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There are many places that are incorporated as cities but feel like small towns. What do you believe is the smallest city in the US (by greater urban area) that is worthy of being called a "city". Suburbs don't count.
Last edited by Corey the Otter; 11-08-2020 at 04:05 PM..
Portsmouth, NH gets a vote from me. With a population of just under 22,000 it's smaller than many towns. However, it's an active seaport, has a dense urban core (more than just a "Main St."), public transit, a mix of new urban development alongside a great historic urban built environment, it has a variety of fairly dense, urban residential neighborhoods abutting the downtown area, and a mix of economic activity beyond just standard "small town" sectors like retail/service/municipal government (it has tangeable office, industrial, military, etc.). It's largely walkable and serves as the cultural and economic hub of the region. It's small, but it's undeniably a city.
Honorable mentions: Annapolis, MD It's very similar to Portsmouth NH in many ways (historic urban core, active port, military presence, etc.) and even has more density in residential neighborhoods near the core. But it's also nearly twice the size of Portsmouth and is a bit more intertwined with the Washington/Baltimore areas than Portsmouth is with Boston.
Newport, RI Slightly larger than Portsmouth, but similar dense historic urban core. Like Portsmouth and Annapolis, there's a military presence that helps diversify the economy a bit. But Newport's port is more of a leisure port and the economy is very much centered around tourism.
Morgantown, WV Far and away the most "urban" of the bunch and it gains points for being the only one with a fixed-guideway rapid transit network. But it's very much a college town (nearly doubling it's 30k population when school is in session) and it's larger than both Portsmouth or Newport. Especially when you factor in the 140k metro area.
Don't know what you'd all say about Casper Wyoming. It even has a slight skyline and isn't just a main street. It is also a hub due to it's isolated location in the least populous state. The metro population is only 80k, making it one of the smallest MSAs in the country.
Don't know what you'd all say about Casper Wyoming. It even has a slight skyline and isn't just a main street. It is also a hub due to it's isolated location in the least populous state. The metro population is only 80k, making it one of the smallest MSAs in the country.
To be honest, Annapolis feels more like a city than Casper does. I think it's because of how densely populated Annapolis is, compared with Casper. Though, you are correct, Casper sits out there all by itself, with a whole lot of nothingness for miles around.
To be honest, Annapolis feels more like a city than Casper does. I think it's because of how densely populated Annapolis is, compared with Casper. Though, you are correct, Casper sits out there all by itself, with a whole lot of nothingness for miles around.
Casper looks like a city a bit on it's wikipedia page, but not so much once you do street view.
Annapolis is also a satellite for DC and Baltimore and is considered part of Baltimore's MSA.
Ithaca NY (100k in metro area) also feels a bit like a city, but also has a very large student population (30k+ students to be exact, so more like 130-140k in metro area).
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