# How Many of the 20 Largest Cities in Your State Have You Been To? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2014, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116 "2014-06-05T13:52:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/61 "2014-06-05T20:15:32Z")
I have visited 100% of the cities in my administrative boundary. But I live in DC so I don’t think it counts. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/62 "2014-06-05T20:22:15Z")
Been to the top 33 in Wisconsin, but didn’t get to #34, Watertown. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/63 "2014-06-05T20:35:39Z")
In my state (New South Wales), it’s going to depend on what you mean by a “city”. [The most restrictive list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Australia#Cities_acknowledged_on_the_NSW_Geographical_Names_Register) has only 21 places, and I’ve been to all of them except Lithgow and Orange (unless going through the city by car or train counts). ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/64 "2014-06-05T20:36:11Z")
Milwaukee - Y Madison - Y Green Bay - Y Kenosha - Y (I think as a kid) Racine - Y (I think as a kid) Appleton - Y Waukesha - N (except driving through) Oshkosh - Y Eau Claire - Y West Allis - Y Janesville - Y La Crosse - N Sheboygan - Y Wauwatosa - N Fond du Lac - Y Brookfield - Y Wausau - Y New Berlin - N Beloit - Y Greenfield - Y ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/65 "2014-06-05T20:39:22Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > If you go to the [List of Cities and Town in Colorado](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Colorado) and sort by population rank, the first one I have not been to is #57, La Junta. I don’t miss one until number 25. Just to post the top 20 cities in Colorado; Denver 600,158 Yes ColoradoSprings 416,427 Yes Aurora 325,078 Yes Fort Collins 143,986 Yes Lakewood 142,980 Yes Thornton 118,772 Yes Arvada 106,433 Yes Westminster 106,114 Yes Pueblo 106,595 Yes Centennial 100,377 Yes Boulder 97,385 Yes Greeley 92,889 Yes Longmont 86,270 Yes Loveland 66,859 Yes Grand Junction 58,566 Yes Broomfield 55,889 Yes Castle Rock 48,231 Yes Commerce City 45,913 Yes Parker 45,297 Yes Littleton 41,73 Yes ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/66 "2014-06-05T21:20:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I agree with **kunilou** ’s point that cities which are simply municipal subdivisions of current large conurbations should not count. A “city” is an island surrounded on all sides by some combination of water, rural land, or uninhabited land. > > And by that definition, not very many US states even have 20 significant cities. 2 or 3 cities and a bunch of 50-100K population county seats is more like it. This is certainly true for New Mexico (adjusted downward; our largest city isn’t even a million unless we steal the actual, statutory, designated city of Rio Rancho). Wikipedia resorts to calling their list a “[List of populated places in New Mexico](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_New_Mexico),” and they list Albuquerque’s North and South Valleys separately as “Census-designated places” even though they’re within the city limits in every sense. At any rate, our actual cities (and “cities”) of over 10,000 people are: Albuquerque Las Cruces Rio Rancho Santa Fe Roswell Farmington Clovis Hobbs Alamogordo Carlsbad Gallup Los Alamos Deming Los Lunas Sunland Park Las Vegas Portales Artesia Lovington Silver City Espanola I’ve been to all of them. Come to think of it, looking over the Wikipedia list, I’ve been to almost all the places that are on it. We used to get in the car and just drive, back in the pre-kids days. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/67 "2014-06-05T21:32:35Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I’ve lived in Kentucky all my life and travel a lot for work. So I’ve been to all these cities, with the possible exception of Madisonville. > > Louisville — born here > Lexington — live here now > Bowling Green — numerous times > Owensboro — for work a lot; husband grew up here > Covington — near where I grew up; on the way to Cincinnati > Hopkinsville — home of best friend > Richmond — nearby > Florence — near where I grew up; on the way to Cincinnati > Henderson — several times for work > Elizabethtown — lots > Nicholasville — nearby > Jeffersontown — near Louisville so yes > Frankfort — state capital; lots > Independence — near where I grew up > Radcliff — near Louisville > Ashland — lots for work > Madisonville — can’t say for sure > Winchester — lived here for four years > > Most towns in Kentucky are small; I could spend all day listing all the towns I’ve been to. Where is this list from? It should have Paducah and Georgetown. I lived in Kentucky for 5 years, then 7 years. I’ve been to all of these thanks to work travel. ---
**Author:** ![txtumbleweed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@txtumbleweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txtumbleweed)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/68 "2014-06-05T21:49:42Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > If you have driven on I-35 through Austin, you drove through Round Rock. It’s where the IKEA is. > > If you took the bypass around the E side of Austin, you went through part of Pflugerville. > > If you drove on Tollway 8 south in Houston, you’ve touched on Pearland. Barely. > > If you consider “driving through” the same as “been to”, that is. If you count driving, I’ve been through all of them. I was sticking to places I had stopped. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/69 "2014-06-05T21:58:17Z")
Ohio 16 out of 20 for me. Columbus - Y Cleveland - Y Cincinnati - Y Toledo - Y Akron - Y Dayton - Y Parma - Y Canton - Y Youngstown - Y Lorain - Y Hamilton - N Springfield - N Kettering - N Elyria - Y Lakewood - Y Cuyahoga Falls - Y Euclid - Y Middletown - N Mansfield - Y Newark - Y ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/70 "2014-06-05T22:21:31Z")
1. It helps that a few years ago I made an effort to go everywhere in the state and see the whole thing. It also helps that the biggest three counties (with most of the largest cities) are the one I live in, the one directly to the south and the one directly to the north. But #11 Spokane Valley. I may have driven through it going in or out of Spokane, but I’ve never _been_ there. I didn’t even know it existed. The next highest one I’ve not been to is #63 Sunnyside. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/71 "2014-06-05T22:21:50Z")
Michigan: Looks like 11 of the top 20, although it’s hard to say if I’ve been in a couple more of the cities just North of Detroit. They kind of run together. Detroit Grand Rapids Warren Lansing Ann Arbor Dearborn Livonia Westland Kalamazoo Rochester Hills Pontiac Here’s the list of cities ([discarding townships from this list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_municipalities_in_Michigan_%28by_population%29)), for any other Michiganians: 1 Detroit Wayne 1,027,974 951,270 713,777 2 Grand Rapids Kent 189,673 197,800 188,040 3 Warren Macomb 145,080 138,247 134,056 4 Sterling Heights Macomb 117,814 124,471 129,699 5 Lansing Eaton & Ingham 127,321 119,128 114,297 6 Ann Arbor Washtenaw 109,592 114,024 113,934 7 Flint Genesee 141,367 124,943 102,434 8 Dearborn Wayne 89,119 97,775 98,153 9 Livonia Wayne 100,864 100,545 96,942 12 Westland Wayne 84,457 86,602 84,094 13 Troy Oakland 72,884 80,957 80,980 14 Farmington Hills Oakland 74,611 82,111 79,740 16 Kalamazoo Kalamazoo 80,290 77,145 74,262 18 Wyoming Kent 63,672 69,385 72,125 19 Southfield Oakland 75,706 78,296 71,739 21 Rochester Hills Oakland 61,884 68,853 70,995 23 Taylor Wayne 70,809 65,868 63,131 24 St. Clair Shores Macomb 68,300 63,096 59,715 25 Pontiac Oakland 71,136 67,561 59,515 26 Dearborn Heights Wayne 60,720 58,264 57,774 ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/72 "2014-06-05T22:37:11Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > This is certainly true for New Mexico (adjusted downward; our largest city isn’t even a million unless we steal the actual, statutory, designated city of Rio Rancho). Wikipedia resorts to calling their list a “[List of populated places in New Mexico](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_New_Mexico),” and they list Albuquerque’s North and South Valleys separately as “Census-designated places” even though they’re within the city limits in every sense. There might be areas called that within the city limits too, but the South Valley and North Valley CDPs are not in the city limits (or at least they weren’t in 2010). By definition, a census-designated place is an unincorporated area. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/73 "2014-06-05T22:41:51Z")
In Victoria, Australia, there aren’t 20 ‘cities’! I consider a city to have a central business district _and_ suburbs (that have a different name to the city). Using that criteria, there’s five, and I’ve been to all of them. Melbourne Geelong Bendigo Ballarat Wodonga There are plenty of towns that call themselves cities (eg, Benalla, Wangaratta, Traralgon) but they’re dreamin’. 😃 I’ve been to all of THEM too. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/74 "2014-06-05T22:42:53Z")
Connecticut only has 21 incorporated cities, and only 5 with populations over 100,000. I’ve definitely been to the top 20 and actually done something in it not just passed through. I’m not 100% positive exactly where the 21st, Winstead (population 7321), is without consulting a map. It’s someplace in the northwest of the state, though I couldn’t put my finger on it in an unlabeled map so I don’t know if I’ve driven through it or not. However, given the size of CT, it’s likely. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/75 "2014-06-05T22:50:25Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Yes 1 Los Angeles 3,904,657 > Yes 2 San Diego 1,307,402 > Yes 3 San Jose 1,000,536 > Yes 4 San Francisco 805,235 > Yes 5 Fresno 510,665 > Yes 6 Long Beach 468,257 > Yes 7 Sacramento 466,488 > Yes 8 Oakland 390,724 > Yes 9 Bakersfield 347,483 > Yes 10 Anaheim 336,265 > No 11 Santa Ana 324,528 > No 12 Riverside 303,871 > Yes 13 Stockton 291,707 > Yes 14 Chula Vista 243,916 > Yes 15 Fremont 214,089 > No 16 Irvine 212,375 > Yes 17 San Bernardino 209,924 > Yes 18 Modesto 201,165 > No 19 Oxnard 197,899 > No 20 Fontana 196,069 Based on this list, I have been to or through every single one of them. In some cases, I’m not proud of that (I’m looking at you, Fresno.) ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/76 "2014-06-05T23:10:25Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I’m not sure how Maryland defines “city” or “town” because Waldorf, which is home to all the big box stores and the mall and a lot of apartments and other businesses in this part of the state, doesn’t show up on the list. Same with Lexington Park, home of a large Naval Air Station. The list on wikipedia includes Waldorf, but only has 10 entries. I live in Towson, which I imagine doesn’t show up on the lists because it’s unincorporated, but based on population would rank fifth. > [@epbrown01](#): > > Come on. No state has 20 cities **worth** visiting. Not IL, certainly not my home state of KY (Louisville and Lexington, maybe Bowling Green if you like Corvettes.) To be fair some states don’t have room for 20. Has anyone from Delaware chimed in yet? Rhode Island? For the record, I’ve been to 11 on **FairyChatMom** ’s Maryland List ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/77 "2014-06-05T23:22:56Z")
I’ve been to all of the top 20 cities of [Minnesota](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cities_in_minnesota), but since 15 of the 20 are suburbs of the Twin Cities, I’ve assembled a more interesting list of the top 20 non-suburb cities. Number in parentheses is the overall rank including suburbs. 1. (1) Minneapolis: Yes 2. (2) St. Paul: Yes 3. (3) Rochester: Yes 4. (4) Duluth: Yes 5. (8) St. Cloud: Yes 6. (21) Mankato: Yes 7. (23) Moorhead: Yes 8. (32) Winona: Yes 9. (36) Owatonna: Yes 10. (37) Austin: No 11. (44) Faribault: Yes 12. (45) Elk River: Yes 13. (48) Hastings: No 14. (54) Northfield: Yes 15. (57) Willmar: Yes 16. (60) Stillwater: Yes 17. (62) Albert Lea: Yes 18. (65) Red Wing: Yes 19. (66) Hibbing: No 20. (68) Buffalo: Yes Using **kambuckta** ’s criteria, which I totally agree with, only Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Duluth, St. Cloud, Mankato, Moorhead and Winona would be considered cities. Alternately, Moorhead could be considered a suburb of Fargo. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2014, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/78 "2014-06-05T23:30:18Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > In my state (New South Wales), it’s going to depend on what you mean by a “city”. [The most restrictive list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Australia#Cities_acknowledged_on_the_NSW_Geographical_Names_Register) has only 21 places, and I’ve been to all of them except Lithgow and Orange (unless going through the city by car or train counts). As I live in the Australian Capital Territory, I have been to its only city. In fact I’m in it now. For NSW, I’ve been to 17 of the 21 in the list that **Giles** linked to, missing Lithgow, Armidale, Broken Hill and Tamworth. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/79 "2014-06-06T00:14:03Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > That link does not go where you think it goes. > > At least it’s work-safe and not \*too \*embarrassing. :rolleyes: It’s something to watch while stuck in traffic between KC and StL.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116/80 "2014-06-06T00:49:41Z")
For certain values of city… **Saskatchewan** Saskatoon 222,035 Yes Regina 192,756 Yes Prince Albert 35,552 Yes Moose Jaw 33,617 Yes North Battleford 17,595 Yes Yorkton 15,795 Yes Swift Current 15,503 Yes Estevan 11,054 Yes Weyburn 10,484 Yes Lloydminster 9,772 (27k if you include the Alberta side of town) Yes Martensville 7,716 Yes Warman 7,084 Yes La Ronge 5,905 No Humboldt 5,678 Yes Melfort 5,576 Yes Meadow Lake 5,045 Yes Kindersley 4,678 Yes Melville 4,517 No Nipawin 4,330 No Tisdale 3,185 Yes 17/20. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-state-have-you-been-to/690116.md?page=5)