States known only for their cities or states without any well-known cities

[ion475]

Originally Posted by arr430

Can you name a 3rd and 4th city in ANY state besides California or Texas? Or are you stumped after Omaha or Birmingham plus their capitals? Quid, name four cities in Kentucky.

Louisville
Lexington
Frankfort
Covington (Thanks to the airport)
Paducah
Owensboro
Henderson
Bowling Green

Ok...I used to live in Southern Indiana which definitely helps .

Now...whether I can name anything outside of Burlington (and Montpelier) in Vermont is another question...

Even harder would be naming multiple cities in Virginia and Maryland. Actual city not CDP.

[KathrynAragon]

Oh I could name cities in Virginia and Maryland - but I've lived in both!

[Nemean]

There are certain states that I'd more expect people to know multiple areas if they know any:

Tennessee (Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, slightly less Bristol)

Florida (Miami, Tallahassee, Tampa, Orlando, Daytona Beach, slightly less Jacksonville, Pensacola/Destin or Sarasota)

New York (NYC, Buffalo, Albany, Syracuse, slightly less Rochester, Ithaca or Binghamton)

Alabama (Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville, Mobile, possibly more Auburn, Tuscaloosa, Talladega, or Tuskegee; though there's a decent chance of people not knowing any)

North Carolina (Charlotte, Raleigh, Asheville, Durham/Chapel Hill, plus a lot of less likely. Though this state is similar to Alabama, where there's a decent chance to know absolutely none)

Colorado (Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Aspen and slightly less Pueblo, Grand Junction)

Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Harrisburg, with a lot of places at Erie or State College where I wouldn't necessarily be surprised people know, but wouldn't make the bet)

Missouri (St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and either Jefferson City or Joplin)

Georgia's getting there (Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Savannah), but I wouldn't lean that way yet.

It's not really about how popular a particular state is, but rather how concentrated population and entertainment/tourist venues are across the state. Green Bay is tiny, but makes itself known, for example (Wisconsin being very close to being on this list). Some college towns are a little better at making themselves known, too.

[SonySegaTendo617]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

Indiana is known for Indianapolis and Gary - I think most people would recognize those names. Yet it’s a state that also isn’t known for its cities, really. I think most people would think the same thing when they hear “Indiana” as they would with “Iowa”. Cornfields.

South Bend is probably just as known, if at least due to the fact Notre Dame is based there. I'd also Bloomington is pretty well known too, if at least for Indiana University. West Lafayette(which neighbors Lafayette, and I'd put Lafayette and West Lafayette in the same boat) are both known, if just for Purdue University.

If someone is really into architecture, they probably have heard of Columbus due to its mid 20th century architecture. Same with knowing Columbus, if you've heard of the company(which makes engines) Cummins.

[908Boi]

Originally Posted by dcb175

Yeah, NJ natives tend to identify more with the state as a whole than a specific city, as none of the cities are what I'd call 'magnet' cities like you have elsewhere in the northeast. If anything, people (at least in North Jersey) would identify more with their county than anything else. Like "yeah I'm from Bergen County". Growing up in MA, that concept seems so foreign to me that it's comical (nobody ever says "I'm from Middlesex County... I bet half of MA doesn't even know what county they live in as they are not actually official governing bodies).

I also lived in TX for 10 years, and there of course is a ton of state pride. It is interesting though, because they do have a handful of large magnet cities, with at least 2 of them having decent rivalries with each other (Dallas v. Houston). In TX though, the state pride superseded the city pride, and the TX flag is ubiquitous wherever you go. Couldn't tell you what either the NJ or MA flags looked like (or PA, which I lived in for 5 years).

i wouldn't say there is a county identity in NJ. people will say i'm from xyz county as a geographic marker because there are over 500 incorporated towns in NJ and chances are no one has heard of your town. People identify with North/Central/South Jersey more than anything.

[lair8]

NJ is probably the most equally distributed state in that regard. It has no super well-known cities, but tons of good places to live in.