206 articles
Point Pleasant, West Virginia
Point Pleasant is the Mason County seat, West Virginia, at the Ohio-Kanawha river confluence; site of the 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant, the 1967 Silver Bridge collapse, and the Mothman legend and museum; population 3,961.
Pompano Beach, Florida
Pompano Beach, Florida: coastal Broward County city between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, population 112,046 (2020), incorporated 1908, named for the pompano fish, known for beaches, pier, and industrial base.
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Port St. Lucie, Florida: a city in St. Lucie County incorporated in 1961 by General Development Corporation, grown to about 268,000 residents by 2025, with 84% homeownership, a $2.2 billion 2050 mobility plan, and an 11-year streak of millage cuts.
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia: independent city in Hampton Roads on the Elizabeth River, founded 1752, home of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (Gosport, 1767); 2020 population 97,915, declining slightly.
Punta Gorda, Florida
Punta Gorda, Florida: Charlotte County city on Charlotte Harbor, founded as Trabue in 1884, incorporated 1887; railroad and fishing port, landfall site of Hurricane Charley (2004), population about 20,000.
Quantico, Virginia
Quantico, Virginia: a tiny incorporated Prince William County town, the only US town completely surrounded by a military base, Marine Corps Base Quantico, accessible only through base security gates.
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina: state capital founded 1792 as a planned city on land bought from Joel Lane, named for Sir Walter Raleigh. Second-largest NC city, 506,306 residents (2025), Research Triangle hub, council-manager government since 1947.
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia: independent city and state capital on the James River, founded 1737, population about 237,000 (2025 est.), former Confederate capital, mayor-council government under Mayor Danny Avula.
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke, Virginia: independent city in the Blue Ridge valley, formerly Big Lick, renamed 1882 as a Norfolk and Western railroad hub; 2020 population 100,011; Star City of the South, healthcare and biotech center.
Rock Hill, South Carolina
Rock Hill, South Carolina, known as Football City USA, is the largest city in York County, about 20 miles south of Charlotte, with a 2020 population of 74,372.
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Rocky Mount is a city in eastern North Carolina, straddling the fall line of the Tar River on the Nash and Edgecombe county line, about 60 miles east of Raleigh.
Rome, Georgia
Rome, Georgia: county seat of Floyd County, founded 1834 at the Etowah-Oostanaula confluence forming the Coosa, on the Cherokee settlement Head of Coosa; 37,713 residents (2020), burned in the Civil War, healthcare hub of northwest Georgia.
Rosemary Beach, Florida
Rosemary Beach is a 107-acre New Urbanist beach community founded in 1995 in unincorporated Walton County, Florida, on Scenic Highway 30A, planned by DPZ with Caribbean-influenced architecture, a governing Code, and residents-only beach access.
Roswell, Georgia
Roswell, Georgia: Fulton County city about 20 miles north of Atlanta on the Chattahoochee River; founded as an 1839 textile mill town by Roswell King, now about 91,500 residents.
Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury, North Carolina: county seat of Rowan County in the Piedmont, founded 1753-1755, population about 36,900. Historic railroad and textile city, home of Food Lion and Cheerwine, now pursuing Jabil and Kesler Mill redevelopment.
Sandy Springs, Georgia
Sandy Springs, Georgia: Fulton County city incorporated December 1, 2005, first new Georgia city since 1959; known for pioneering public-private partnership government; 2020 population 108,080.
Sanford, Florida
Sanford, Florida: Seminole County seat on Lake Monroe at the head of St. Johns River navigation, incorporated 1877 by Henry Shelton Sanford; 61,051 residents in 2020, historic downtown, SunRail, and Orlando Sanford International Airport.
Sanibel, Florida
Sanibel, Florida: barrier-island city in Lee County, southwest Florida, incorporated 1974, known for shelling beaches, the Ding Darling refuge, the 1976 Sanibel Plan, and Hurricane Ian recovery.
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida: Gulf Coast city, seat of Sarasota County; 54,842 residents in 2020, 58,458 estimated 2025. Known for Ringling circus heritage, beaches, tourism economy, aging population, and hurricane recovery costs.
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia: Georgia's oldest city, founded 1733 by James Oglethorpe as America's first planned city with 22 surviving squares; a major container port, population about 149,000, council-manager government, and high coastal flood risk.
Sebring, Florida
Sebring, Florida: county seat of Highlands County, founded 1912 by George Sebring around a circular downtown plan. About 12,000 residents; home of Sebring International Raceway and the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Smyrna, Georgia
Smyrna, Georgia, the "Jonquil City," is a Cobb County city about 10 miles northwest of Atlanta, incorporated in 1872, with a 2020 census population of 55,663 and an ongoing downtown redevelopment.
South Fulton, Georgia
South Fulton, Georgia, also called the City of South Fulton, is a city incorporated in 2017 from unincorporated southwestern Fulton County near Atlanta, with 107,436 residents in 2020, a mayor-council-manager government, and a 90.6 percent Black population.
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg, South Carolina: Upcountry city, county seat of Spartanburg County, founded 1831, incorporated 1881. Former textile hub (Lowell of the South), now home to BMW Plant Spartanburg and among the fastest-growing US metros.
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida, founded by Spain in 1565, is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the United States, known for its Spanish colonial architecture and the Castillo de San Marcos.
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida, the Sunshine City, is Pinellas County's largest city on the Pinellas peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1888 by Peter Demens, population about 264,000, home of the Tampa Bay Rays at repaired Tropicana Field.
Statesboro, Georgia
Statesboro, Georgia: county seat of Bulloch County, founded 1803 as Statesborough, major Sea Island cotton and bright tobacco market, home of Georgia Southern University; population 33,438 (2020).
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton, Virginia: independent Shenandoah Valley city, seat of Augusta County, population about 26,800. Settled 1732, named for Rebecca Staunton; birthplace of Woodrow Wilson and home of the nation's first city manager (1908) and the Blackfriars Playhouse.
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Stone Mountain, Georgia: a small DeKalb County city (population 6,703 in 2020) at the base of Stone Mountain, incorporated as New Gibraltar in 1839, renamed 1847, historically a granite quarrying town adjacent to Stone Mountain Park.
Stuart, Florida
Stuart, Florida: county seat of Martin County on the St. Lucie River, Treasure Coast; settled 1870, incorporated 1914, chartered 1925; formerly Potsdam; known as the Sailfish Capital of the World; 2020 population 17,425.