53 U.S. States, Territories, and Cities That Start With the Letter P

Within the United States and its territories, there are over 850 places with a population of over 1,000 that start with the letter P. So, after the states and territories, we will only list the 50 most populous cities. Which U.S. states, territories, and cities start with the letter P? Keep reading to find out.

States

Pennsylvania

With a population of nearly 13 million people, Pennsylvania is the only U.S. state with a name that starts with the letter P. It is located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Ohio and West Virginia bound it to the west, New York to the north, New Jersey to the east, and Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia to the south. The northwest corner of the state touches on Lake Erie.

Pennsylvania has a humid continental climate with four distinct seasons. The summers are hot and humid, and the winters are long, cold, and snowy. The Appalachian Mountains run through the state’s center from the southwest to the northeast. The northwestern portion of the state is a plain associated with Lake Erie, and the southeast corner is in the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Territories

The United States has administrative control over 14 territories. Two of these begin with the letter P.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a U.S. island territory in the Caribbean Sea, directly east of the Dominican Republic. It is nearly 1,000 miles southeast of Miami, Florida, and has a population of 3.28 million people.

The island’s periphery consists of coastal lowlands, while the southern interior is mountainous, with steep climbs and spectacular views. The northern region consists of karst, formed when water dissolves limestone. This means the area has many sinkholes and is covered with caves and sunken streams. Puerto Rico is in a tropical climate and is hot and humid year-round. Given its location, it experiences hurricanes and other storms. The significant rainfall allows the island to have rainforests as well as dry ones.

Palmyra Atoll

This uninhabited atoll is approximately 1,000 miles southwest of Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is just on the U.S. side of the International Date Line and north of the equator. Most of the atoll is owned by The Nature Conservancy and administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Palmyra has a tropical rainforest climate (hot and rainy) and dense vegetation. It sits where the east and west tradewinds meet, causing significant rain.

Cities

The 10 Most Populous U.S. Cities That Start With the Letter P

1. Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital city of Arizona. It has a population of about 1.6 million people. This city in south-central Arizona shares its hot desert climate with the nearby Sonoran Desert.

2. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, located in southeast Pennsylvania, sits on the Delaware River across from Cherry Hill, NJ. It has a population of about 1.6 million and is located on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. It has a humid continental climate.

3. Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon, is a river port city where the Columbia and Willamette rivers meet. It is the most populous state in Oregon and is located in the northwest portion of the state, on the border with Washington. It has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate and a population of 635,067 people.

4. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The “Three River City,” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the second Pennsylvania city on this list. It has a population of 302,898 people and shares the state’s humid continental climate. It sits in southwestern Pennsylvania at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers.

5. Plano, Texas

With a population of 289,547 people, Plano sits in a humid subtropical climate zone. Located just outside the Dallas/Fort Worth area in northeast Texas, this city is within a triangle formed by Lewisville, Lavon, and Ray Hubbard Lakes.

6. Port St. Lucie, Florida

Port St. Lucie is located on the eastern coast of Florida, roughly between Orlando and Miami. With a population of 231,790 people, this city has a tropical climate with hot summers and warm winters.

7. Peoria, Arizona

Peoria, Arizona, is located on the northwest outskirts of Phoenix, sharing the same hot desert climate. The city has a population of 197,866 people.

8. Paradise, Nevada

Paradise, Nevada, is adjacent to Las Vegas. Paradise, with a population of 191,238 people, is home to the Las Vegas Strip, where most of the area’s hotels and casinos are located. The city has a subtropical hot desert climate, similar to the surrounding Mojave desert.

9. Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island, has a population of 189,563 people. It is located on the Providence River upstream of where it empties into Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a humid continental climate with hot, humid summers and cold, stormy winters.

10. Pembroke Pines, Florida

Pembroke Pines is a suburb of Miami, Florida, with a population of 169,876. It has a tropical monsoon climate with hot and rainy summers and warm and dry winters.

The 50 Most Populous U.S. Cities That Start With the Letter P

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