How Many States Does Your City Pass in Population? : Why the Senate is a Mess

Yesterday, the New York Times ran an article about the anxieties of red state Democrats on the gun safety debate.  The piece quotes Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who shows both insensitivity and narrow-mindedness:

"In our part of the country, this isn't an issue,” Ms. Heitkamp explained in an interview afterward. “This is a way of life. This is how people feel, and it is extraordinarily difficult to explain that, especially to grieving parents."

First of all, universal background checks are hardly an intrusion or a challenge to a "way of life."  And, frankly, I can't see how banning military-grade weapons can really be an assault on your 'way of life' if you're not in the military.  However, when seeing her quote, I immediately thought of how few people her home state, North Dakota, has and the fact that it has two senators just like states such as California and New York. 

Motivated by that thought, I decided to see how our country's major cities compare in size to the states.  Below, I compiled a list of top cities, the number of states they surpass in size, and the largest state that they surpass.  I found the results of a my quick study to be quite fascinating.

I took the population data from the most recent estimates on Wikipedia (which is good for quick, rather than deep, research), and I rounded state populations to have three significant digits.

New York City: 8.34 million
Larger than: 39 states
Largest state it surpasses in population:  Virginia, 8.19 million

Los Angeles: 3.79 million
Larger than: 22 states
Largest state it surpasses in population: Connecticut, 3.59 million

Chicago: 2.71 million
Larger than: 15 states
Largest state it surpasses in population: New Mexico, 2.09 million

Houston: 2.10 million
Larger than: 15 states
Largest state it surpasses in population: New Mexico, 2.09 million

Philadelphia: 1.53 million
Larger than: 11 states
Largest state it surpasses in population: Hawaii, 1.39 million

Phoenix: 1.47 million
Larger than: 11 states
Largest state it surpasses in population: Hawaii, 1.39 million

San Antonio: 1.37 million
Larger than: 10 states
Largest state it surpasses in population: Maine, 1.33 million

San Diego: 1.33 million
Larger than: 9 states
Largest state it surpasses in population: New Hampshire, 1.32 million

Dallas: 1.22 million
Larger than: 8 states
Largest state it surpasses in population: Rhode Island, 1.05 million

San Jose: 960,000
Larger than: 6 states
Largest state it surpasses in population: Delaware, 920,000

Cities larger than Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming: Jacksonville (FL), Indianapolis, Austin, San Francisco, Columbus (OH), Forth Worth (TX), Charlotte (NC)

Cities larger than North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming: Detroit

Cities larger than Vermont and Wyoming: Memphis, El Paso, Washington, DC.

Cities larger than Wyoming: Boston, Seattle, Denver, Baltimore, Nashville, Louisville, Milwaukee, Portland (OR), Oklahoma City, Las Vegas