# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/101 "2010-03-01T10:09:46Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > #58, Aurora, Colorado Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/102 "2010-03-01T10:13:28Z")
How about my hometown #249 Erie PA? Anyone not heard of us? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/103 "2010-03-01T14:37:56Z")
> [@TheFifthYear](#): > > For me, it’s #54, Santa Ana, California, population 339,130. Add me to the rapidly growing “never heard of Santa Ana, CA” crowd: I certainly couldn’t have told you there was a city named Santa Ana in California. After that, #76, Chandler, AZ (and I’m hardly the only one who’d never heard of that town, either!), #94 Gilbert, AZ, and #117 Moreno Valley, CA. All three of these are high on the list due to fairly recent rapid growth. I bet they all have gotten clobbered by the demise of the housing bubble of the past decade. As a onetime baseball fan, I knew about Mesa, CA and Arlington, TX because the former is a spring training site (Cubbies), and the latter is where the Washington Senators v. 2.0 moved to, and became the Texas Rangers. My favorite city name on the list is Rancho Cucamonga, CA. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/104 "2010-03-01T20:06:38Z")
#42, Virginia Beach, VA Home to the Hampton Roads Piranhas football club, and with an international sister-city of Moss, Norway, how could I have _not_ heard of it :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/105 "2010-03-01T23:20:26Z")
for me it was Chula Vista, CA. #89, pop 219,318 ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/106 "2010-03-01T23:38:07Z")
Regarding Chandler, Mesa, Glendale, Scottsdale, and Tempe - these are all reasonable sized cities in their own right, but anyone who lives in “The Valley of the Sun” just considers them suburbs of Phoenix. I mean, if you ask, people could probably tell you that they have their own Mayors, etc., but when you live out here, all the borders sort of blend into one huge anonymous stretch of suburbia, with little to distinguish one city from the other. Just like LA (ugh). ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/107 "2010-03-01T23:52:20Z")
#42, Virginia Beach, VA. The most populous city in Virginia, and I’d never heard of it! ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/108 "2010-03-02T00:32:54Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > #58, Aurora, Colorado This for me, too. What shocked me was how small Miami is! I would have guessed it was bigger than Columbus (which is where I live) but it’s not even close. Virginia Beach is bigger than Miami? Who knew. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/109 "2010-03-02T00:33:27Z")
Wow, I had _no_ idea Detroit was that big. For the OP though, it’s #50, Arlington. Perhaps I’ve heard of it before, but in my mind I only associate Arlington with VA. After Arlington, Lexington, KY. Definitely find it embarrassing that Pittsburgh’s smaller than Bakersfield. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/110 "2010-03-02T00:47:39Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Ah, yes, but if you think that you’re misunderstanding what that list really means. As the wiki article says in its intro, they’re just counting the population of the legal entity called the City of Wherever. That is a totally different thing than the population of the urban+suburban area most of us are thinking of when we hear the name of some city halfway across the country from us. That’s what I was going to say. At least 3 or 4 cities mentioned in Texas are Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex cities. Arlington (between D & FW), Grand Prairie (between D & FW, S of Arlington) and Garland (NE of Dallas) are all immediately adjacent to Dallas and/or Fort Worth. Other similarly sized cities in the area are Plano, Richardson, Mesquite, Frisco and Irving. Generally speaking, if you were to ask citizens of these towns where they’re from, they’d probably say “Dallas” or “the Dallas area” if they weren’t in the area when being asked, and reply with their actual city if they were in the area. For an idea of how integrated into the area these cities are, the Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys both actually play in Arlington now, and the Cowboys used to play in Irving. Six Flags over Texas is in Arlington (the original Six Flags park) also. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/111 "2010-03-02T00:52:19Z")
I got to El Paseo, and thought I should count it. While I’ve heard jokes about HellPasso I had \*no \*idea it was any bigger than a one-horse town. But I should go with #42 Virginia Beach, VA and then #58 Aurora, CO. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/112 "2010-03-02T01:04:20Z")
Virginia Beach - I don’t think I have ever run across its name before. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/113 "2010-03-02T01:39:54Z")
> [@kenner116](#): > > #76, Chandler, Arizona. Same. Peoria, _Arizona_ made me go back and re-check names higher on the list to make sure that I wasn’t thinking of a different city. A lot of co-opted names. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/114 "2010-03-02T01:41:56Z")
> [@TheFifthYear](#): > > For me, it’s #54, Santa Ana, California, population 339,130. This one… although I would never have heard of Fresno if not for its college football team. Next up are Aurora, CO; Stockton, CA; Chandler, AZ and Gilbert, AZ. Fun trivia question: what’s the largest city in the US by land area? ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/115 "2010-03-02T01:46:39Z")
> [@kenner116](#): > > #76, Chandler, Arizona. Yep. This is where I tap out too. And from the other comments evidently Maricopa County is full of large cities no one has heard of. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/116 "2010-03-02T07:39:05Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > I had to go down all the way to #147, Cape Coral, Florida, before I ran into a city I’d never heard of. After that, it’s Pembroke Pines, FL (#160), then Elk Grove, CA. In fact, scrolling down the list, there are fewer than ten cities that I can honestly say I’ve never heard of. I got stumped at #95, Hialeah, Florida. The next one I didn’t know was McAllen, Texas at #185, then a few odds and ends out of the rest. Probably 8 or 9 I don’t know total. > [@torie](#): > > I have also never heard of Fort Wayne, ID. You still haven’t. The Fort Wayne on the list is in Indiana, about 30 miles west of me. 😃 On the other list, I made it to #70, McAllen, Texas. That doesn’t seem fair somehow, it should be folded into some urban area I have heard of. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/117 "2010-03-02T15:04:14Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > This for me, too. > > What shocked me was how small Miami is! I would have guessed it was bigger than Columbus (which is where I live) but it’s not even close. Virginia Beach is bigger than Miami? Who knew. The _incorporated part_ is small. Miami proper is big - three or four of the cities on the list (like Hialeah) are really part of Miami. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/118 "2010-03-02T15:18:42Z")
I’ve actually been to Aurora, Colorado-- it’s home to Buckley Air Force Base, where [they “fly” DSP satellites](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/460th_Space_Wing). Arlington, TX… Glendale, AZ… not a lot of sports fans on this page, eh? Anyway, I made it down to # 137… Overland Park, KS? Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/119 "2010-03-02T15:21:51Z")
Where’s this “New” York they mention? I made it to Gilbert, AZ. I guessed what metroplex it was part of, but I’d never heard the name before. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682/120 "2010-03-02T16:10:49Z")
Wow, more people live in and around Arizona than I ever possibly imagined. I always thought living in a place with a summer temperature of over 100 degrees every day would be a negative, but apparently there’s lots of air conditioning and its a happening place. There must be a lot of jobs available there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-u-s-city-you-never-heard-of/530682.md?page=7)