How to get a random city
- Choose where in Cities from: the world, Europe or one of 12 countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom or Germany.
- Press Draw a city. The card shows the name, the state, region or country it is in and roughly how many people live there.
- Open Filters to keep only big cities or only smaller towns, or to pick one state or region, for example Texas or Scotland. The number on the button says how many places are left.
- Set How many to draw up to ten different places at once. With No repeats on, a drawn place stays out until you press Start over, and History keeps every draw.
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What people use a random city for
A trip or a day out
Can't agree where to go next weekend? Pick your country, keep only places in your state and draw until one looks good. Big cities for a weekend getaway, smaller towns for somewhere quieter you would never have picked yourself.
Geography games
Draw a city and ask where it is on the map, which state it belongs to or what it is known for. In class, present mode shows the name big enough for the back row, and the space bar draws the next one.
Stories, games and characters
Writers and players of tabletop games need a hometown for a character or a place for the next scene. A real town with a real region makes a story feel grounded, and three draws give you a whole road trip.
Name, Place, Animal
Playing Scattergories or a game where every answer needs a city? Draw a few for real city names nobody else will think of, or one to start a round of the word chain game where the next city begins with the last letter.
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Questions about the random city generator
Which places are on the lists?
Towns and cities from GeoNames, an open geographical database: for each of the 12 countries every place with about 10,000 people or more (15,000 in the United States, 5,000 in Portugal and Sweden), about 13,000 in all. Europe holds its 716 cities of 100,000 or more, the world list its 1,937 cities of 300,000 or more. City districts such as Brooklyn or Mokotów are left out.
Is every city equally likely?
Yes. Every place that matches your filters has exactly the same chance, whether it has 10,000 people or 10 million. The pick is made by the secure random generator built into your browser, and the short roll before the name lands is only decoration.
What counts as a big city or a small town?
In a country, a big city has 100,000 people or more and a smaller town fewer. In Europe the line is 500,000 and in the world list one million, because those lists only hold large cities to begin with. The exact number is shown next to each choice under Filters.
Can I draw a city in one state or region?
Yes. Under Filters, pick a state, region or province in Region, for example California, Bavaria or Catalonia. The menu shows how many places each one has. In the Europe and world lists the same menu picks a country instead.
Why is the population different from what I found elsewhere?
The figures come from GeoNames and are often a few years old. Some count only the city itself, others the whole municipality, so they are good for telling a village from a metropolis but not for a statistics report.
Can I add my own list of cities?
Not on this page. For your own list, type the places into the wheel or the name picker on this site (both linked below): they draw from anything you type in and can also draw without repeats.
Do I need to sign up or install anything?
No. The page works in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or computer and saves your settings and history only on your own device. After you have opened a list once, it also works offline.
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Ready-made city lists
The same city generator, opened straight on the US, the UK or Europe.
- Random US cityOne of 3,050 American cities and towns, with its state.
- Random UK town or cityOne of 984 places in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Random city in EuropeOne of 716 European cities from 100,000 people, with its country.
- Random city in SpainOne of 734 Spanish towns and cities, with its region.
- Random city in GermanyOne of 1,486 German towns and cities, with its state.
- Random city in FranceOne of 899 French towns and cities, with its region.
- Random city in ItalyOne of 908 Italian towns and cities, with its region.
- Random city in BrazilOne of 3,033 Brazilian cities and towns, with its state.
- Random city in MexicoOne of 766 Mexican cities and towns, with its state.
- Random city in PolandOne of 404 Polish towns and cities, with its voivodeship.
- Random city in the NetherlandsOne of 265 Dutch towns and cities, with its province.
- Random city in PortugalOne of 287 Portuguese towns from 5,000 people, with district.
- Random city in SwedenOne of 208 Swedish towns and cities, with its county.
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