# Largest U.S. city you don't know the location of **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468 "2013-10-28T18:12:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/61 "2013-10-29T15:15:12Z")
If you go just by the name of the city, I would have said Arlington (Texas), as there is also one in Virginia. If you go by having absolutely no clue where it is: Chandler (#80), although if you would have asked me where Greensboro was, I would have said South Carolina. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/62 "2013-10-29T15:31:18Z")
I’ve never heard of Plano, TX So, I only go to 70 ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/63 "2013-10-29T15:34:53Z")
I guess \*\*Aurora \*\*only because I wasn’t sure if they meant Colorado or Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/64 "2013-10-29T15:36:04Z")
If you narrow it down to where in a state the city is located I’d miss many more. Some are just things picked up by chance, if I’d hadn’t live in SoCal for a little while and met some people working in the aerospace industry I’d never know Lancaster CA was a bigger city than Lancaster PA. And at that time in the late 80s they may have been much closer in size of the population. According to Wiki: “The population of Lancaster has grown from 37,000 residents at the time of incorporation in 1977, to 156,633 people as of the 2010 census, which makes it the largest city on the California side of the Mojave Desert.” ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/65 "2013-10-29T15:40:07Z")
#93 Irving. I thought Irving, CA, not Irving, TX. ETA: The California city is Irvin **e**. Durr. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/66 "2013-10-29T22:57:25Z")
Got as far as #5. I thought that _was_ a US state. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/67 "2013-10-30T11:25:10Z")
Having been in California most of my life, I have to stop and think twice about some of the famous cities to the east: Baltimore. (Maryland?) Philadelphia. (Pennsylvania?) Concord. (New Hampshire? There’s also Concord in the S. F. area.) And where the hell is the real, original, genuine Podunk? Okay, I go Google all those places now. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/68 "2013-10-30T12:24:30Z")
> [@Cugel](#): > > Non-American here, I covered up the state column, first one I got wrong was Charlotte, but I guessed the North bit correctly. Next wrong was Albuquerque. You did better’n me. I bombed out at Philladelphia… ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/69 "2013-10-30T13:19:20Z")
I covered up the state column and was tripped up by: # 86: Garland, TX #112: Aurora, IL #116: Columbus, GA #128: Knoxville, TN #129: Grand Prairie, TX #133: Overland Park, KS #146: Springfield, MO #148: Pembroke Pines, FL #150: Peoria, AZ Now I’m going to find these on the map. ---
**Author:** ![what\_do\_I\_type\_here](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a5b964/32.png) [@what\_do\_I\_type\_here](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/what_do_I_type_here)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/70 "2013-10-30T17:01:57Z")
I couldn’t tell you where exactly San Antonio is in Texas. I assume it’s either in the middle of the state or on the gulf coast since that seems to be where most large cities in Texas are. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/71 "2013-10-30T17:28:03Z")
And let’s take this international too! When some foreign city is much in the news, how often do you know where it is? Remember Benghazi, which was so much in the news last year? Where is that, exactly? How about Timbuktu, or Tombouctou or however it’s spelled this week? Do you know exactly where that is? Or even closer to home (if you live in the USA): Where in Cuba, exactly, is Havana? (ETA: Or Guantanamo?) Etc. I’ve lately gotten into the habit of becoming more aware of geography. When I see such places mentioned, especially any such places that are mentioned A LOT, I go to Google Maps and find out where they are. (And BTW, according to Wikipedia, there are Podunks all over the place.) ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/72 "2013-10-30T19:11:43Z")
I had a temporary lapse going down the list and guessed Lexington was in Virginia, but I think I know it’s in Kentucky. I somehow vaguelly remember it in the news being there. The first real mystery for me was #133 Overland Park in Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/73 "2013-10-30T19:44:38Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > If you go by having absolutely no clue where it is: Chandler (#80), although if you would have asked me where Greensboro was, I would have said South Carolina. Chandler’s claim to fame is that there is an Intel Fab and design center there. Been there several times, but only on day trips. Aurora CO had a Western Electric plant where PBXs were manufactured, and a Bell Labs facility also, back in the old days. Also a very cool Sheraton in the shape of a castle which I never got to stay at, since AT&T had a deal with the Holiday Inn across the street. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/74 "2013-10-30T19:46:17Z")
I had never heard of Erie, PA until I moved there. I can never 100% remember which Carolina boasts Raleigh, so that’s probably it. Stockton and Henderson would be up there, too. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/75 "2013-10-31T13:07:57Z")
> [@Cugel](#): > > Non-American here, I covered up the state column, first one I got wrong was Charlotte, but I guessed the North bit correctly. Next wrong was Albuquerque. Non-American, likewise. I was too lazy and / or clumsy to cover up the state column (right next to that for the cities), but I did OK – honestly knew the respective states, and was aware of the cities’ approximate locations – until Mesa (no. 38), which I’d never heard of before. After that, and as one would expect, the tally of those I didn’t know, or would have been wrong about the state, grew progressively higher. The furthest-down the list which I knew, was actually the next-to-last: no. 288 – Flint, Michigan. I honestly don’t recall in what connection I’d heard of that one. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/76 "2013-10-31T13:43:43Z")
Philadelphia. And without the SDMB, I wouldn’t have a clue where Chicago is, either. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/77 "2013-10-31T13:55:27Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > I can never 100% remember which Carolina boasts Raleigh, so that’s probably it. I have the same problem, but I at least know it’s one of the Carolinas. For cities I can’t even guess the general vicinity: Tulsa. Then Bakersfield, then Aurora, if only because they kind of just sound like generic city names. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/78 "2013-10-31T15:59:18Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > The furthest-down the list which I knew, was actually the next-to-last: no. 288 – Flint, Michigan. I honestly don’t recall in what connection I’d heard of that one. Maybe from the documentary that got Michael Moore famous - [Roger & Me](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_&_Me) ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/79 "2013-10-31T16:53:15Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > The furthest-down the list which I knew, was actually the next-to-last: no. 288 – Flint, Michigan. I honestly don’t recall in what connection I’d heard of that one. > [@amarone](#): > > Maybe from the documentary that got Michael Moore famous - [Roger & Me](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_&_Me) Anything’s possible… it can’t have been from hearing about the place as the state capital: I learn that that is Lansing. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468/80 "2013-11-01T01:55:38Z")
1. Chesapeake, Virginia. I never heard of the town before. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-dont-know-the-location-of/672468.md?page=5)