Biggest Cities in New York State

Try to name the 23 most populous cities, towns, and villages in the state of New York.

Source: 2021 Census Estimates

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Last updated: June 3, 2022

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First submitted	April 14, 2012
Times taken	58,642
Average score	39.1%
Rating	4.32

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Population	City
8,467,513	New York
276,807	Buffalo
210,606	Rochester
209,530	Yonkers
146,103	Syracuse
98,617	Albany
81,587	New Rochelle
72,581	Mount Vernon

Population	City
66,990	Schenectady
64,501	Utica
59,526	White Plains
58,734	Hempstead
50,394	Troy
48,360	Niagara Falls
47,566	Binghamton
44,199	Freeport

Population	City
40,414	Valley Stream
36,229	Kiryas Joel
34,778	Long Beach
33,033	Spring Valley
31,974	Rome
31,850	Poughkeepsie
31,710	Ithaca

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89 Comments

+20

Level 28

Apr 18, 2012

If you did not get New York City you are a fail.

Level 79

Mar 31, 2013

So far that's 0% of the people who took the quiz.

+17

Level 53

Feb 16, 2015

Now it is 1%.

Level 87

Nov 6, 2023

It's tough to imagine that someone who would specifically go to a quiz website, then specifically click on a quiz about New York state geography, then specifically click the "start" button... would then not know that one of the answers was New York City. I'm guessing the total is not even actually a full 1%, but simply rounded up to 1%... and I have to imagine most of those are people who clicked "start", then got distracted or something, and never entered any answers before time ran out... or something along those lines.

Level 71

May 29, 2017

Maybe they though it was like Washington state.

+12

Level 79

Mar 31, 2013

Also, fail is not a noun.

Level 93

Jun 13, 2014

Well.... technically:

fail - noun

1: failure —usually used in the phrase without fail

2: a failure (as by a security dealer) to deliver or receive securities within a prescribed period after purchase or sale

Level 93

Jun 13, 2014

...but obviously Brickster wasn't attempting either of those usages. So, yeah.

+10

Level 36

Aug 1, 2014

You go the dictionary to prove whether something is a noun or not? All you have to is look at his usage. If it's used as a noun, then it's a noun.

+14

Level 93

Aug 28, 2014

In what universe would that be true? If I said "You are a technically," or "I am the by," that does not automatically make "technically" and "by" nouns. It just makes the sentences nonsense.

Level 71

Feb 27, 2025

you all clearly understood what 'fail' meant in this case, and are arguing for no apparent reason... as long as it's understandable it's fine, no need to get into formalities

Level 71

May 29, 2017

In short, he means: It's a stupid thing to say.

Level 92

Jun 26, 2019

Thread fail.

Level 67

Oct 26, 2021

this thread is the fail. idk

Level 59

Apr 25, 2022

@tschutzer but they weren't saying failure, they were using fail. also, I know the original comment is 8 years old.

Level 93

Jul 22, 2022

8 years of aging never stopped me from continuing an argument before, and it won't stop me now, lol.

I posted the definitions of the noun "fail". The first definition was "1. failure".

Level 81

Nov 29, 2022

"in what universe would [using the word fail like OP] be true?"

this one lol

just because it doesn't confirm to standardized grammar doesn't mean that it is nonsensical, as OP used the word fail as it was often used in the internet then

would they be correct using this for a paper? nope, but these are the comments

Level 70

Jul 7, 2014

I feel ashamed. Got only New York. I'm from Europe though.

Level 44

Jan 31, 2017

I'm from upstate NY so I ended up getting all but 6.

Level 36

Apr 6, 2019

Lived both "Upstate" and "Downstate", missed five.

Level 59

Jul 7, 2014

Lived in SI, NY all my life, & I still found this difficult.

Level 43

Jul 7, 2014

Tried to think of all the stops on the Amtrak. Proud of myself for getting Hempstead, but never thought New Rochelle or Mount Vernon were that big! Missed those two...not bad.....

Level 26

Jul 7, 2014

So basically with out NYC all the other cities are not famous and boring and below 1 million?

+24

Level 93

Jul 8, 2014

Buffalo has 2 pro sports teams and is responsible for popularizing buffalo wings. Niagara Falls is home to the largest waterfall (by volume) in the world, often considered one of the wonders of the modern world. Syracuse is home to an elite-level NCAA basketball team. Rochester is home to the University of Rochester, and Troy is home to RPI - both institutions are routinely ranked amongst the top 50 universities in the US. Just because they're not huge cities doesn't make them completely inconsequential.

+15

Level 58

May 4, 2018

Also Albany is the State Capital

Level 44

May 13, 2019

And Buffalo actually is over 1 million with Metro Area

Level 63

Aug 13, 2019

Syracuse also has an AHL Team, The Syracuse Crunch, who has been the affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning since 1992. Binghamton has had 2 AHL teams as well, the Binghamton Senators, affiliate of the Ottawa Senators before relocating to Belleville, ON in 2017, as well as the Binghamton Devils, affiliate of the New Jersey Devils since 2017. The Binghamton Devils also used to play in Albany from 2010-2017.

Level 92

Jul 5, 2018

Get some experience in your life or live forever in your local tunnel.

+10

Level 79

Jun 15, 2019

So basically what you're saying is that you only got one right answer?

Level 40

Jan 7, 2015

Schenectady is such a strange name, but it sticks. Had to look up the spelling though, but I sware I knew it!

Level 99

Oct 6, 2018

Some leeway for the spelling there might be warranted. I only got it right because I just saw the Bradley Cooper movie that takes place there so the correct spelling was fresh in my mind.

+10

Level 82

Oct 1, 2019

I had my wallet stolen once in Schenectady. Had to report all kinds of things missing via phone, spelling Schenectady each time. I don't recommend it, but it's a great way to learn to spell it.

Level 74

Feb 19, 2015

Was surprised not to see Poughkeepsie since it occurs in print fairly often due to its historical interest, but after looking it up I see why it was omitted - only around 30,000 population.

Level 53

Jun 8, 2015

I tried Po'Town too. And Peekskill and Kingston and Ossining. But no. Missed Schenectady and Niagara.

Level 47

Mar 10, 2017

And Newburgh. No, I couldn't come up with anything else in that valley. But I knew there had to be something missing on the island: couldn't come up with Hempstead.

Level 53

Apr 13, 2015

I got all but Hempstead, but I was so close! As I was typing it at the last second time ran out.

Level 68

Jul 16, 2019

Hempstead was one of the few that i did get, but that was because i made a quiz about new york city suburbs recently.

Level 55

Oct 13, 2020

Yeah

Level 28

Jun 10, 2021

Technically, Hempstead is a town, not a city

Level 68

Jul 20, 2022

The quiz is using the village of Hempstead, which has just under 60,000 people. The Town of Hempstead is much bigger (like 700,000 people), and includes a whole bunch of villages, including Freeport, which is listed as its own entry on the quiz.

Level 38

Apr 23, 2015

Is Yonkers not a suburb of NYC? What is an 'incorporated city'?

Level 74

Nov 2, 2015

Incorporated cities have their own government. Yonkers is a suburb of NYC, but it is incorporated and has its own mayor and city council.

Level 11

Jun 21, 2015

I think theres an issue in this quiz. New York is not the largest city in New York, it is actually Pittsburgh that takes that claim. New York City is simply a small hamlet nestled in the Adirondacks.

(Hopefully you get the sarcasm)

Level 92

Jul 5, 2018

No one yet.

Level 85

Oct 6, 2018

I thought it was Pittsburg (no h)

Level 92

Nov 19, 2019

That's the small hamlet in New Hampshire that votes before anywhere else in presidential primaries.

Level 66

Dec 2, 2019

Nah, it is a weird Scottish thing that we took.

Level 59

Jan 26, 2017

I missed Mount Vernon! Ugh!

Level 40

Mar 13, 2017

Only gone NYC, Buffalo, and Albany. But then again, I think almost everybody who never lived in New York only got those!

Level 28

Jun 25, 2021

I never lived in New York and also got Rochester and Yonkers!

Level 73

Aug 25, 2017

Could you accept misspellings of Binghamton and Niagara Falls? (Maybe just Niagara, even, as it's often referred to as)

Level 87

Oct 23, 2017

Knew of New Rochelle because that's where Don McLean ("American Pie") grew up. While I was at it, gave Rye, NY a shot, since he mentions in the song ("...them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey in Rye") but to no avail. Went to the well once too often. :-(

Level 62

Oct 6, 2018

I always remember New Rochelle as the setting for the Dick Van Dyke show.

Level 80

Oct 6, 2018

That's how I got it!

Level 79

Jul 20, 2022

My only mental connection to New Rochelle is that it's the city the Human Blowfish was assigned to protect in the pilot episode of the animated The Tick show.

Level 65

Jan 21, 2018

Hempstead is not a city. Glen Cove and Long Beach on Long Island are cities. Please change accordingly. I would need to check some others as Im not sure these are all classified as "cities".

Level 68

Oct 6, 2018

I was just going to make this comment myself. Hempstead is a village (which is itself located in the town of Hempstead, which contains many villages and is home to around 700,000 people). It is definitely not a city. I am sure of this. I grew up in the town of Hempstead. Never once have I heard anyone call either the town or the village a "city."

Level 71

Oct 6, 2018

Agree with both of you. Instructions should be updated to "incorporated cities and villages only". These are the 2 types of incorporated municipalities in NY. A village takes over some government functionality from the town or towns it overlays but is not fully independent. A city is fully independent of any other town or city and is the sole local government below the county for its residents.

Level 40

Feb 16, 2018

Pittsburgh?

Level 71

Dec 31, 2023

so close man

Level 40

Feb 16, 2018

I don’t get it.🤔 Please explain

Level 66

Dec 2, 2019

Don't get what?

Level 27

Jul 5, 2018

Proud to be a new yorker:)

Level 79

Jun 15, 2019

Missed White Plains and Mt Vernon.

Level 73

Aug 10, 2019

Please accept "Binghampton"

Level 75

Jun 25, 2020

yeah I tryed that two but it wouldnt except that

Level 73

Apr 9, 2021

Because it's not spelled that way..?

Level 75

Jun 25, 2020

I got 11/16 and im from New York

Level 56

Jan 2, 2021

7/15 from New Hampshire

Level 46

May 23, 2021

How did I get Troy and Schenectady but miss ALBANY???

Level 92

Jun 3, 2022

You didn't take that left turn at Albuquerque. 🐰

Level 66

Oct 27, 2021

Hempstead is not a city. It's a town.

Level 92

Jun 3, 2022

Kyras Joel must be the only boomburb in the Northeast.

Level 89

Jul 20, 2022

I knew it was growing fast, but was still surprised it's gotten big enough to make this list.

Level 93

Jun 3, 2022

I am so over sources that can't agree about which city is bigger, even when they use the same data. Ugh!

Level 74

Jun 6, 2022

Rochester is in Monroe County, not Wayne County.

Level ∞

Jun 6, 2022

Fixed

Level 80

Jul 17, 2022

Kiryas Joel and Spring Valley are both Villages, not Cities.

Level 79

Jul 20, 2022

not a thing in the US.

Level 55

Jul 20, 2022

I tried Palm Tree and Ramapo because I thought the quiz would accept townships.

Level 63

Jul 20, 2022

Is Kiryas Joel related to Kiryas George?

Level 90

Nov 8, 2022

the map needs work, Hempstead should be north of the other 2 cities near it.

Level 21

Apr 24, 2023

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS I CAN FINALLY SPELL SCHENECTADY WITHOUT SEARCHING IT UP

Level 78

Nov 14, 2023

Lmao Long Beach just like California

Level 18

Jul 21, 2024

How did you get the circles that dictate how big a city is?

Level 41

Nov 10, 2024

I think Kiryas Yoel should be accepted as well as an alternative spelling (right now only Kiryas Joel is accepted).

Level 47

Mar 3, 2025

"Oh no, not in Utica, it's an Albany expression!"

Level 43

Jun 17, 2025

I know NYC, Utica, and Albany. The latter two I know from Steamed Hams.

Level 60

Jul 5, 2025

I know Utica from the Office

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