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Biggest Metro Areas in the USA

Name the cities in the United States with the highest metropolitan population. When you guess the city, it will appear on the map.
Based on 2024 population estimates
These are MSAs. Some are part of larger CSAs. Not to be confused with city proper population.
Quiz by
Quizmaster
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Last updated: April 29, 2025
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First submittedJanuary 10, 2011
Times taken365,388
Average score57.0%
Rating4.98
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Population
Metro Area
19,940,274
New York City
12,927,614
Los Angeles
9,408,576
Chicago
8,344,032
Dallas
7,796,182
Houston
6,457,988
Miami
6,436,789
Washington, DC
6,411,149
Atlanta
6,330,422
Philadelphia
5,186,958
Phoenix
5,025,517
Boston
4,744,214
Riverside
4,744,214
San Francisco
4,400,578
Detroit
4,145,494
Seattle
3,757,952
Minneapolis
3,424,560
Tampa
3,298,799
San Diego
3,052,498
Denver
2,940,513
Orlando
2,883,370
Charlotte
2,859,024
Baltimore
2,811,927
St. Louis
2,763,006
San Antonio
2,550,637
Austin
2,512,850
Portland
2,463,127
Sacramento
2,429,917
Pittsburgh
2,398,871
Las Vegas
2,302,815
Cincinnati
2,253,579
Kansas City
2,225,377
Columbus
2,174,833
Indianapolis
2,171,877
Cleveland
Population
Metro Area
2,150,553
Nashville
1,995,484
San Jose
1,794,278
Virginia Beach
1,760,548
Jacksonville
1,700,901
Providence
1,574,452
Milwaukee
1,562,009
Raleigh
1,497,821
Oklahoma City
1,394,234
Louisville
1,370,165
Richmond
1,339,345
Memphis
1,300,762
Salt Lake City
1,192,583
Birmingham
1,189,557
Fresno
1,178,826
Grand Rapids
1,169,048
Hartford
1,160,172
Buffalo
1,080,149
Tucson
1,059,803
Tulsa
1,057,218
Rochester
1,001,010
Omaha
998,747
Honolulu
996,680
Greenville, SC
972,679
Bridgeport
966,230
New Orleans
957,608
Knoxville
934,956
North Port
926,303
Albuquerque
922,529
Bakersfield
914,820
McAllen
913,485
Albany
886,418
Allentown
882,652
Baton Rouge
Population
Metro Area
881,248
Worcester
879,392
El Paso
870,193
Columbia, SC
869,940
Charleston, SC
860,959
Cape Coral
852,878
Lakeland
845,877
Boise
835,427
Oxnard
821,740
Dayton
816,108
Stockton
800,722
Greensboro, NC
777,634
Colorado Springs
769,258
Little Rock
760,531
Provo
753,913
Des Moines
739,516
Deltona
711,730
Kiryas Joel
707,606
Madison
705,187
Winston-Salem
702,209
Akron
667,681
Ogden
661,217
Wichita
658,447
Palm Bay
655,189
Syracuse
636,760
Augusta
620,522
Durham
615,361
Harrisburg
606,178
Jackson, MS
605,615
Fayetteville, AR
604,962
Spokane
601,396
Toledo
588,050
Chattanooga
576,718
New Haven
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100 Recent Comments
JamieNFFC
+3
Level 49
Dec 6, 2019
89/100 I'm not American.
Regtheledge1000
+3
Level 28
Feb 22, 2020
What about Santa Fe
Regtheledge1000
+2
Level 28
Feb 22, 2020
And Anchorage
qwertyuiop
+4
Level 20
Mar 5, 2020
Anchorage isn't big enough
qwertyuiop
+4
Level 20
Mar 5, 2020
Santa Fe only holds 88,000
footygenius
+2
Level 77
Apr 10, 2020
Can't believe I did this quiz while watching The Office...and still forgot Scranton!
Fishyyy
+2
Level 62
Apr 21, 2020
By the San Jose has a bigger population than San Francisco
MinecraftMadman
+7
Level 26
Jun 4, 2020
I laughed so hard when I saw that the circle for NYC literally covered all of New Jersey
ChineseChen
+2
Level 70
Aug 21, 2020
Yep. That’s so true.
sacheth9
+3
Level 65
Aug 21, 2020
^^
TheGeographyMan
+2
Level 34
Oct 10, 2020
100/100 and I'm Australian :)
kalbahamut
+2
Level 79
Oct 15, 2020
I got my high score of 90 today. If I had moved through a little faster I think I would have gotten 5 points. So close. But I spent too much time guessing smaller cities trying to make sure I didn't miss any then I was pressed for time at the end trying to clean up the eastern seaboard. Missed Baltimore, Columbia, Sarasota, Lakeland, Worcester, Greenville, Harrisburg, Melbourne, Ogden and Augusta.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 79
Apr 4, 2021
This time I missed Toledo, Little Rock, New Haven and Greensboro... but I finally picked up that 5th point.
miceonvenus
+2
Level 82
Dec 7, 2020
It took a while, but I managed to get all 100 :D
turnbacktwo
+2
Level 46
Dec 20, 2020
Got 41 and I'm from the UK Most obscure guess Lakeland most worst miss San Francisco
NotDeadPerson
+2
Level 22
Jan 12, 2021
Could you add LA for los angeles?
xXViolaXx
+2
Level 67
May 9, 2025
Commonly not accepted because there are MANY words and names that start with "La-", so you would inherently always get Los Angeles from this type in.
chickenoui
+2
Level 29
Mar 4, 2021
45/100 as german only been to the us once, but thanks to NBA & NFL i think i did quite well. After watching the results i should ve known better thanks to college basketball & march madness...

couldnt get Albuquerque cause i didnt know how to spell it...

BigFloppa
+1
Level 62
Apr 15, 2021
great quiz! i loved it!
AlexanderTheLarge
+1
Level 75
May 11, 2021
Please accept "Tuscan" for "Tuscon"
BigFloppa
+6
Level 62
Jan 27, 2022
Just type Tuscon
xXViolaXx
+3
Level 67
May 9, 2025
"Tuscan" refers to someone or something from the Italian province Tuscany. (Pronounced Tusk-in). "Tucson" is a smallish city in Arizona, USA. (Pronounced Too-sawn). Hope this helps!
BluetubeLogo
+1
Level 16
May 20, 2021
bruh i missed my own city cuz i thought it was part of la metro area
Fishyyy
+1
Level 62
May 23, 2021
Guys why does every quiz get this wrong, San Jose is larger than San Francisco
Quizmaster
+19
Level ∞
May 23, 2021
City proper < Metropolitan Area < Combined Statistical Area.

Know the difference. It could save your life.

Fishyyy
+1
Level 62
May 23, 2021
San Francisco isn't actually that big, it's just very dense. I'm a Californian and the largest cities are:

Los Angeles

San Diego

San Jose

San Francisco

Jaybird77
+1
Level 47
Dec 29, 2022
It is still the 4th largest in California, so there's that
Djai
+2
Level 63
Jun 6, 2021
Out of curiosity, what is the value for Portland, Maine? Surprised it couldn't beat out some of these places
quizzer2
+3
Level 37
Aug 3, 2021
I wrote Salem hoping to get the capital of Oregon I was not excepting to get something in north Carolina.

Just in case you haven't noticed I am very bad when it comes to cities.

Eduardoleonl05
+1
Level 25
Aug 12, 2021
bro wtf is lakeland- I literally got 75/100, the only "important ones" I missed were Raleigh, San Jose and Rochester, but the rest are completely unknown places lmfaooo
Murphster45
+1
Level 97
Nov 9, 2021
I could not for the life of me spell Birmingham correctly.
ZIZI
+3
Level 65
Feb 13, 2022
you illiterate?
zack22
+1
Level 66
Dec 6, 2021
Surprised that little South Carolina had 3 cities on the list! In the top 20% of states.
FlyingG
+1
Level 68
Jun 1, 2023
So does Connecticut... an even smaller state.
Owtato
+1
Level 49
Apr 25, 2022
97/100. Missed Akron, Harrisburg, and Bridgeport - I thought it was park of the New York MSA.
Owtato
+1
Level 49
Apr 9, 2026
did it again, 99/100 and missed new haven
JetpunkSandwich
+1
Level 48
Apr 17, 2026
Dang. I kind of was expecting Bridgeport/Stamford to be in the NY metro area as well.
Ankur
+1
Level 52
May 29, 2022
As someone far from the US, I am pretty happy to get 30.
erinwag
+1
Level 24
May 30, 2022
I thought i lived in a sort small town, and it was on this list :/
CanesFanChance
+1
Level 29
Jul 10, 2022
I got 100% on my 3rd try, but untimed. Got Melbourne as my last one right before I gave up. Missed Sacramento on my second try. Still disappointed in myself.
CanesFanChance
+1
Level 29
Jul 24, 2022
Just got my last one (Stockton) with 1 second left and my first completed timed one! Tough, but really great quiz.
OliviaPG
+1
Level 72
Jul 10, 2022
91/100, somehow completely forgot about San Antonio
CarolinaSvechFan
+1
Level 42
Oct 7, 2022
I always just look at the mainland map and almost forgot Honolulu. lol
Findlay
+5
Level 80
Oct 20, 2022
I will never get used to the weird ways the US counts these things. San Bernardino is very clearly part of the Los Angeles metro area, and call it Bay Area or San Francisco or whatever, but San Jose and San Francisco are also clearly the same metro area. If someone can find me the wilderness area between San Bernardino and Los Angeles I'll give them a thousand bucks. Is it in Rancho Cuchamonga, perhaps? Maybe Ontario? Pomona? Fontana? Covina? El Monte?
Shamooski19
+2
Level 70
Jun 26, 2023
The San Jose Hills divide the Inland Empire from the LA area. The farthest reaches of the Inland Empire are Pomona, San Dimas, Claremont, etc. And while the San Jose Hills aren't necessarily wilderness, they do serve as a pretty clear divide between the two metropolitan areas. As for the bay area, I have absolutely no idea how they're splitting it up, and while it does make sense San Jose and San Francisco are separate (parts of San Mateo County in between the two aren't fully developed), I don't understand where that puts the East Bay. Is it part of San Jose? San Francisco? If my assumptions on the numbers for San Francisco are correct, the East Bay is considered part of San Francisco. Now why the East Bay is part of SF and not San Jose, which is closer (by development and land, if not by water), I have no clue. And why it isn't separate entirely (maybe part of Oakland or Fremont), absolutely confounds me.
atavoidirc
+1
Level 57
Sep 12, 2024
San Francisco MSA contains San Francisco, San Mateo, Oakland, Alameda and Marin Counties; San Jose MSA contains Santa Clara and San Benito Counties
Shamooski19
+1
Level 70
Jun 26, 2023
Can I have my money, please?
JetpunkSandwich
+1
Level 48
Apr 17, 2026
There's still a very clear connection of suburbs between Riverside MSA and the Los Angeles MSA. Just look from the satellite.
JetpunkSandwich
+1
Level 48
Apr 17, 2026
I have to agree that the San Bernardino MSA is just a collection of suburbs based from Los Angeles. I find it very stupid how its separate when both metros are clearly connected.
Charliezard
+1
Level 67
Dec 1, 2022
78/100...not bad, barely ran out of time just as I thought of three more though :(
GlobalCitizen
+1
Level 65
Jan 9, 2023
Scranton made the list as #100, Michael Scott must be proud :)
KennethTAA
+1
Level 61
Feb 7, 2023
I got 82 but I didn't get Honolulu because I forgot about wyoming and I completely skipped over Florida lol
dominate8999
+2
Level 23
May 4, 2023
I live in NJ. Still trying to accept the fact that NYC covers all of Nj
MiracleMax
+3
Level 73
Jun 1, 2023
Man, the census bureau sure was right when they said that MSAs are "not designed to serve as a general-purpose geographic framework".
Quizmaster
+6
Level ∞
Jun 1, 2023
Those are weasel words. They might as well say "We did our best. Don't be a whiner".

Metro areas (as defined by the Census Bureau) might not be perfect but they are better than anything else we have.

FlyingG
+1
Level 68
Jun 1, 2023
Got 89/100, biggest fails were New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Boise. As you can see, I forgot about the existence of Louisiana and Idaho.
EvanAviator
+3
Level 61
Jun 5, 2023
how the hell is poughkeepsie a metro area 😭
noahbo99
+3
Level 34
Jul 29, 2023
That surprised me too. I was going to guess it but didn't think it was worth the time for such an outlandish idea...

Apparently, they've gone back and forth between subsuming it under NYC or having a unique area. Currently, it's called the "Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area" and covers two counties in the Hudson Valley.

Wistful
+3
Level 72
Jun 6, 2023
Fun fact: Every single city on this list (excluding the last one, Fayetteville) has a larger population than the entire state of Wyoming.
SMARTPERS0N
+1
Level 46
Jun 16, 2023
I'm in San Antonio on vacation right now...

Guess which one of the cities with over 1 million people I missed...

GoblinOfCooz
+1
Level 79
Jul 31, 2023
Relevant plug for my new quiz here, https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/1496352/winners-losers-us-city-vs-metro-populations
Asterlan
+2
Level 57
Sep 29, 2023
You should accept Twin Cities for Minneapolis and Inland Empire for Riverside
EcceHomo
+1
Level 86
Oct 3, 2023
65/100, not too bad. Could have done better if I'd remembered the Fonz, Glen Campbell and Kenny Rogers.
purplejack
+1
Level 58
Mar 6, 2024
As a Brit who has never heard of some of these cities, I'm pleased to have got 61/100.

I keep noticing Virginia Beach in similar quizzes, so was sure I'd typed it. Though in my hurry, I think I'm mistyping it - giving me the impression it's not a valid answer. >_<

Can anyone enlighten me on what the mythical Virginia Beach is like irl???

quizkill4
+1
Level 62
Nov 23, 2024
Ive been once, it's large hotels on a endless beach on the coast of the atlantic ocean. Pretty neat, but also somewhat regular for the US east coast.
ignorred
+1
Level 67
Apr 11, 2024
Scored 81, my best so far. Not to make excuses, but a lot of the ones I missed were sorta-kinda near another metro area (I got Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus, but missed Toledo, Akron, and Dayton, even though I've definitely heard of those cities). I consistently struggle with Florida, partially because I've never been there and can't seem to get a feel for how the metro areas are divided up.
jobvanhelden
+2
Level 51
May 11, 2024
72 as a 14 year old dutchie!:) im happy with myself
nations12345eat
+1
Level 49
May 5, 2025
13 but I got 94
Lithian5032
+2
Level 59
May 7, 2025
100 and im -3
bigred34
+1
Level 56
Jun 12, 2024
I dont believe for one second that the Sarasota area has almost 900K people. I am in that area a few times a year and I just dont see it since its right in the middle between Tampa and Ft Myers area.
ZachBeth
+1
Level 73
Aug 23, 2024
Got 72/100 as a Chinese
mondegreen
+4
Level 71
May 3, 2025
I missed Charleston and Columbia because I guess I didn't put the SC... is it intentional? Because you can enter for example Greensboro without the NC
DrewFan
+3
Level 74
May 5, 2025
Same thing happened to me
shape816
+3
Level 68
May 5, 2025
Same. I know I typed both of those
shape816
+9
Level 68
May 5, 2025
I consider myself a pretty decent geography brain, like most here I imagine, and grew up in NY state. Never in my life have heard of Kiryas Joel, NY
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
May 5, 2025
You'll hear about it soon enough.
FreeStater
+1
Level 81
May 5, 2025
Does QM know something we don't?
kevray85
+2
Level 63
May 5, 2025
I agree with Quizmaster, it is undoubtedly going to create news as it grows bigger and bigger.
Instrumental
+2
Level 70
May 5, 2025
I'm looking it up online and the metro area is called "Kiryas Joel - Poughkeepsie - Newburgh" it covers a fairly large area. Seems kinda confusing to call it the Kiryas Joel metro area because Kiryas Joel itself only has about 40k people. We generally think of metro areas as a major city surrounded by nearby suburbs and maybe some smaller nearby cities. Kiryas Joel is more like The Ruhr region in Germany that is a collective of smaller cities.
kevray85
+1
Level 63
May 5, 2025
Kiryas Joel is now larger than both Newburgh and Poughkeepsie, which is why it has been given the MSA name.
bittern
+1
Level 46
Mar 23, 2026
I too was curious about Kiryas J. The gov't decides its MSAs by county lines and commuter patterns. Orange County, west of the Hudson plus Dutchess County, east of the Hudson, are lumped together following these rules. Poughkeepsie is the biggest center between the two counties, but the population is split between a small city and a large surrounding town, both called Poughkeepsie. Kiryas Joel has a population bigger than Poughkeepsie city but smaller than the town. And bigger than Newburgh as well. Anomalously, KJ gets top billing
sulfuratus
+4
Level 71
May 5, 2025
Columbia and Charleston aren't working without the SC.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
May 5, 2025
Fixed.
tshalla
+8
Level 78
May 5, 2025
Kiryas Joel? Okee dokee.
FattyCarbuncle
+1
Level 72
May 5, 2025
there is not much clarity in what counts as a "metro area"

it would seem that if a few cities are connected with no rural spaces between them, then that should be a "metro area"

at least by a literalist definition

instead there are a dozen or more places on here that no local would ever consider as a distinct metro area.

that is why i prefer the cities proper type quiz. there is no room for interpretation. you either live in akron or you don't

Jeremy
+2
Level 79
May 5, 2025
Metro areas are used by the Census Bureau for statistical purposes only and were never meant to be used as actual definitions of cities. They’re defined by commuting patterns between counties rather than any metric that would actually be practically useful for the average person which leads to some seemingly weird inclusions and omissions but ultimately they’re only meant to show groups of counties where people live and work interchangeably.
Nyackjohn
+7
Level 80
May 7, 2025
Kiryas Joel? With 40,000 people is in the top 100? I live near there - there is no "Kiryas Joel Metro Area" - first of all, it is too close to New York City and is frequently considered part of that metro area. Nearby the combined areas around Poughkeepsie/Newburgh/Beacon, NY has a combined population of over a half a million, but it's not on your list, but Kiryas Joel is? Where did you get your data? You list Kiryas Joel as having a population of over SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND - excuse me, Kiryas Joel is within Orange County, NY which in it's entirety has only 407,000 people.
Lithian5032
+1
Level 59
May 7, 2025
a lot of these stretch multiple counties
HydratedMite
+1
Level 68
Aug 18, 2025
It is considered to be in Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, its name is listed as it is the largest in the MSA.
Nyackjohn
+1
Level 80
Feb 8, 2026
I live less than 20 miles from Kiryas Joel. Sorry you are very incorrect and whatever source you have is as well. Again, Yonkers, Jersey City, Newark, Stamford, White Plains, Bronxville, Passaic, Paramus, Elizabeth, West New York, Hoboken... all significantly larger but not included as all are instead included as part of the NYC metro area, but the 40,000 people of the VILLAGE of Kiryas Joel is suddenly a metro area with 700,000+ people?? Despite being closer to NYC than some of these other actual cities? The vast majority of these people HAVE TO BE double counted as they are part of the NYC metro area. Again, the figure given is double that of the entire county (which is not small in size) that the village sits in. And why is it under Kiryas Joel and not Poughkeepsie which is much larger and has been around for 400 years?
HydratedMite
+1
Level 68
Feb 23, 2026
Whatever source I have is better than the nonexistent one you have. My source, of course, being the U.S. Census Bureau; and your source, of course, being your sensitive feelings. Looking at a map it is far closer to Newburgh and even Poughkeepsie than NYC. And you said yourself that "Nearby the combined areas around Poughkeepsie/Newburgh/Beacon, NY has a combined population of over a half a million." Nearby. As in, in the same area. And over half a million. Like, perhaps 700k? That's what the Census Bureau thinks, so go fight with them.

Oh and again, it is under Kiryas Joel because Kiryas Joel has a larger population that Poughkeepsie as it shrinks. Poughkeepsie is not in fact larger, and the Census Bureau does not care about historical significance nor your feelings.

The fact that I have to repeat myself so much yet my original reply was a single 20-word sentence meanwhile you're writing whole paragraphs (rants) is very telling. Maybe you should talk a bit less and listen a bit more

sumguy
+4
Level 87
May 9, 2025
It seems unlikely that San Francisco and Riverside both have 4,744,214 people.
bgfootball19
+1
Level 32
Sep 4, 2025
Got both from my state of Washington
chaostess
+4
Level 68
Oct 30, 2025
what the heck is Kiryas Joel
teggy
+1
Level 62
Dec 7, 2025
these california suburb towns are killing me
Albrik
+3
Level 66
Dec 22, 2025
What is the one in NY lol
TheSovietOnion
+3
Level 55
Jan 8, 2026
Somehow got Kiryas Joel (I don't even know what I entered) but missed St. Louis...
bittern
+1
Level 46
Mar 23, 2026
The MSA currently consists of Dutchess and Orange counties. Per Wiki, prior to July 2023, it was known as the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area. Kiryas Joel is now the biggest place in the two counties. Perhaps typing in Poughkeepsie or Newburgh is accepted as naming the MSA?
qwiklearner
+1
Level 45
Jan 15, 2026
Number 101 in 2024? Reno, Nevada, the Biggest Little City!
JetpunkSandwich
+1
Level 48
Apr 17, 2026
97/100, I thought Durham was part of the Raleigh MSA, but I guess not.
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