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

[SEWIGuy]

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

Connecticut (Bridgeport)
Georgia (Atlanta)
Nebraska (Omaha)
New York (New York)
Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
Tennessee (Nashville)

[SEWIGuy]

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)

Official name of the city is "New York."

[ftballfan]

For Michigan:

A - Ann Arbor (113,934)
B - Battle Creek (52,347)
C - Clinton Township (96,796) [largest incorporated city is Clawson (11,825) and there are several more "C" townships with populations between Clawson and Clinton Township]
D - Detroit (713,777)
E - East Lansing (48,579)
F - Flint (102,434)
G - Grand Rapids (188,040)
H - Holland Township (35,636) [largest incorporated city is Holland (33,051)]
I - Independence Township (34,681) [largest incorporated city is Inkster (25,369)]
J - Jackson (33,534)
K - Kalamazoo (74,262)
L - Lansing (114,297)
M - Macomb Township (79,580) [largest incorporated city is Midland (41,863)]
N - Novi (55,224)
O - Orion Township (35,394) [largest incorporated city is Oak Park (29,319)]
P - Pontiac (59,515)
Q - Quincy Township (Branch County) (4,285) [only incorporated village is Quincy (1,652), which is within Quincy Township]
R - Rochester Hills (70,995)
S - Sterling Heights (129,699)
T - Troy (80,980)
U - Union Township (Isabella County) (12,927) [largest incorporated city is Utica (4,757)]
V - Van Buren Township (28,821) [largest incorporated city is Vassar (2,697)]
W - Warren (134,056)
X - none
Y - Ypsilanti Township (53,362) [largest incorporated city is Ypsilanti (19,435)]
Z - Zeeland Township (Ottawa County) (9,971) [largest incorporated city is Zeeland (5,504)]

[Roadgeekteen]

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 (only one)- 13,175   
J: None
K: Kingston (only one)- 12,629
L: Lowell- 106,519   
M: Medford- 56,173   
N: New Bedford- 95,072   
O: Oxford- 13,709   
P: Plymouth- 56,468   
Q: Quincy (only one)- 92,271   
R: Revere- 51,755
S: Springfield- 153,060
T: Taunton- 55,874   
U: Uxbridge- 13,457   
V: None
W: Worcester- 181,045   
X: None
Y: Yarmouth (only one)- 23,793
Z: None

[hotdogPi]

Cities I've set foot in:

Atlanta (507k)
Boston (693k)
Chicago (2.7M)
Delray Beach, FL (69k)
East Longmeadow, MA (16k)
Flagstaff, AZ (75k)
Gloucester, MA (30k)
Huntington Beach, CA (199k)
Irvine, CA (287k)
J: none
Keene, NH (23k)
Los Angeles (4.0M)
Manchester, NH (113k)
New York City (8.3M)
Orlando (287k)
Philadelphia (1.6M)
Quebec City (532k)
Roswell, GA (95k)
San Diego (1.4M)
Tucker, GA (36k)
U: none
V: none
Washington, DC (706k)
X: none
Y: none
Z: none

[GaryV]

How can one city start with 26 different letters?

Typewriter jam.

How many on the board are old enough to even know what that means?

[STLmapboy]

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.

I got 50/100.

[kphoger]

How can one city start with 26 different letters?

Typewriter jam.

How many on the board are old enough to even know what that means?

I'm only 39, and I remember using typewriters.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

I remember seeing a typewriter at home, and I'm 27 (or I would be if I had not cancelled my birthday this year).

[hobsini2]

ILLINOIS
My guesses first. * for correct answers. (Correct answer in ()
A Aurora *
B Bolingbrook (Bloomington)
C Chicago *
D Danville (Decatur)
E Elgin *
F Frankfort (Freeport)
G Galesburg (Glenview)
H Harvey (Hoffman Estates)
I Island Lake *
J Joliet *
K Kankakee *
L Libertyville (Lombard)
M Moline (Mt Prospect)
N Naperville *
O Oak Park (Orland Park)
P Peoria *
Q Quincy *
R Rockford *
S Springfield *
T Tinley Park *
U Urbana *
V Villa Park (Vernon Hills)
W Waukegan *
X --- no city listed ---
Y Yorkville *
Z Zion *

16/25

[SoDakInterstateEnthusiast]

South Dakota

A: Aberdeen (29k)
B: Brookings (24k)
C: Canton (3.5k)
D: Dell Rapids (3.6k)
E: Elk Point (1.8k)
F: Flandreau (2.3k)
G: Groton (1.4k)
H: Huron (13k)
I: Ipswich (890)
J: Johnson Siding (540)
K: Kyle (970)
L: Lead (2.9k)
M: Mitchell (15k)
N: North Sioux City (2.9k)
O: Oglala (1.5k)
P: Pierre (14k)
Q: Quinn (61)
R: Rapid City (78k)
S: Sioux Falls (191k)
T: Tea (6k)
U: Utica (67)
V: Vermillion (11k)
W: Watertown (22k)
X: nothing
Y: Yankton (14k)
Z: nothing

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Also, I consider the E answer to start with P instead (since in Spanish we usually disregard articles when sorting alphabetically) and thus the actual E answer to be in Oregon instead (unless I'm missing something).

Yep, I missed something: I consider the real E answer to be a suburb of Sacramento.

Forgot the L answer, which also starts with an article and thus I consider to be the real A answer instead of a city in Texas. Thus, and since the next L also starts with an article (and thus is the real V answer instead of a city in Virginia) I consider the real L answer to be in Kentucky bordering Indiana.

[JayhawkCO]

I also missed "U" on the original quiz.  I was actually close as I typed "Upton" as a guess.

Colorado
A: Aurora - 353,108
B: Boulder - 105,112
C: Colorado Springs - 445,830
D: Denver - 663,862
E: Englewood - 32,480
F: Fort Collins - 156,840
G: Greeley - 98,596
H: Hudson - 2,569
I: Idaho Springs - 1,710
J: Johnstown - 13,306
K: Kersey - 1,560
L: Lakewood - 149,643
M: Montrose - 19,045
N: Northglenn - 38,596
O: Orchard City - 3,025
P: Pueblo - 108,423
Q: None
R: Rifle - 9,488
S: Sterling - 14,629
T: Thornton - 130,307
U: None
V: Vail - 5,328
W: Westminster - 112,090
X: None
Y: Yuma - 3,606
Z: None

I have been to all of these cities except Orchard City.  Looks like a road trip is in order.

Chris

[kphoger]

ILLINOIS
X --- no city listed ---

Xenia, population 391

[CtrlAltDel]

ILLINOIS
X --- no city listed ---

Xenia, population 391

Incorporated on February 16, 1865. It was a drizzly Thursday. Well, maybe it wasn't drizzly, but it was a Thursday.

Interestingly, while Xenia appears to be a village today, it was originally incorporated as a town. I don't know if that means anything.

[iowahighways]

Iowa, based on 2019 census estimates:

A - Ankeny (67,355) edging out Ames (66,258)
B - Bettendorf (36,543)
C - Cedar Rapids (133,562)
D - Des Moines (214,237)
E - Eldridge (6,846)
F - Fort Dodge (23,888)
G - Grimes (14,804)
H - Hiawatha (7,420)
I - Iowa City (75,130)
J - Johnston (22,582)
K - Keokuk (10,157)
L - Le Mars (10,081)
M - Marion (40,359)
N - North Liberty (19,501)
O - Ottumwa (24,368)
P - Pella (10,237)
Q - Quasqueton (564)
R - Red Oak (5,276)
S - Sioux City (82,651)
T - Tiffin (4,157)
U - Urbandale (44,379)
V - Vinton (5,075)
W - West Des Moines (67,899) by a nose over Waterloo (67,328)
X - none
Y - Yale (239)
Z - Zearing (518)

[Duke87]

I was at 18 before I realized that the map was showing the location of the cities. 

Yeah the map makes it super easy. Except for U. Only place on the list I'd never heard of. And surprisingly larger than what I would have guessed for U without the map.

What also makes some of the answers a little weird is this goes by population specifically within city limits, not by metro area population. There are a few cities at the center of very large metros that get edged out by cities which are at the center of smaller metros but have wider city limits.

[JayhawkCO]

I was at 18 before I realized that the map was showing the location of the cities. 

Yeah the map makes it super easy. Except for U. Only place on the list I'd never heard of. And surprisingly larger than what I would have guessed for U without the map.

What also makes some of the answers a little weird is this goes by population specifically within city limits, not by metro area population. There are a few cities at the center of very large metros that get edged out by cities which are at the center of smaller metros but have wider city limits.

Agreed.  For U, if I had to think about it and didn't have the map, I would have guessed Utica, but it gets beat out by about 10K people.

Chris

[webny99]

It would be truly wild if Utica, which been declining for almost a century, was still the largest U- city in the country.

[DTComposer]

For what it's worth, I've made a spreadsheet covering 1900-2019:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W9pGOxtVF-dh7Lx4_IzqlAfEPp91kADvKEd9S27nReA/edit?usp=sharing

I don't see any reason that 2020 will differ from 2019.

Changes from decade to decade are highlighted. The source only had top 100 cities prior to 1980; for 1990-2019 if a city was outside the top 100 it is in a smaller font size.

Of note: the following cities have held their position since 1900:
Chicago
Indianapolis
Kansas City
New York
Washington

[Roadgeekteen]

For what it's worth, I've made a spreadsheet covering 1900-2019:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W9pGOxtVF-dh7Lx4_IzqlAfEPp91kADvKEd9S27nReA/edit?usp=sharing

I don't see any reason that 2020 will differ from 2019.

Changes from decade to decade are highlighted. The source only had top 100 cities prior to 1980; for 1990-2019 if a city was outside the top 100 it is in a smaller font size.

Of note: the following cities have held their position since 1900:
Chicago
Indianapolis
Kansas City
New York
Washington

Los Angeles was so close...

[Takumi]

I've already forgotten what U was.

[JoePCool14]

Eh, not so good for me. Only 20 of 26. I couldn't even remember S or G which is embarrassing.

Also, here's something nifty from X. I won't spoil it in case this isn't new to someone.

[mrsman]

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.

I got 50/100.

That's good.  I'm a native Californian and I only got 39/100.  We have so many cities that start with S in CA!  It's hard to remember the other letters.