# Largest U.S. City You Never Heard Of **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 27, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682 "2010-02-27T20:55:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/81 "2010-02-28T18:25:40Z")
I think Plano is where the Plano tackle box company is based. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/82 "2010-02-28T18:42:45Z")
> [@Gymnopithys](#): > > You mean all of you dopers who went down past #70 KNEW about Plano, Texas ? :dubious: I knew a guy in West Hollywood who would occasionally appear in Gay porn films - and in talking with him, he told me he was born and raised in Plano, Texas and that his father was a warden at a nearby prison, which made for an interesting life as a kid. He never failed to mention how much he HATED Plano, Texas and couldn’t wait to leave when he got old enough - so, yeah - heard of it many times. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/83 "2010-02-28T18:43:25Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > I think Plano is where the Plano tackle box company is based. They’ve got a few other quaint [mom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perot_Systems) & [pop](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Data_Systems) operations as well. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/84 "2010-02-28T18:46:06Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > I knew a guy in West Hollywood who would occasionally appear in Gay porn films . . . He never failed to mention how much he HATED Plano, Texas and couldn’t wait to leave when he got old enough - so, yeah - heard of it many times. He wouldn’t have happened to have settled in the country once known as Siam, would he? ---
**Author:** ![Tess\_Trueheart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Tess\_Trueheart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess_Trueheart)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/85 "2010-02-28T19:20:17Z")
Wow, I’m from Garland, Texas and thought it was pretty well known! Outside of Texas, I mean - in state it’s known for producing sports stars and country singers, being the town that King of The Hill was based on, being the site of the weird millennial cult (apparently Garland sounded like God Land to a group who traveled there), and for the Special Events Center which hosts a ton of conferences, concerts, graduations etc. across the county. There are at least 8 high schools in town and they’re all suffering from over-enrollment problems. It’s a big place! My answer? Overland Park, Kansas, #137. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/86 "2010-02-28T22:12:12Z")
> [@Tess\_Trueheart](#): > > Wow, I’m from Garland, Texas and thought it was pretty well known! Outside of Texas, I mean - in state it’s known for producing sports stars and country singers, being the town that King of The Hill was based on, being the site of the weird millennial cult (apparently Garland sounded like God Land to a group who traveled there), and for the Special Events Center which hosts a ton of conferences, concerts, graduations etc. across the county. There are at least 8 high schools in town and they’re all suffering from over-enrollment problems. It’s a big place! > > My answer? Overland Park, Kansas, #137. I’ll argue about King of the Hill being based there. The locations Arlen is near put it as a combination of Round Rock, Leander, Burnet, and Marble Falls. All are just outside of Austin. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/87 "2010-02-28T22:20:01Z")
> [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](#): > > I’d never heard of Riverside, CA. So #61 here. Same here. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/88 "2010-02-28T22:45:03Z")
> [@Anamorphic](#): > > You must not have been watching the news much in 1995! > > [Oklahoma City bombing - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing) Oh, lordy! Total brain failure mode engaged. :o ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/89 "2010-02-28T23:06:00Z")
> [@torie](#): > > How are they measuring these populations? The metropolitan area of Greenville, SC, has more than 600,000 people and it’s not on the list. These are the populations strictly within the city limits, not the metropolitan areas. If they were the metro area populations, in many cases they would be much larger. Also, a lot of the cities in this list are suburbs, so they’d not be on the list at all if it were a list of metro area populations. For example, Mesa, Glendale, and Chandler Arizona are all suburbs of Phoenix. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/90 "2010-03-01T03:19:33Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > I knew a guy in West Hollywood who would occasionally appear in Gay porn films - and in talking with him, he told me he was born and raised in Plano, Texas and that his father was a warden at a nearby prison, which made for an interesting life as a kid. He never failed to mention how much he HATED Plano, Texas and couldn’t wait to leave when he got old enough - so, yeah - heard of it many times. > [@Koxinga](#): > > He wouldn’t have happened to have settled in the country once known as Siam, would he? Hey! I was raised in WEST Texas and have never appeared in any gay porn, thank you very much. :mad: Plano was well known throughout Texas in my day as some sort of suicide capital. It being so close to Dallas, while I was stuck out in the middle of Bumfuck, I’m not sure why my area didn’t become known as that. As for the largest US city I’ve never heard of, I can’t very well list it if I’ve never heard of it. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/91 "2010-03-01T03:30:29Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > As for the largest US city I’ve never heard of, I can’t very well list it if I’ve never heard of it. 😕 Oh, I guess I could read that Wikipedia list. Guess that’ll teach me to read the OP first. :o The largest one on that list I’ve never heard of is North Las Vegas, #92. I’ve even been to Las Vegas but never knew there was a North Las Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/92 "2010-03-01T03:33:21Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Hey! I was raised in WEST Texas and have never appeared in any gay porn, thank you very much. :mad: No – thank you, Sam. _Thank you_. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/93 "2010-03-01T04:01:09Z")
> [@TheFifthYear](#): > > For me, it’s #54, Santa Ana, California, population 339,130. Yep, me too. ETA: After finishing the list, Gilbert, AZ has got to be the Waterloo for the vast majority of folks that go through this list. That’s the next one I didn’t recognize, and then it was hit or miss after that. ---
**Author:** ![Tess\_Trueheart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Tess\_Trueheart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess_Trueheart)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/94 "2010-03-01T04:16:29Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > I’ll argue about King of the Hill being based there. The locations Arlen is near put it as a combination of Round Rock, Leander, Burnet, and Marble Falls. All are just outside of Austin. Ah, then maybe that was just a town rumor. We thought we were famous. 🙂 -in Garland’s wiki it says it was the inspiration -in the article for the show it says Richardson, Texas was instead (one town over) -in the article just for Arlen, TX it says Garland again But it’s true that neither of them are close to Austin, which is where everything in the show seems close to. No idea! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/95 "2010-03-01T04:18:30Z")
I evidently travel too much because I’ve heard of all those places and been in most of them. It would be interesting to do a list of “biggest city you’ve never heard of” while eliminating suburbs. Chandler, AZ is an incorporated city in a legal sense, but it’s just more Phoenix, really. But I don’t know how you’d find a list of “cities that aren’t just suburbs of bigger cities.” ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/96 "2010-03-01T04:45:39Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It would be interesting to do a list of “biggest city you’ve never heard of” while eliminating suburbs. Chandler, AZ is an incorporated city in a legal sense, but it’s just more Phoenix, really. But I don’t know how you’d find a list of “cities that aren’t just suburbs of bigger cities.” The best Census figure and overall better way of comparing “cities” is probably the urbanized area, which is based on a core area and continuous population at some density threshold. [Wikipedia list of US urbanized areas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_urban_areas). On that list, I get to #123, Lancaster-Palmdale, CA. On the cities list, I’m with several others at #89, Chula Vista, CA. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/97 "2010-03-01T04:49:32Z")
> [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](#): > > I’d never heard of Riverside, CA. So #61 here. ditto ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/98 "2010-03-01T05:14:40Z")
> [@PigBoy](#): > > The best Census figure and overall better way of comparing “cities” is probably the urbanized area, which is based on a core area and continuous population at some density threshold. [Wikipedia list of US urbanized areas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_urban_areas). > > On that list, I get to #123, Lancaster-Palmdale, CA. > On the cities list, I’m with several others at #89, Chula Vista, CA. Hmmm…on that one I actually get stymied at #70 - McAllen, Texas. I am unfortunately familiar with Lancaster-Palmdale ( dedicated Zappa fans should be aware of it as well ). ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/99 "2010-03-01T05:46:10Z")
> [@Tess\_Trueheart](#): > > Ah, then maybe that was just a town rumor. We thought we were famous. 🙂 > -in Garland’s wiki it says it was the inspiration > -in the article for the show it says Richardson, Texas was instead (one town over) > -in the article just for Arlen, TX it says Garland again > > But it’s true that neither of them are close to Austin, which is where everything in the show seems close to. No idea! I think the layout of the town with the alleyways and the similar name are inspired by Garland. Here’s how I put it where I do: Arlen seems to be 3 hours from Dallas, 3 from Houston, and 2 from San Antonio and has an interstate through it. That’s just north of Austin. (Georgetown or Round Rock) It’s along the Colorado river. The Highland Lakes are a chain of lakes on that river. (Marble Falls or Burnet) It’s near Lake Buchanan. (Burnet) Bobby one time stole Hank’s credit card and took a taxicab to the Arboretum. Hank was able to drive there very quickly from his house. (Leander) When the show first came out, Hank, Peggy and Bobby looked exactly like my grandpa, grandma, and youngest brother. 🙂 Arlen has whatever features it needs for each episode, but all of that puts it in that general area. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/100 "2010-03-01T09:46:54Z")
> [@Garula](#): > > Upon hitting #38, Long Beach, California nothing came to mind. The wiki page doesn’t ring any bells either. Is this a sign that I am horribly, horribly ill-informed about the world or forgivable on the grounds that I’ve lived on the East coast all my life? Long Beach Harbor and L.A. Harbor are contiguous and essentially one big port, which is the largest in the U.S. So it’s kind of important for that reason. It’s the place where all those things from China that Walmart sells get into the country. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682.md?page=6)