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U.S. Capital Cities by Population

Name the state capital cities of the U.S. in order from greatest to smallest metro area population. If there is no Metropolitan Statistical Area, then it defaults to Micropolitan Statistical Area. If there is no Micropolitan Statistical Area, then it defaults to city proper population.
A fun fact is given to help you identify the city more easily.
Population data from 2020 census (Found on Wikipedia).
Fun facts from yourdictionary.com and traveltrivia.com
Note that St. Paul and Annapolis are not the largest cities in their respective Metro Areas.
Quiz by WillTheBruh
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Last updated: November 4, 2021
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First submittedNovember 3, 2021
Times taken27
Average score42.0%
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Population
Fun Fact
City
6,089,815
Almost fifty percent of this city is covered by trees.
Atlanta
4,941,632
This city is home to the country’s first public beach (Revere Beach), first lighthouse (Little Brewster Lighthouse), first college (Harvard) and first subway (Tremont Street Subway).
Boston
4,845,832
There was a time that this city’s ancient waterways were rich with crops of squash, corn, beans, and pumpkins — the latter of which almost led to the city being named Pumpkinville.
Phoenix
3,690,261
This city has more shoreline along the Mississippi River (26 miles) than any other American city. This city and Baton Rouge are the only U.S. capitals on the river itself.
St. Paul
2,963,821
Although this city is exactly one mile high, it is not the U.S. capital with the highest elevation (Santa Fe and Cheyenne are higher).
Denver
2,844,510
At 6.7 square miles, this city is the smallest U.S. capital by land size.
Annapolis
2,397,382
This city is the oldest incorporated city in the state of California (1850).
Sacramento
2,283,371
This city is the largest U.S. city that doesn’t have a professional sports team.
Austin
2,138,926
Nearly half of all Americans live within 500 miles of this city, including those living in Chicago, New York City, and Atlanta.
Columbus
2,111,040
This city has been dubbed “Naptown” over the years for its slow-paced, sleepy reputation.
Indianapolis
1,989,519
This city’s Centennial Park contains the only replica of the Greek Parthenon, which houses the tallest enclosed sculpture in the Western Hemisphere (Athena Parthenos).
Nashville
1,676,579
The first planned American act of the Revolutionary War occurred in Narragansett Bay in this city.
Providence
1,425,695
This city is the most recently founded state capital (1910).
Oklahoma City
1,413,982
This city is the home of the first historically black university in the South, Shaw University.
Raleigh
1,314,434
This city served as the capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Richmond
1,257,936
This city is the only U.S. capital with three words in its name.
Salt Lake City
1,213,531
Teddy Roosevelt took the first presidential automobile ride in history on the streets of this city in 1902.
Hartford
1,016,508
This city has the highest average annual temperature of any U.S. state capital.
Honolulu
899,262
This city began as a fort in 1614 and is the oldest continually occupied European settlement in the U.S.
Albany
870,569
At 450 feet tall, this city’s capitol building is the tallest in the country.
Baton Rouge
829,470
This city was the first U.S. city named after Christopher Columbus, and it was almost named Washington instead.
Columbia
764,718
This city is home to the largest population of Basque Americans in the U.S. (15,000).
Boise
748,031
The capital building in this city finished construction in 1842, making it the oldest capital building in the country.
Little Rock
709,466
This city was originally named “Fort Raccoon” after the Raccoon River.
Des Moines
680,796
This city is the only U.S. state capital built on an isthmus.
Madison
Population
Fun Fact
City
591,978
This city is the only U.S. capital built on top of a volcano. This volcano is located under the Mississippi Coliseum.
Jackson
591,712
This city is home to the Rockville Bridge, which was built in 1902 and is the longest stone arch bridge in the world.
Harrisburg
541,297
This city was the birthplace of Oldsmobile in 1897, eleven years before the Ford Motor Company created the Ford Model T.
Lansing
433,353
This city is the second-most populous city in Oregon after Portland.
Salem
387,340
This city was the U.S. Capital for the last two months of 1784.
Trenton
386,047
This city was the first U.S. city with an electric streetcar system known as “the Lightning Route.”
Montgomery
384,298
This city was the only state capital of the Confederacy not to be captured or burned during the Civil War.
Tallahassee
340,217
This city was named after President Abraham Lincoln in 1867, only two years after he was assassinated.
Lincoln
294,793
This city is the northernmost state capital in the contiguous U.S.
Olympia
258,859
The first U.S. museum (est. 1773) and theater (Dock Street Theatre, est. 1736) are located in this city.
Charleston
233,152
This city is the closest state capital to the geographic center of the U.S. (which is two miles north of Lebanon, Kansas).
Topeka
208,640
This city became the third capital of Illinois thanks to the work of Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Springfield from 1837 to 1861.
Springfield
181,851
This city differed from the rest of Kent County regarding slavery, and was an important stop on the Underground Railroad.
Dover
154,823
This city is the oldest state capital (founded in 1610), and also the highest U.S. capital at 7,000 feet above sea level.
Santa Fe
153,808
This city was named for the “concord,” or harmony, after a boundary dispute between the neighboring towns Rumford and Bow.
Concord
150,309
This city was laid out by Daniel Morgan Boone, son of famous pioneer Daniel Boone.
Jefferson City
133,626
This city has the lowest average winter temperature of all state capitals (even Juneau).
Bismarck
123,642
This city is home to Fort Western, the oldest wooden fort in the United States (built in 1794).
Augusta
100,512
Located only eight miles north of the Colorado border, this city is one of the furthest U.S. capitals from its own state’s geographic center.
Cheyenne
83,058
This city was originally named “Last Chance Gulch” as a small mining town. It almost became “Crabtown” or “Pumpkinville” before being named after Saint Helena in Minnesota.
Helena
75,393
This city was the only Union capital that was overtaken and occupied by the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War.
Frankfort
58,639
This city is one of only two state capital cities bordered by another state.
Carson City
32,255
Geographically, this city is the largest state capital at 2,716 square miles.
Juneau
20,745
This city is the only U.S. capital without access to an expressway.
Pierre
7,477 (City Proper)
This city is the sole state capital without a McDonald’s.
Montpelier
+1
Level 83
Nov 4, 2021
The Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission has repeatedly held that the Salt River in Phoenix is non navigable. Since Phoenix is bigger than Indianapolis, that makes this quiz's description of Indianapolis problematic.
+1
Level 17
Nov 4, 2021
I have changed the fun fact for Indianapolis to a more accurate fact.
+1
Level 23
Nov 5, 2021
wsp