The largest I can come up with is Farmerville, LA, pop. 3860. What are some bigger ones?
Pretty sure it's Fresno.
As well as other cities in the central valley like Bakersfield and Modesto, only because US 99 no longer exists.
Also in CA, some suburbs of LA north of Angeles NF, including Lancaster, also lack these types of highways.
Bakersfield is another large city without an interstate.
Fitchburg, MA
Salem, MA
Amherst, MA
Panama City, FL is one that is not one. In fact all other big cities in Florida have connections to the interstate system.
About the only sizable city I can think of in TX with neither US nor interstate is College Station. Pretty much all the bigger metros have 1 of them or both.
At least the OP specified US cities, otherwise I would have thrown Shanghai :sombrero:.
Even though technically not a city, the town of Hempstead in New York is definitely the largest populated place without an Interstate or a US Route, and has never been on one of either (I-495 misses it).
Quote from: roadman65 on January 19, 2020, 10:07:44 AM
Panama City, FL is one that is not one. In fact all other big cities in Florida have connections to the interstate system.
Title: Largest (US) Cities Without a
US Highway or an Interstate. Panama City has US 98 and 231.
Santa Cruz, California - population 64,700 (served primarily by CA 1, CA 9 , CA 17; 40 miles to US 101, 30 miles to I-280)
Gilbert, Arizona - population 242,300 - misses US 60 by a half-mile to the north, and I-10 by about 6-8 miles.
Quote from: debragga on January 17, 2020, 10:09:20 PM
The largest I can come up with is Farmerville, LA, pop. 3860. What are some bigger ones?
There may be more, but two examples I found in Chicagoland:
-Flossmoor, IL, about 9,400, has no numbered routes at all.
-Wheaton, IL, pop. 53,150 per Wikipedia, only has IL routes 38 and 56, looking at Google Maps. It does not reach I-355 or I-88.
For Michigan it would be Sterling Heights although it's a suburb of Detroit it's the fourth largest city in the state and is not served by a US highway or an interstate highway.
For Ohio, the largest city I could find was Newark, pop. 47500. It has a state route freeway, but I-70 and US-40 are both several miles south of town.
If we go by city limits, the largest one in Utah is West Jordan (pop. 116,000), which just misses I-15 and I-215 by about a half mile. It does have Bangerter Highway (SR-154), which is now a freeway through most of the city limits.
It seems like cheating to use suburbs, though. I feel like a better measurement would be to use the Census Bureau's urbanized area and urban cluster definitions, in which case Utah's winner would be the Tooele urban cluster (pop. 32,000).
For the state of Georgia, going by city limits would produce the uninteresting answer of Johns Creek (2018 est. population 84,310), an Atlanta suburb incorporated in 2006.
Quote from: US 89 on January 19, 2020, 06:35:06 PM
It seems like cheating to use suburbs, though. I feel like a better measurement would be to use the Census Bureau's urbanized area and urban cluster definitions, in which case Utah's winner would be the Tooele urban cluster (pop. 32,000).
Going with these definitions, we arrive at the St. Simons urban cluster (2010 pop. 12,226), an island just east of Brunswick served by a single (unsigned?) state route.
Nevada has only 19 incorporated cities and all of them have an Interstate, a US Highway or an Alternate US Highway within the city limits. The only one that has nothing other than an Alternate US Highway is Yerington (population 3,048 in 2010) which settles for Alternate US 95.
The largest unincorporated Census-Designated Place in the state without any of these types of highways is Pahrump in Nye County (population 36,441), which is served by NV 160 and NV 372.
Edit: Re-checking, whoops I missed an unincorporated Census-Designated Place: Spring Valley in the southwest corner of the Las Vegas Valley (population 178,395), which includes the Clark County 215 freeway and several state highway designations on city streets, but no US Highways or Interstates. Pahrump is a distant #2.
The largest incorporated area in VA without an Interstate or US route is Manassas, est. at 41,641 people. However, I-66 and US-29 come within about a mile of city limits.
It took a while but the largest Indiana city not on an interstate or U.S. highway should be New Castle in eastern Indiana. While Interstate 70 is several miles away from the main urban core of the city there is a tiny sliver of annexed land that follows SR 3 from New Castle south toward the interstate. But at least a couple of maps have shown the annexation to stop just short of the interstate.
For the longest time Bloomington was the obvious choice for this, but Interstate 69 has "ruined" that.
McMinnville OR at 32K population looks like Oregon's largest city with no Interstate or US route. In the past, 99W was an US route though.
Looking closely at the Rand McNally atlas shows that some cities closer to PDX have boundaries abutting I-5 but some have no direct connection.
To bing101: Bakersfield city limits do go to I-5. There is no exit there for the city though. Maybe someday?
https://www.istanbul-city-guide.com/map/united-states/bakersfield-california/map_of_bakersfield.jpg
You can see the thin tendril of city land going to I-5 on this map.
Rick
T
Three fairly large cities in Arizona outside of the Phoenix metropolitan area without an Interstate or US Highway:
Lake Havasu City, population 52,527
Prescott, population 39,843, and Prescott Valley, population 38,822
Sierra Vista, population 43,888
Prescott was on US 89 before it was decommissioned south of Flagstaff, but none of the others has ever been on a US or Interstate route.
The Town of Parker (55k) is the largest in Colorado not served by an Interstate or US highway. The Town is served by CO 83 (Parker Rd) and E-470 Tollway. I-25 is about 5 miles to the west.
Parker is pretty much the southeastern-most suburb of Denver.
Quote from: Mark68 on January 20, 2020, 05:51:26 PM
The Town of Parker (55k) is the largest in Colorado not served by an Interstate or US highway. The Town is served by CO 83 (Parker Rd) and E-470 Tollway. I-25 is about 5 miles to the west.
Parker is pretty much the southeastern-most suburb of Denver.
I know Parker because of KOA radio's transmitter being located there.
Napa, California population 76,000 does not have an interstate or US Route within its city limits though. But the interstates closest to Napa, CA are I-80 and I-680 at the Cordelia Interchange in Fairfield, CA.
Quote from: nexus73 on January 20, 2020, 12:33:16 AM
McMinnville OR at 32K population looks like Oregon's largest city with no Interstate or US route. In the past, 99W was an US route though.
Looking closely at the Rand McNally atlas shows that some cities closer to PDX have boundaries abutting I-5 but some have no direct connection.
To bing101: Bakersfield city limits do go to I-5. There is no exit there for the city though. Maybe someday?
https://www.istanbul-city-guide.com/map/united-states/bakersfield-california/map_of_bakersfield.jpg (https://www.istanbul-city-guide.com/map/united-states/bakersfield-california/map_of_bakersfield.jpg)
You can see the thin tendril of city land going to I-5 on this map.
Rick
T
I thought there were talks for I-40, I-7 or I-9 to head to the center Bakersfield though? Also if Bakersfield has I-5 why did Caltrans remove it from the control cities list for Downtown Sacramento in the late 1970's early 1980's.
Yes I mean North/South freeways in LA North of I-10 use Sacramento as its control cities such as I-405, I-5, CA-170 and I-210.
I think Alabama's biggest city without a US Highway and without an Interstate might be Jacksonville, with a population of 12,500. It's only served by AL 21 and AL 204; it's about 10 miles to US 431, and another 8-10 miles to I-20.
Maybe there's a suburb that doesn't quite border either type of route, but Alabama has a fairly tight network of US Routes to choose from.
Quote from: Flint1979 on January 20, 2020, 07:02:38 PM
Quote from: Mark68 on January 20, 2020, 05:51:26 PM
The Town of Parker (55k) is the largest in Colorado not served by an Interstate or US highway. The Town is served by CO 83 (Parker Rd) and E-470 Tollway. I-25 is about 5 miles to the west.
Parker is pretty much the southeastern-most suburb of Denver.
I know Parker because of KOA radio's transmitter being located there.
So THAT'S what that really tall tower (near Parker & 20 Mile/Hilltop) is...I've always wondered.
The largest town in Kansas without a US or Interstate Highway is Derby, which is the 17th largest town in the state (pop. 23k) and an outer suburb of Wichita.
Quote from: -- US 175 -- on January 19, 2020, 10:18:38 AM
About the only sizable city I can think of in TX with neither US nor interstate is College Station. Pretty much all the bigger metros have 1 of them or both.
Until I-14 gets built which, I believe, is the next phase of that proposed interstate in the Lone Star State.
MN: Andover (29th; has no state-maintained routes at all)
Greece, NY, has a population of 96K and no interstate or US routes. (Is that the current winner?)
Heck, I can find 10+ examples just in my immediate area that are more populous than some of the statewide winners being mentioned on here!
Quote from: Mark68 on January 21, 2020, 09:51:18 AM
Quote from: Flint1979 on January 20, 2020, 07:02:38 PM
Quote from: Mark68 on January 20, 2020, 05:51:26 PM
The Town of Parker (55k) is the largest in Colorado not served by an Interstate or US highway. The Town is served by CO 83 (Parker Rd) and E-470 Tollway. I-25 is about 5 miles to the west.
Parker is pretty much the southeastern-most suburb of Denver.
I know Parker because of KOA radio's transmitter being located there.
So THAT'S what that really tall tower (near Parker & 20 Mile/Hilltop) is...I've always wondered.
Yeah that's it. I recently pulled KOA 850 in the other night in my driveway in Michigan btw. Super strong station.
In New Jersey this title appears to go to the 13th largest city, Brick Township down the shore (pop 75k). It does have the Garden State Parkway though. The largest without an interstate, US Highway, or freeway-equivalent seems to be the 34th largest city, Hoboken (pop 50k) right across the Hudson from NYC.
Quote from: Mark68 on January 20, 2020, 05:51:26 PM
The Town of Parker (55k) is the largest in Colorado not served by an Interstate or US highway. The Town is served by CO 83 (Parker Rd) and E-470 Tollway. I-25 is about 5 miles to the west.
Parker is pretty much the southeastern-most suburb of Denver.
Castle Rock isn't a suburb?
Castle Rock functions as a bedroom community for Denver, and I would not call it a suburb. There is a lot of open space and farms surrounding it, and there is space between neighboring communities/towns between Castle Rock and Lone Tree/Highlands Ranch.
I'd call it an exurb of both Denver and Colorado Springs.
Quote from: zzcarp on January 22, 2020, 12:00:14 PM
Castle Rock functions as a bedroom community for Denver, and I would not call it a suburb. There is a lot of open space and farms surrounding it, and there is space between neighboring communities/towns between Castle Rock and Lone Tree/Highlands Ranch.
Agreed. I've been to Castle Rock a few times (used to have family there), and I don't think it really has much to do with Colorado Springs. It's definitely on its own as a Denver exurb, fairly well separated from the suburban sprawl that starts at Highlands Ranch.
Quote from: US 89 on January 22, 2020, 12:36:52 PM
I've been to Castle Rock a few times (used to have family there), and I don't think it really has much to do with Colorado Springs. It's definitely on its own as a Denver exurb, fairly well separated from the suburban sprawl that starts at Highlands Ranch.
The northern areas of Colorado Springs are reportedly an employment draw.
Quote from: Colorado Life Magazine – Town Story: Castle Rock
The growth has been fueled in part by lucrative jobs in the technology, aerospace and telecommunications industries. Residents commute to the Tech Center and Colorado Springs military installations, among others.
Discounting US Business routes, the largest city in PA without any US route/Interstate is State College, sitting at 42k if we're going by strict city limits. Close but no cigar cases exist with Altoona (46k; the US 220 freeway clips the corner at exit 31) and Harrisburg (49k; US 22 clips the corner, and I-81 may enter the city at exit 66).
Just for fun...
Hawaii: Hilo, pop. 43k
Alaska: Juneau, pop. 31k
Quote from: zzcarp on January 22, 2020, 12:00:14 PM
Castle Rock functions as a bedroom community for Denver, and I would not call it a suburb. There is a lot of open space and farms surrounding it, and there is space between neighboring communities/towns between Castle Rock and Lone Tree/Highlands Ranch.
Plus, it's more southerly than southeasterly (although--due to annexation and housing development--Hwy 83 brushes a bit of the eastern border of Castle Rock). Suburbia is more-or-less continuous along I-25 from Lone Tree through Castle Pines through Castle Rock, but there are breaks in between towns due to terrain and vegetation (Castle Rock is 1300' higher than Denver!).
For Connecticut, I think the "winner" is Glastonbury, population roughly 35k. It has CT 2, CT 3, CT 17, but no Interstate or US highway passes through the town limits. I-84, 91, 291, and 384 and US 5, 6, and 44 all pass through adjacent towns.
Glastonbury is a suburb of Hartford. If you start looking for non-suburbs...you'd have to define what that means. Every part of CT is included in a CSA/MSA/μSA.
Pearland, Texas and Pasadena, Texas have 122K (2018) and 149K (2010) respectively, with the latter being the 2nd largest city in Harris County and the 17th most populated city in Texas. I-45 indirectly serves those cities but doesn't go anywhere within the city limits.
For North Carolina, I would say Greenville at 93K, though I-587 will eventually knock out that problem. Jacksonville, NC would probably be the top candidate
Quote from: noelbotevera on January 22, 2020, 03:53:46 PM
Discounting US Business routes, the largest city in PA without any US route/Interstate is State College, sitting at 42k if we're going by strict city limits. Close but no cigar cases exist with Altoona (46k; the US 220 freeway clips the corner at exit 31) and Harrisburg (49k; US 22 clips the corner, and I-81 may enter the city at exit 66).
ugh I-99????
Quote from: planxtymcgillicuddy on January 22, 2020, 09:12:31 PM
For North Carolina, I would say Greenville at 93K, though I-587 will eventually knock out that problem. Jacksonville, NC would probably be the top candidate
Greenville - has US-264 and US-13.
Jacksonville - has US-17 and US-258.
Quote from: roadman65 on January 21, 2020, 12:01:49 PM
Quote from: -- US 175 -- on January 19, 2020, 10:18:38 AM
About the only sizable city I can think of in TX with neither US nor interstate is College Station. Pretty much all the bigger metros have 1 of them or both.
Until I-14 gets built which, I believe, is the next phase of that proposed interstate in the Lone Star State.
The real answer for Texas is Pasadena, pop 153,219 (2018 est.), a suburb on the southeast side of Houston. It's served by the Sam Houston Tollway/Beltway 8 and the SH 225 and SH 146 freeways, and NASA Road 1 but no US highways or Interstates. I-45 is a a couple miles southwest, and I-10 is a couple miles north across the ship channel.
The largest city in Texas with no US highways or controlled access highways of any type appears to be Wylie in the NE suburbs of Dallas, pop 51,585 (2018 est.).
Washington's winner is Auburn (pop. 81,905 as of 2018), which sits a bit east of I-5. It was briefly traversed by US 99 in 1926 before the modern alignment through Federal Way was opened in early 1928.
Sadly I can't list next-door neighbor Kent (pop. 129,618) because they managed to annex their way to a small sliver of I-5 in what is basically East Des Moines.
The second place winner is probably Redmond (pop. 67,678), which only has SR 520 and SR 202 (plus former SR 908 and SR 901). Next door (and next most populous) Sammamish (65,733) has no state highways at all.
The semantics and mental gymnastics that I see here over a simple question are just astounding! The "largest US city" without a US Highway or an Interstate isn't some bedroom community of a big city that has multiple interstates. It's Fresno, CA - which is not directly served by an interstate (I-5 isn't a viable route to anywhere from Fresno or it's immediate surroundings, it's many miles west and runs parallel to CA99) nor is there a US Highway anywhere near Fresno. And Fresno isn't a suburb of a larger city or part of a larger market; it is it's own little metropolis. Has it's own TV and radio market, etc.
Fresno (EST population 530,093) is THE quintessential decent-sized city with neither class of highway.
I read about ten years ago that the answer to this question was Fresno. I don't think this has changed since then.
What might make this thread more interesting is if we consider what the answer would be in each of the individual 50 states. I have no idea what the answer in Illinois would be. There are Interstates and US highways all over the place. Perhaps Cicero, which barely manages to dodge I-55, US34, and I-290.
Quote from: StogieGuy7 on January 23, 2020, 12:18:12 PM
The semantics and mental gymnastics that I see here over a simple question are just astounding! The "largest US city" without a US Highway or an Interstate isn't some bedroom community of a big city that has multiple interstates. It's Fresno, CA - which is not directly served by an interstate (I-5 isn't a viable route to anywhere from Fresno or it's immediate surroundings, it's many miles west and runs parallel to CA99) nor is there a US Highway anywhere near Fresno. And Fresno isn't a suburb of a larger city or part of a larger market; it is it's own little metropolis. Has it's own TV and radio market, etc.
Fresno (EST population 530,093) is THE quintessential decent-sized city with neither class of highway.
I meant city in the incorporated sense, not necessarily a big city. Chill.
Quote from: paulthemapguy on January 23, 2020, 12:38:22 PM
I read about ten years ago that the answer to this question was Fresno. I don't think this has changed since then.
What might make this thread more interesting is if we consider what the answer would be in each of the individual 50 states. I have no idea what the answer in Illinois would be. There are Interstates and US highways all over the place. Perhaps Cicero, which barely manages to dodge I-55, US34, and I-290.
I like this idea. The thread has sort of already become this, let's keep it up.
Quote from: StogieGuy7 on January 23, 2020, 12:18:12 PM
The semantics and mental gymnastics that I see here over a simple question are just astounding! The "largest US city" without a US Highway or an Interstate isn't some bedroom community of a big city that has multiple interstates. It's Fresno, CA - which is not directly served by an interstate (I-5 isn't a viable route to anywhere from Fresno or it's immediate surroundings, it's many miles west and runs parallel to CA99) nor is there a US Highway anywhere near Fresno. And Fresno isn't a suburb of a larger city or part of a larger market; it is it's own little metropolis. Has it's own TV and radio market, etc.
Fresno (EST population 530,093) is THE quintessential decent-sized city with neither class of highway.
If the question were about Interstate Highways, Fresno would be the answer.
Fresno is on CA 99, which is the decommissioned US 99. While not necessarily how the question was exactly worded, I think I'd include decommissioned routes as if they were still active. The biggest reason most of them were decommissioned was because the new Interstate system had supplanted them.
I'd also be wary of including suburbs on this list. Yes, there are some large suburbs that are not on either a US or Interstate route. Phoenix has a handful of them. But it's quite easy to get to the Phoenix area on the Interstate system, and the area is well served by limited access highways.
Quote from: Bruce on January 23, 2020, 12:34:51 AM
...
Next door (and next most populous) Sammamish (65,733) has no state highways at all.
Actually, not quite. If you look at a map of the city limits (https://www.sammamish.us/attachments/pagecontent/36867/16652.pdf) on their website, it looks like technically about a block of WA-202 is within the city.
That makes the winner University Place (pop. 33,740).
----
Quote from: StogieGuy7 on January 23, 2020, 12:18:12 PM
...
Fresno (EST population 530,093) is THE quintessential decent-sized city with neither class of highway.
Actually the
very first reply identified Fresno, but it was very short and didn't get any response so I don't blame you for reading over it. But of course since we're all roadgeeks here we have to discuss it further! It wouldn't be very fun to give a one sentence answer and be done with it, would it? And as has been mentioned, we seem to have moved on to finding the largest example in each state anyway.
Taneytown, MD is served by only two state highways. Based on this Wikipedia list, it's the largest city not served by either type of highway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_municipalities_in_Maryland
EDIT: ditched mobile Wikipedia.
Don't link to the mobile version of Wikipedia. Unlike the other cases where people have told you this, there's actually something important here: tables aren't sortable on mobile.
Quote from: stevashe on January 24, 2020, 12:29:57 PM
Quote from: StogieGuy7 on January 23, 2020, 12:18:12 PM
...
Fresno (EST population 530,093) is THE quintessential decent-sized city with neither class of highway.
Actually the very first reply identified Fresno, but it was very short and didn't get any response so I don't blame you for reading over it. But of course since we're all roadgeeks here we have to discuss it further! It wouldn't be very fun to give a one sentence answer and be done with it, would it? And as has been mentioned, we seem to have moved on to finding the largest example in each state anyway.
I think of the various SR 99 still being part of US 99...oh, the mind warps this forum will do to you over time.
Although the OP didn't qualify by "historic/former US Routes", that ran through my head in response.
I was thinking about neighboring state Alabama. Its major cities like Huntsville, Montgomery, Mobile, and Birmingham as well as Gadsen and Tuscaloosa all are served by the interstate system. However in 2010 I was in Dothan in SE Alabama where a local politician was running for office on a typical TV and radio ad, and addressed his plan (if elected) was to build a freeway from I-10 in Florida to Dothan as one of his promises. Even here on the forum that freeway idea was proposed but later rejected or shelved.
So I would say that for Alabama it would be Dothan for sure as that seems sizable at 68,247.
Quote from: roadman65 on January 27, 2020, 11:29:52 AM
I was thinking about neighboring state Alabama. Its major cities like Huntsville, Montgomery, Mobile, and Birmingham as well as Gadsen and Tuscaloosa all are served by the interstate system. However in 2010 I was in Dothan in SE Alabama where a local politician was running for office on a typical TV and radio ad, and addressed his plan (if elected) was to build a freeway from I-10 in Florida to Dothan as one of his promises. Even here on the forum that freeway idea was proposed but later rejected or shelved.
So I would say that for Alabama it would be Dothan for sure as that seems sizable at 68,247.
While Dothan lacks an interstate, it has three US highways: 84, 231, and 431.
Quote from: MikeTheActuary on January 27, 2020, 11:38:38 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on January 27, 2020, 11:29:52 AM
I was thinking about neighboring state Alabama. Its major cities like Huntsville, Montgomery, Mobile, and Birmingham as well as Gadsen and Tuscaloosa all are served by the interstate system. However in 2010 I was in Dothan in SE Alabama where a local politician was running for office on a typical TV and radio ad, and addressed his plan (if elected) was to build a freeway from I-10 in Florida to Dothan as one of his promises. Even here on the forum that freeway idea was proposed but later rejected or shelved.
So I would say that for Alabama it would be Dothan for sure as that seems sizable at 68,247.
While Dothan lacks an interstate, it has three US highways: 84, 231, and 431.
My mind did not see that part, unfortunately having certain conditions are a handicap that I still have a way to go to conquer, but it is hard to picture some things that makes my mind jump the gun. I often get mad at myself for not seeing them too, but oh sorry.
Quick glance at the population listing and a map says that Indiana is Connersville, 52nd in the state at about 13,000 people. Other larger towns come close (Noblesville, Anderson, Marion), but all extend to a nearby highway (in this case I-69). My research could use a fact check though. \
edit: never mind, apparently upthread it has been stated as New Castle - which is correct.
Quote from: roadman65 on January 27, 2020, 11:43:06 AMMy mind did not see that part, unfortunately having certain conditions are a handicap that I still have a way to go to conquer, but it is hard to picture some things that makes my mind jump the gun. I often get mad at myself for not seeing them too, but oh sorry.
No worries. I've misparsed similar questions before, myself. :)