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Random Quiz
Random Geography
Can you name the largest US cities as percentage of US population in history?
created by
adidag0
Enter a city in the box below
Correctly named cities will show up below
Answers do not have to be guessed in order
Source:
US Census Bureau
Since the first census (1790), these cities had at some point the highest percent of the population of the US. For example, Peoria, IL had a pop of 111,856 in 1950 or 0.07% of the US pop of 150m.
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PLAY GAME
Enter city:
0
/30 cities correct
05:00
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Percentage of Population
City
Population; Year
5.64%
6,930,446; 1930
2.75%
3,376,438; 1930
1.80%
565,529; 1860
1.40%
3,485,398; 1990
1.28%
806,343; 1890
1.28%
1,568,662; 1930
0.78%
310,864; 1870
0.75%
796,841; 1920
0.74%
560,892; 1900
0.73%
169,054; 1850
0.70%
1,595,138; 1980
0.60%
102,193; 1840
0.58%
533,905; 1910
0.54%
216,239; 1870
0.53%
802,178; 1950
Percentage of Population
City
Population; Year
0.52%
634,394; 1930
0.48%
506,775; 1920
0.47%
578,249; 1930
0.47%
1,321,045; 2000
0.45%
1,110,549; 1990
0.43%
1,327,407; 2010
0.42%
1,188,580; 2000
0.42%
16,359; 1790
0.39%
414,524; 1920
0.38%
464,356; 1930
0.37%
744,624; 1970
0.33%
399,746; 1930
0.32%
894,943; 2000
0.31%
557,087; 1960
0.31%
623,530; 1970
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There are
37 comments
for this game.
(Warning: comments may contain spoilers)
Largest US Cities in History Quiz
by
adidag0
Created Jun 4, 2011 in
Geography
Featured Jun 12, 2012
Game Plays 47,699
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City Quizzes
Population Quizzes
US Cities
Percentage Leaders
Archived comments:
show them
adidag0
:
Jun 5th, 2011 at 02:41 GMT
12 points
It took me a while to gather all the data necessary to build this quiz. But now I've got a nice spreadsheet of the top 100 (if available) cities from every census since 1790 and what their % of the population is at that time. Let me know if you'd like a copy to make your own quizzes.
mvice
:
Jun 5th, 2011 at 05:26 GMT
8 points
you should do the top 100 then!
Sjoerd
:
Jun 5th, 2011 at 09:58 GMT
4 points
Very very nice.
Blowfish_Hootie
:
Jun 5th, 2011 at 13:17 GMT
7 points
Any idea what the explanation is for the many appearances of the 1930 census? New York, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Kansas City all hit their peaks in percentage that year, that's almost a quarter of all the cities on this quiz. Only one other year even makes it on the list more than twice - 1920 checks in three times.
adidag0
:
Jun 5th, 2011 at 14:33 GMT
15 points
@Blowfish - I saw that when I made the quiz. Must be the peak of the speed of urbanization in the country. Each city's percentage goes up if their growth exceeds the country's growth... after that urban growth decelerated until 1950 and then reversed in many places.
balatjr
:
Jun 5th, 2011 at 16:37 GMT
2 points
Good quiz, and good explanations. The 1930s was also, of course, the great depression, which led to urban collapses as well as emptying out of the heartland. It is always interesting to note the importance of only two southern cities prior to the 1970s: Charleston and New Orleans. Today, for better or worse.... One suggestion might be to change the phrase in your notes from "the highest percent" to "their highest percent."
pita
:
Jun 5th, 2011 at 23:30 GMT
3 points
"the highest percent" seems right to me. It states that these cities had the highest percent in history. "their highest percent" says to me that you name the year in which listed cities had their highest percent, which is not what the quiz is. Perhaps "percentage" instead of "percent".
Blowfish_Hootie
:
Jun 6th, 2011 at 07:22 GMT
3 points
I think balatjr's is correct, otherwise I'm sure New York would dominate this list rather than just be on here once.
adamnvillani
:
Jun 6th, 2011 at 21:52 GMT
10 points
Yeah, I like the concept behind this quiz, but the phrasing of the question still needs work. Read literally, "these cities had at some point the highest percent of population in the U.S." would only have one answer, New York, since in each census, it's been New York that's had the highest percentage of the U.S. population.
adidag0
:
Jun 7th, 2011 at 02:51 GMT
5 points
@adamnvillani: I agree - I spent a long time trying to come up with a better title and couldn't figure out a better title that succinctly describes what I am quizzing.
adamnvillani
:
Jun 11th, 2011 at 19:54 GMT
1 point
How about "these cities are ranked by the highest percentage of the U.S. total population they have ever had?"
RyanUR
:
Jun 24th, 2011 at 16:27 GMT
9 points
Darn you, Brooklyn!
bsd987
:
Oct 24th, 2011 at 21:23 GMT
4 points
Really good quiz. Just a small technicality correction that I'll probably get severely voted down for pointing out: the city's official name is St. Louis, not Saint Louis. Nowhere in the city charter is the word "Saint" written out.
andr5036
:
Oct 27th, 2011 at 08:16 GMT
4 points
I'm handing in my Sporcle license after missing Baltimore, Washington, Minneapolis, San Jose and Memphis. Sorry.
adidag0
:
Dec 31st, 2011 at 15:59 GMT
1 point
@bsd987: Didn't know that. Thanks for the info. Couldn't find a source that stated St Louis's official name, but the wiki entry is "St. Louis" and not "Saint Louis" so that's good enough for me.
Game published: Jun 12th, 2012 at 16:03 GMT
citkeane
:
Jun 12th, 2012 at 16:33 GMT
9 points
I was expecting something ambiguous like Providence or Jamestown to show up until I read the note. Nice quiz.
Tommy_C
:
Jun 12th, 2012 at 16:35 GMT
24 points
Brooklyn would have been better off never merging with New York, and more importantly, had they done so people wouldn't forget them on Sporcle quizzes.
Desdichado94
:
Jun 12th, 2012 at 16:40 GMT
8 points
I bet Jamestown had a pretty high percentage of the U.S. population in 1607. But in all seriousness, this is a well-done quiz.
Dralcoffin
:
Jun 12th, 2012 at 16:44 GMT
9 points
Another reason many of these cities hit their maximum percentages in 1930 is that the Great Depression stopped one of the main causes of population growth in big cities: immigration. The suburbs first began to take off in the late 1920s and early 1930s (these tend to be the inner ring suburbs like New Rochelle, New York and Evanston, Illinois), but immigration still powered many cities in the 1920s. The Great Depression stopped this influx of people, and many cities saw slight dips in the 1940 Census as people went West and South with few newcomers to replace them. This lack of immigration during the Depression is also why the 1930s are the slowest growing decade in U.S. history.
sporklemeister
:
Jun 12th, 2012 at 17:04 GMT
7 points
Not a bad quiz but really ambiguous description. The following may have clarified a bit: "Can you name the largest US cities as percentage of US** population in history."
ChicagoGuy88
:
Jun 12th, 2012 at 17:41 GMT
4 points
Good geo game.
Comment below threshold:
show it
sheaters
:
Jun 12th, 2012 at 17:47 GMT
-18 points
Is Brooklyn considered a "city"? Once I entered New York, my mind left that particular area. I got them all except for Brooklyn.
like_a_flower
:
Jun 12th, 2012 at 17:54 GMT
3 points
Fun quiz!! I did pretty good considering I'm Canadian...
Statto2
:
Jun 12th, 2012 at 18:20 GMT
9 points
@sheaters - it was until it became part of NYC in 1898.
ClintT13
:
Jun 12th, 2012 at 20:59 GMT
6 points
Got all except Washington. Nothing like forgetting your nation's capital ...
abscores3
:
Jun 12th, 2012 at 21:42 GMT
-2 points
why do i always think there's two P's in minneapolis?
Comment below threshold:
show it
ChicagoGuy88
:
Jun 12th, 2012 at 22:02 GMT
-10 points
Why did I think it was World cities instead? -_-
iglew
:
Jun 13th, 2012 at 00:37 GMT
2 points
Time limit was perfect. After trying everything else plausible, I finally came up with Brooklyn with only 14 seconds to spare.
kenfxj
:
Jun 13th, 2012 at 02:54 GMT
3 points
#5 threw me. Good quiz.
nickcua
:
Jun 13th, 2012 at 15:07 GMT
0 points
great game!
jshorne
:
Jun 13th, 2012 at 17:23 GMT
-2 points
I got em all but Brooklyn. I refuse to acknowledge a city that Spike Lee likes.
Pogues
:
Jun 14th, 2012 at 01:48 GMT
3 points
I was ready to try OLD cities like St. Augustine and Jamestown, and Williamsburg...then I read the notes and was bummed out.
Patteroast
:
Jun 15th, 2012 at 06:52 GMT
2 points
Even though I'm a Minnesotan and a big fan of Minneapolis, I really did NOT expect it to actually work when I typed it. Surprising!
Comment below threshold:
show it
claytoam01
:
Jun 16th, 2012 at 09:47 GMT
-15 points
i thought brooklyn was part of NEW YORK !Named after YORK IN YORKSHIRE UK ! LOOK IT UP !
murglurk
:
Sep 8th, 2012 at 13:08 GMT
2 points
@claytoam01: I live in the original York in Yorkshire UK (well in Poppleton, just outside it).
climbingpianist
:
Sep 10th, 2012 at 23:19 GMT
1 point
Yes! This is the first time I have ever remembered that Brooklyn used to be a city. Great quiz!
MetsJetsKnicks
:
May 20th, 2013 at 01:04 GMT
1 point
@murglurk: And I live in the new York in New York City US (well on Long Island, just outside it).
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