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You know, I always hated telling people I was from Georgia. Don't get me wrong, I love the Peach State, and am proud that I was born and raised there. What drove me crazy was when I told people who weren'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, mainly in those states where a single city 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 digress.
Where am I going with this? I began to ponder the numbers. What are the odds that a Georgian is really from Atlanta? Or that a Hawaiian lives in Honolulu? So, I did what all good researchers do, I dug up the statistics.
The results were a tad surprising. There are only a handful of U.S. cities whose populations make up more than 10 percent of their state's population. (We're talking cities, NOT metropolitan areas.) Here's the list:
Â
STATE
POP.
CITY
POP.
PCT.
New York
19,306,183
New York City
8,214,426
42.55%
Alaska
670,053
Anchorage
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
Omaha
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%
Nebraska
1,768,331
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%
Wyoming
515,004
Cheyenne
55,362
10.75%
Oklahoma
3,579,212
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%
Â
So there ya go. Atlanta isn't on the list. (But read on.)
Many of the highest entries are from the newest states in the Union "“ Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico and Arizona. It's also worth noting that Nebraska and Oklahoma have two cities each on the list.
Of course, this doesn't take into consideration metropolitan areas, which was a necessary factor since many urban areas (think NYC or Chicago) span multiple states. But those numbers do made 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 percent of the total population of Nevada.
And, lo and behold, although only 5 percent of Georgians live in Atlanta proper, the numbers change dramatically when you take the whole of metropolitan Atlanta into consideration. By doing that, I found what I had feared all along "“ about 55 percent of Georgia residents live there.
So if someone tells you they're from Georgia, I guess it's fair to follow up by asking about Atlanta. After all, you've got better-than-even odds of being right.