Most populous city starting with every letter in the alphabet (in the US)

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Lemme compile one for Spain . Co-official languages help filling K and X, which otherwise don't occur often in Spanish:
A - Alicante
B - Barcelona
C - Cordoba
D - Donostia (a.k.a. San Sebastian; Dos Hermanas near Seville for a Spanish name)
E - Elx/Elche
F - Fuenlabrada
G - Gijon
H - (L') Hospitalet de Llobregat (Huelva if taking both non-Spanish names and articles into consideration)
I - Irun
J - Jaen
K - Karrantza Harana (a.k.a. Valle de Carranza, municipality in Biscay, actually no village is named as such; Kurtzea, also in Biscay, is larger but the municipality is named Galdakao instead; no place names start with K in Spanish)
L - Leganes (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria if taking articles into consideration)
M - Madrid
N - Naron (municipality in the Province of A Coruña)
O - Oviedo
P - Palma (in Majorca)
Q - Quintanar de la Orden (town in the Province of Toledo)
R - Reus
S - Seville
T - Terrassa (unofficially a.k.a. Tarrasa)
U - Utrera (near Seville)
V - Valencia
W - Wamba (village in the Province of Valladolid, by virtue of being the only populated place starting with that letter)
X - Xirivella (near Valencia, unofficially a.k.a. Chirivella; no place names start with X in Spanish)
Y - Yecla (town in the Region of Murcia)
Z - Zaragoza

[SEWIGuy]

Wisconsin - incorporated cities and villages only:

A: Appleton (70,087)
B: Brookfield (38,649)
C: Caledonia (23,614)
D: De Pere (20,559)
E: Eau Claire (61,704)
F: Fond du Lac (42,203)
G: Green Bay (102,313)
H: Howard (13,546)
I: Iola (1,298) - unincorporated Town of Ixonia in Jefferson County is larger (2,902)
J: Janesville (59,498)
K: Kenosha (99,218)
L: La Crosse (51,320)
M: Milwaukee (594,833) - Madison, second largest city in the state, gets no love here.
N: New Berlin (39,584)
O: Oshkosh (66,083)
P: Pleasant Prairie (19,719)
Q: none - unincorporated Town of Quincy in Adams County (1,163)
R: Racine (78,860)
S: Sheboygan (49,288)
T: Two Rivers (11,712)
U: Union Grove (4,322)
V: Verona (10,619)
W: Waukesha (70,718)
X: none
Y: Yuba (92) - unincorporated Town of Yorkville in Racine County is larger (3,291), as are Towns of York in Dane, Green and Clark counties
Z: none

[US 89]

Here's Utah, limiting only to incorporated cities, towns, and metro townships:

A - American Fork (29,384)
B - Bountiful (43,972)
C - Cottonwood Heights (34,170)
D - Draper (47,402)
E - Eagle Mountain (29,919)
F - Farmington (23,208)
G - Grantsville (10,566)
H - Herriman (35,640)
I - Ivins (8,211)
J - Joseph (387)
K - Kearns (37,748)
L - Layton (77,306)
M - Millcreek (60,557)
N - North Salt Lake (20,020)
O - Orem (97,512)
P - Provo (116,713)
Q -  none
R - Riverton (42,680)
S - Salt Lake City (200,576)
T - Taylorsville (60,294)
U - Uintah (1,525)
V - Vernal (10,653)
W - West Valley City (136,240)
X - none
Y - none
Z - none

[Henry]

Without actually putting down the city names, here's the breakdown by state:

TX--6 cities
MA--2 cities
IL--1 city
NC--2 cities
IN--1 city
FL--1 city
MO--1 city
CA--2 cities
TN--1 city
NY--2 cities
OK--1 city
PA--1 city
AZ--1 city
VA--1 city
DC--1 city
OH--2 cities

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I'm gonna guess Minnesota and compare the damage later.

A - Apple Valley
B - Bloomington
C - Cottage Grove
D - Duluth
E - Eden Prairie
F - Fridley
G - Golden Valley
H - Hopkins
I - Inver Grove Heights
J - Jordan?
K - ?
L - Lakeville
M - Minneapolis
N - New Brighton?
O - Oakdale
P - Plymouth
Q - Quamba?
R - Rochester
S - St. Paul
T -  Thief River Falls? (This is probably wrong but I'm blanking on T)
U - Upsala?
V - Vadnais Heights
W - West St. Paul?
X - whatever
Y - ?
Z - Zumbrota

[Roadgeekteen]

Related: It's fairly easy to compile these kinds of lists on a state-by-state basis. I wonder which state has the widest gap between their entries.

For Washington:

A - Auburn (81,464)
B - Bellevue (148,164)
C - Camas (24,418)
D - Des Moines (32,348)
E - Everett (111,475)
F - Federal Way (96,289)
G - Grandview (11,078) - CDP of Graham (23,491) is larger
H - Hoquiam (8,655) - CDP of Hazel Dell (19,435) is larger
I - Issaquah (39,509)
J - Jamestown (351) - CDP, not incorporated
K - Kent (132,319)
L - Lakewood (61,037)
M - Marysville (70,298)
N - Newcastle (12,292) - CDP of North Lynnwood (16,574) is larger
O - Olympia (52,882)
P - Pasco (75,432)
Q - Quincy (8,033) - only entry for this letter
R - Renton (101,751)
S - Seattle (753,675) - runner-up of Spokane (222,081) is larger than all other entries on this list
T - Tacoma (217,827)
U - University Place (34,001)
V - Vancouver (184,463)
W - Wenatchee (34,360)
X - No entries at all
Y - Yakima (93,637)
Z - Zillah (3,140) - another lone ranger

How do you compile these lists?

[STLmapboy]

Missouri (using Wikipedia 2019 census estimates)

A-Arnold
B-Blue Springs
C-Columbia
D-Dardenne Prairie
E-Excelsior Springs
F-Florissant
G-Gladstone
H-Hazelwood
I-Independence
J-Joplin
K-Kansas City
L-Lee's Summit
M-Maryland Heights
N-Nixa
O-O'Fallon
P-Poplar Bluff
Q-Queen City
R-Raytown
S-St. Louis
T-Troy
U-University City
V-Valley Park
W-Wentzville
X-
Y-
Z-

[webny99]

How do you compile these lists?

I'm not sure how Bruce did it, but I'd start with a list of the letters in the alphabet and the wikipedia page of cities in your state sorted by population. Then you can just fill in the letters.

That's what I'm about to do now for New York; start with filling in N for New York, B for Buffalo, R for Rochester, etc.

[Bruce]

Yep, it's as simple as going to the respective Wikipedia list for a state and sorting alphabetically (as is the default). If you want, you can also sort by the population figure from top to bottom, though that is only necessary for lists with a lot of entries per letter.

[formulanone]

The U one stumped me as well.

Maybe it deserves a title as the "America's biggest anonymous city"...

[hobsini2]

Wisconsin: (in thousands)
A: Appleton 74.1
B: Brookfield 39.1
C: Caledonia 25.1 (never would have guessed)
D: DePere 24.9
E: Eau Claire 68.8
F: Fond du Lac 43.2
G: Green Bay 104.5
H: Howard 20.1 (after some time I may have gotten this)
I: Ixonia 1.9 (I did guess this since it's the only "I" I know in Wisconsin)
J: Janesville 64.5
K: Kenosha 99.9
L: La Crosse 51.2
M: Milwaukee 590.1
N: New Berlin 39.6 (Never would have guessed)
O: Oshkosh 67.0
P: Pleasant Prairie 21.3
Q: Quinney & Queenstown (UNIC.) (Never heard of them)
R: Racine 76.7
S: Sheboygan 47.9
T: Two Rivers 11.0
U: Union Grove 4.9 (only U I can think of)
V: Verona 13.2
W: Waukesha 72.2
X: no X places
Y: Yorkville 3.1 (never would have guessed)
Z: Zoar 0.1 (never heard of it)

[Ben114]

Massachusetts.

A: Attleboro (43,593)
B: Boston (617,660)
C: Cambridge (105,162)
D: Dartmouth (34,032)
E: Everett (41,667)
F: Fall River (88,857)
G: Gloucester (28,789)
H: Haverhill (60,879)
I: Ipswich (13,175)
J: no places
K: Kingston (12,629)
L: Lowell (106,519)
M: Malden (59,450)
N: New Bedford (95,072)
O: Oxford (13,709)
P: Plymouth (56,468)
Q: Quincy (92,271)
R: Revere (51,755)
S: Springfield (153,060)
T: Taunton (55,874)
U: Uxbridge (13,457)
V: no places
W: Worcester (181,045)
X: no places
Y: Yarmouth (23,793)
Z: no places

[formulanone]

For Alabama:

A - Auburn (53,380)
B - Birmingham (212,237)
C - Center Point (16,921), and only incorporated in 2002
D - Dothan (65,496); beats out Decatur (55,683), the 8th biggest in the state
E - Enterprise (26,562 + one statue of a lady holding a bug)
F - Florence (39,319)
G - Gadsden (36,856)
H - Huntsville (180,105); spare a thought for Hoover (81,619) which is the 6th most-populous in the state
I - Irondale (12,349)
J - Jasper (13,857)
K - Kimberly (2,711)
L - Leeds (11,773)
M - Montgomery (205,764)
N - Northport (23,330)
O - Opelika (26,477)
P - Prattville (33,960)
Q - none, though unincorporated Quinton has a post office and is located in Walker County.
R - Russellville (9,830)
S - Selma (20,756)
T - Tuscaloosa (90,468)
U - Union Springs (3,980)
V - Vestavia Hills (34,033)
W - Wetumpka (6,528)
X - none...any unincorporated places?
Y - York (2,538)
Z - none, though Zip City gets a mention on maps and more importantly, a song on a Drive-By Truckers album!

[Scott5114]

For Oklahoma:
Ardmore
Broken Arrow
Claremore
Duncan
Edmond
Frederick
Glenpool
Henryetta
Idabel
Jenks
Kingfisher
Lawton
Moore
Norman
Oklahoma City
Ponca City
Quinton
Roland
Stillwater
Tulsa
Union City
Vinita
Woodward
X (none)
Yukon
Z (none)

I'm surprised there's no town bigger than Roland that begins with R. The rest of the list is pretty non-surprising, although it is kind of strange how many duplicates there are high up in the list by population.

[CtrlAltDel]

Here's Illinois, courtesy of the Wiki and also Excel. There is at least one incorporated municipality beginning with each letter of the alphabet in the state.

Code Select Expand


A 197,899 Aurora
B 76,610 Bloomington
C 2,695,598 Chicago
D 76,122 Decatur
E 108,188 Elgin
F 25,638 Freeport
G 44,692 Glenview
H 51,895 Hoffman Estates
I 8,649 Itasca
J 147,433 Joliet
K 27,537 Kankakee
L 43,395 Lombard
M 54,167 Mount Prospect
N 141,853 Naperville
O 56,767 Orland Park
P 115,007 Peoria
Q 40,633 Quincy
R 152,871 Rockford
S 116,250 Springfield
T 56,703 Tinley Park
U 41,250 Urbana
V 25,113 Vernon Hills
W 89,078 Waukegan
X 391 Xenia
Y 16,921 Yorkville
Z 24,413 Zion


[Eth]

Georgia also lacks a municipality starting with X, and for I and Y we have to dig down to the sub-1000 ranks:

Code Select Expand

CITY POP (2010 census)
---- -----------------
Atlanta 420,003
Brookhaven 49,312
Columbus 189,885
Dunwoody 46,267
East Point 33,712
Forest Park 18,468
Gainesville 33,804
Hinesville 33,437
Ivey 981
Johns Creek 76,728
Kennesaw 29,783
LaGrange 29,588
Macon 155,447
Newnan 33,039
Oakwood 3,970
P'tree Corners 40,059
Quitman 3,850
Roswell 88,346
Savannah 136,286
Thomasville 18,413
Union City 19,456
Valdosta 54,518
Warner Robins 66,588
X (none)
Young Harris 899
Zebulon 1,174

[thspfc]

A: Appleton (73k)
B: Brookfield (38k)
C: Caledonia (25k)
D: De Pere (24k)
E: Eau Claire (66k)
F: Fond du Lac (43k)
G: Green Bay (104k)
H: Howard (17k)
I: Iola (1,301)
J: Janesville (64k)
K: Kenosha (100k)
L: La Crosse (51k)
M: Milwaukee (600k)
N: New Berlin (40k)
O: Oshkosh (66k)
P: Pleasant Prairie (20k)
Q: None
R: Racine (80k)
S: Sheboygan (49k)
T: Two Rivers (12k)
U: Union Grove (4,300)
V: Verona (11k)
W: Waukesha (71k)
X: None
Y: Yuba (90)
Z: None

So a 599,999,010-ish gap from Milwaukee to Yuba. I also suspect that WI is one of two states, along with Wyoming, in which both of the two largest cities start with the same letter.

[hotdogPi]

I also suspect that WI is one of two states, along with Wyoming, in which both of the two largest cities start with the same letter.

Washington, but barely. (The fourth state that begins with W, West Virginia, does not, unfortunately.)

Ohio has the top 3 begin with the same letter.

[SEWIGuy]

A: Appleton (73k)
B: Brookfield (38k)
C: Caledonia (25k)
D: De Pere (24k)
E: Eau Claire (66k)
F: Fond du Lac (43k)
G: Green Bay (104k)
H: Howard (17k)
I: Iola (1,301)
J: Janesville (64k)
K: Kenosha (100k)
L: La Crosse (51k)
M: Milwaukee (600k)
N: New Berlin (40k)
O: Oshkosh (66k)
P: Pleasant Prairie (20k)
Q: None
R: Racine (80k)
S: Sheboygan (49k)
T: Two Rivers (12k)
U: Union Grove (4,300)
V: Verona (11k)
W: Waukesha (71k)
X: None
Y: Yuba (90)
Z: None

So a 599,999,010-ish gap from Milwaukee to Yuba. I also suspect that WI is one of two states, along with Wyoming, in which both of the two largest cities start with the same letter.

Three people have now done Wisconsin in this topic...

[doorknob60]

Guess I can do Idaho:

A: Ammon (15,540)
B: Boise (226,570)
C: Caldwell (54,660). Close, but no cigar for Coeur d'Alene (50,665)
D: Dalton Gardens (2,389) - I never would have guessed this one, didn't actually realize it was a separate city from CDA or Hayden; my thought was Driggs (1,805)
E: Eagle (26,089)
F: Fruitland (5,234)
G: Garden City (11,890)
H: Hayden (14,693)
I: Idaho Falls (61,076)
J: Jerome (11,636)
K: Kuna (19,200)
L: Lewiston (32,820)
M: Meridian (99,926)
N: Nampa (93,590)
O: Orofino (3,035)
P: Pocatello (55,193)
Q: None
R: Rexburg (28,337)
S: Star (9,076) - Didn't realize how big Star has gotten, knew it was growing fast, but it's over 10k by now (the list I'm using was 2017). They still don't have a full sized grocery store yet, don't know what's up with that.
T: Twin Falls (49,202)
U: Ucon (1,144) - I've actually never heard of this city until now, though apparently I've driven through it before
V: Victor (2,145)
W: Weiser (5,365)
X: None
Y: None
Z: None

Source: This list which is using 2017 estimates https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Idaho

The smallest on the list is 1,144, which surprises me since Idaho has many cities below 1000, figured at least a couple would squeeze in.

[DTComposer]

Sporcle has a quiz for California (actually naming up to five for each letter):

https://www.sporcle.com/games/ahlasny/top-5-california-cities-by-letter

It appears they only used cities of 25,000 and up; otherwise there would be an entry for K (three cities) and more entries for I, J, U, and Y.

Including CDPs would add entries for Q (including a county seat) and Z. Nothing for X, though.

[CtrlAltDel]

So a 599,999,010-ish gap from Milwaukee to Yuba. I also suspect that WI is one of two states, along with Wyoming, in which both of the two largest cities start with the same letter.

You have too many 9s.

Also, now that I think about it, the two largest cities in Pennsylvania both start with P: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

[kphoger]

How can one city start with 26 different letters?

[Scott5114]

How can one city start with 26 different letters?

Typewriter jam.

[NWI_Irish96]

States where the most populous city starts with the same letter as the state:

Alaska (Anchorage)
Hawaii (Honolulu)
Indiana (Indianapolis)
Minnesota (Minneapolis)
New Jersey (Newark)
New York (New York City)
Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)
Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
South Dakota (Sioux Falls)
Virginia (Virginia Beach)