You know , I always hated order mass I was from Georgia . Do n’t get me wrong , I love the Peach State , and am proud that I was bear and stir there . What ram me sick was when I differentiate citizenry who were n’t from the Deep South that I lived there . Why ? Because of the inevitable question :
" Atlanta?“
Like Atlanta is the only place in Georgia .
But you know , people from other places have to deal with the same thing , in the main in those states where a single urban center jumps to mind , like Hawaii ( Honolulu ) or North Dakota ( Fargo ) . Can you name another city in Hawaii ? If so , you ’re in the minority . But I wander .
Where am I going with this ? I began to ponder the numbers . Â Whatarethe odds that a Georgian is really from Atlanta ? Or that a Hawaiian go in Honolulu ? So , I did what all good researchers do , I dug up the statistics .
The results were a shade surprising . There are only a handful of U.S. cities whose populations make up more than 10 percent of their land ’s population . ( We ’re babble out urban center , NOT metropolitan areas . ) Here ’s the lean :
Â
Department of State
POP .
CITY
PCT .
New York
19,306,183
New York City
8,214,426
42.55 %
Alaska
670,053
anchorage ground
278,700
41.59 %
Hawaii
1,285,498
Honolulu
377,357
29.35 %
New Mexico
1,954,599
Albuquerque
504,949
25.83 %
Arizona
6,166,318
Phoenix
1,512,986
24.54 %
Nebraska
1,768,331
Maha
419,545
23.73 %
Nevada
2,495,529
Las Vegas
552,539
22.14 %
Illinois
12,831,970
Chicago
2,833,321
22.08 %
South Dakota
781,919
Sioux Falls
142,396
18.21 %
Rhode Island
1,067,610
Providence
175,255
16.42 %
Oklahoma
3,579,212
Oklahoma City
537,734
15.02 %
Oregon
3,700,758
Portland
537,081
14.51 %
North Dakota
635,867
Fargo
90,599
14.25 %
Lincoln
241,167
13.64 %
Idaho
1,466,465
Boise
198,638
13.55 %
Kentucky
4,206,074
Louisville
554,496
13.18 %
Kansas
2,764,075
Wichita
357,698
12.94 %
Indiana
6,313,520
Indianapolis
785,597
12.44 %
Colorado
4,753,377
Denver
566,974
11.93 %
Pennsylvania
12,440,621
Philadelphia
1,448,394
11.64 %
Maryland
5,615,727
Baltimore
631,366
11.24 %
Tennessee
6,038,803
Memphis
670,902
11.11 %
WY
515,004
Cheyenne
55,362
10.75 %
Tulsa
382,872
10.70 %
Montana
944,632
Billings
100,148
10.60 %
California
36,457,549
Los Angeles
3,849,378
10.56 %
Wisconsin
5,556,506
Milwaukee
573,358
10.32 %
So there ya go . Atlantaisn’ton the list . ( But learn on . )
Many of the highest entries are from the novel land in the Union " “ Alaska , Hawaii , New Mexico and Arizona . It ’s also worth noting that Nebraska and Oklahoma have two city each on the listing .
Of course , this does n’t take into consideration metropolitan areas , which was a necessary factor since many urban areas ( think NYC or Chicago ) span multiple states . But those numbersdomade a difference . While only 1 in 10 Californians live in the city of Los Angeles , 1 in 3 live in " metropolitan" L.A. ( which includes Long Beach and Santa Ana ) . When you factor in the suburban influence , Las Vegas leaps to the top of the list .  Greater Las Vegas is home to 80 percentage of the total population of Nevada .
And , lo and behold , although only 5 percent of Georgians live in Atlanta right , the number exchange dramatically when you take the whole of metropolitan Atlanta into circumstance . By doing that , I found what I had feared all along " “ about55 percentof Georgia occupant live there .
So if someone tells you they ’re from Georgia , I venture it ’s fair to follow up by asking about Atlanta . After all , you ’ve got better - than - even odds of being correct .
