This Is the Smallest City in America

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Jan 22, 10:00AM EST

This Is the Smallest City in America — © NicolasMcComber / E+ via Getty Images

The federal government breaks down places where people live into a number of categories. The best known are states, metropolitan areas, and counties. Another, which is not as well known, is core-based statistical areas. There are 927 of them in the United States, and the smallest one is Vernon, Texas. (These are the 25 smallest countries and territories in the world.)

CBSAs include both metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan statistical areas have at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population, while micropolitan statistical areas have at least one urban cluster with a population between 10,000 and 50,000. Each also includes the “adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties,” per the Census definition.

These were originally set up by the U.S. Office of Management.

Of the 12 smallest CBSAs, six are in Texas. Vernon is northwest of Dallas, near the Oklahoma border. It has a population of 12,552, which is down 7.26% from the 2010 census. The population has been shrinking since 1980. (This is the fastest shrinking city in America.)

Vernon’s population is 51% white and 34% Latino or Hispanic, according to the Census Bureau. The median annual household income is an unusually low $42,533, more than $20,000 below the U.S. median. The poverty rate is an extraordinarily high 21.8%. The city covers just under 8 square miles.

Despite its many economic struggles, Vernon describes itself as “Where the West Really Begins,” trying to promote the city as an attractive place to visit for business and tourism. The city is governed by a mayor and city commission but has a professional city manager who runs the city day-to-day.

Click here to see the smallest city in America

50. Cordele, GA
> Population: 22,034

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49. Sterling, CO
> Population: 21,974

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48. Maryville, MO
> Population: 21,743

47. Clarksdale, MS
> Population: 21,564

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46. Elk City, OK
> Population: 21,468

45. Beatrice, NE
> Population: 21,431

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44. Worthington, MN
> Population: 21,400

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43. Raymondville, TX
> Population: 21,161

42. Liberal, KS
> Population: 21,038

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41. Port Lavaca, TX
> Population: 21,001

40. Price, UT
> Population: 20,760

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39. Borger, TX
> Population: 20,677

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38. Dumas, TX
> Population: 20,654

37. Grenada, MS
> Population: 20,610

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36. Jamestown, ND
> Population: 20,498

35. Huron, SD
> Population: 20,498

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34. Pierre, SD
> Population: 20,457

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33. Pearsall, TX
> Population: 20,379

32. Evanston, WY
> Population: 20,215

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31. Othello, WA
> Population: 20,027

30. Guymon, OK
> Population: 19,997

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29. Ruidoso, NM
> Population: 19,939

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28. Carroll, IA
> Population: 19,914

27. Storm Lake, IA
> Population: 19,772

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26. Parsons, KS
> Population: 19,586

25. Fairmont, MN
> Population: 19,484

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24. Los Alamos, NM
> Population: 19,462

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23. West Point, MS
> Population: 19,352

22. Andrews, TX
> Population: 18,879

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21. Portales, NM
> Population: 18,350

20. Fairfield, IA
> Population: 18,347

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19. Hereford, TX
> Population: 18,277

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18. Spirit Lake, IA
> Population: 17,549

17. Vineyard Haven, MA
> Population: 17,461

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16. Helena-West Helena, AR
> Population: 17,299

15. Maysville, KY
> Population: 17,035

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14. Brownsville, TN
> Population: 17,002

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13. Winnemucca, NV
> Population: 16,962

12. Snyder, TX
> Population: 16,662

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11. Fitzgerald, GA
> Population: 16,614

10. Pecos, TX
> Population: 16,130

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9. Atchison, KS
> Population: 16,015

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8. Spencer, IA
> Population: 15,976

7. Sweetwater, TX
> Population: 14,835

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6. Vermillion, SD
> Population: 14,246

5. Zapata, TX
> Population: 14,172

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4. Ketchikan, AK
> Population: 13,747

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3. Craig, CO
> Population: 13,144

2. Lamesa, TX
> Population: 12,974

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1. Vernon, TX
> Population: 12,552

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About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.