Home to more than 8.8 million people, Virginia is the 12th most populous state in the country. With that many people, it is also home to several big cities and well-known cities.
Those lists, though, are not mutually inclusive.
BetVirginia.com, where anyone can remember our best Virginia sports betting promos, wondered which big Virginia cities tend to be forgotten the most. We determined that by using data from a quiz on Sporcle.com, which asked respondents to fill in the names of the state’s 10 biggest cities within a set time limit. These rankings are based on how often the quiz takers on the site remembered each city.
Rank | City | % Guessed Correctly |
1 | Portsmouth | 28.0% |
2 | Suffolk | 31.1% |
3 | Hampton | 49.8% |
4 | Chesapeake | 51.9% |
5 | Roanoke | 62.5% |
6 | Newport News | 62.8% |
7 | Alexandria | 72.2% |
8 | Norfolk | 79.3% |
9 | Virginia Beach | 87.2% |
10 | Richmond | 96.8% |
As the table shows, all but two on the list were guessed correctly by roughly half or more of those taking the quiz regarding the home of Virginia sportsbooks. The two in question – Portsmouth and Suffolk – happen to be the ninth and 10th largest cities. Both have populations of just less than 100,000.
While Richmond was the city earning the most correct responses, it is not Virginia’s largest city. The state’s capital, with a population of more than 226,000, is the fourth largest in the commonwealth.
The largest city in the state is Virginia Beach, with a population of more than 459,000. The second largest is one of the least picked cities on the quiz. Chesapeake, home to nearly 250,000 residents, was only guessed by a little more than half of those taking the quiz at the Sporcle website.
While Northern Virginia and its more than 3 million residents is the largest region in the state, it only has one city – Alexandria – on the list. If you’re wondering about Arlington, the quiz maker noted it is considered a county and not a city.
Instead, it’s the Hampton Roads area that boasts a whopping seven cities on this list. Besides Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, other large cities in the region include Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton, Suffolk and Portsmouth.
While Virginia ranks as one of the largest states in the country, it does not have a major professional sports team (MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, WNBA or NWSL). Nearby Washington, D.C. and its pro teams serve as the sports capital for many in the Old Dominion, where Washington Capitals Stanley Cup odds are a hot topic.
Similarly, the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metropolitan area, with a population of 1.8 million, is the second-largest U.S. metro without a team in any of the major pro leagues. Riverside, CA and its 4.7 million population is the only larger metro without a major pro club.
BetVirginia is your source to learn more about the licensed Virginia sports betting apps and get the best promo codes available. We also offer the latest analysis on the state’s college teams and the pro teams in D.C.
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters.
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