Atlanta), Hawaii (Honolulu), Idaho (Boise), Indiana (Indianapolis), Iowa (Des Moines).
- Massachusetts (Boston), Mississippi (Jackson), Ohio (Columbus), Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), Rhode Island (Providence).
- Tennessee (Nashville), Utah (Salt Lake City), West Virginia (Charleston), Wyoming (Cheyenne).
Massachusetts (Boston, 675,647) and Georgia (Atlanta, 498,715) are the population heavyweights of this group. Charleston, West Virginia, at 48,864, is the smallest capital that is also its state's largest city.
The famous mismatches
The 33 states where capital and largest city are different produce most of the quiz-show questions. A few classics:
- New York: Albany is the capital, but New York City has 84 times the population.
- California: Sacramento sits at number six in the state. Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco and Fresno all beat it.
- Illinois: Springfield versus Chicago. Chicago has 24 times more residents.
- Florida: Tallahassee, tucked into the Panhandle, has around 197,000 residents. Jacksonville has nearly a million.
- Texas: Austin has surged past a million, but Houston (2.30M), San Antonio (1.43M) and Dallas (1.30M) all remain bigger.
- Pennsylvania: Harrisburg has around 50,000 residents. Philadelphia has 1.60 million.
- Nevada: Carson City has fewer than 60,000 residents. Las Vegas has more than 640,000, and the metro tops 2.3 million.
The three million-plus cities
Only three states host a largest city with more than one million people at the 2020 census:
- New York City, New York: 8,336,817 residents. The largest city in the United States, and larger than 40 individual states.
- Los Angeles, California: 3,898,747 residents. Home to Hollywood, the Port of Los Angeles, and the second-largest US metro.
- Chicago, Illinois: 2,746,388 residents. The historic gateway to the American Midwest.
Houston (Texas, 2.30M), Phoenix (Arizona, 1.61M) and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, 1.60M) are the other three US cities above 1.5 million. San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas and San Jose complete the top ten.
The smallest 'largest cities'
Not every state has a metropolis at the top. Five states have a largest city under 100,000 residents:
- Vermont, Burlington: 44,743.
- West Virginia, Charleston: 48,864.
- Wyoming, Cheyenne: 65,132.
- Maine, Portland: 68,408.
- Delaware, Wilmington: 70,898.
Burlington, Vermont, would not rank in the top 700 US cities. The state itself has only about 645,000 residents, roughly the size of Louisville, Kentucky.
Regional patterns worth knowing
Northeast: Only Boston and Providence double as both capital and largest city. Everywhere else, older port and industrial cities kept their lead: New York City, Philadelphia, Newark, Baltimore, Portland (Maine), Manchester, Bridgeport, Wilmington.
South: A mix. Atlanta, Little Rock, Jackson, Nashville, Oklahoma City and Charleston (West Virginia) hold both roles. But Houston, New Orleans, Louisville, Charlotte, Virginia Beach and Jacksonville all outgrew smaller inland capitals.
Midwest: Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio are the dominant capital-largest combos. Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City and Sioux Falls all top their state despite not being capitals.
West: Phoenix, Denver, Boise, Honolulu and Salt Lake City are all capitals and largest cities. Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland (Oregon), Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Anchorage and Billings are not.
Test yourself on the biggest cities
Statedoku's Biggest Cities puzzle asks you to place the largest city in each state on the map. The daily puzzle throws in a nickname, capital or admission-year constraint you have to solve around.
Play today's puzzle →