Small-town presidents vs. big-city presidents — is there a difference? Many U.S. presidents hail from small towns, but not New York City born-and-raised Donald Trump.
Read on to see which presidents came from tiny towns and see what the approximate population of those towns is now. Along the way, find out some interesting facts about different U.S. presidents from small towns that can help you decide if they are any different from citified leaders.
1. William (Bill) J. Clinton
He was from a small town in Arkansas. | John Mottern/AFP/Getty Images
Hometown: Hope, Arkansas
Population as of 2016: 9,892
Term: 1993 to 2001
Party: Democratic
Age at inauguration: 46
Fun facts: Although Bill Clinton was a beloved president, his second term was marred in 1998 by his affair with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky. In addition, Clinton admitted to having an affair with Gennifer Flowers, who wrote the book, “Sleeping With the President.” In 2001, Clinton became the first president to be married to a U.S. Senator, first lady Hillary Clinton.
2. James (Jimmy) E. Carter
He hailed from Georgia. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Hometown: Plains, Georgia
Population as of 2016: 734
Party: Democratic
Term: 1977 to 1981
Age at inauguration: 52
Fun facts: Although he succeeded in promoting peace in the Middle East, Carter seemed like a weak president because of the high inflation, rising oil prices, and Iran hostage crisis. In 1973, he filed a UFO sighting report — according to Mashable, he said it was, “the darndest thing I’ve ever seen.”
3. Ronald W. Reagan
He was born in a very small Illinois town. | Carlos Shiebeck/AFP/Getty Images
Hometown: Tampico, Illinois
Population as of 2016: 750
Party: Republican
Term: 1981 to 1989
Age at inauguration: 69
Fun facts: Reagan was a very popular U.S. leader, despite his conservative policies. In 1940, he won the University of California’s Most Nearly Perfect Male Figure Award, according to the website Pearson. For his prize, Reagan got to pose almost nude for his school’s life drawing class.
4. George H. W. Bush
He was born in Massachusetts. | Jerome Delay/AFP/Getty Images
Hometown: Milton, Massachusetts
Population as of 2016: 27,003
Party: Republican
Term: 1989 to 1993
Age at inauguration: 64
Fun facts: George H.W. Bush saw the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War during his term. In addition, he got the U.S. into the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991. Bush was the first sitting vice president elected to president since Martin Van Buren, according to the website Scholastic.
5. Donald Trump
He’s used to life in the big city. | Scott Olson/Getty Images
Hometown: New York City
Population as of 2016: 8.5 million
Term: 2017 to present
Age at inauguration: 70
Fun facts: Before he became president, Donald Trump was a real estate mogul — and a reality TV star. Trump is the first president who did not serve in the military or hold any political office before his presidency, according to Scholastic.
6. Andrew Jackson
He was from the South. | Wikimedia Commons
Hometown: Waxhaw, South Carolina
Population as of 2016: 9,859
Party: Democratic
Term: 1829 to 1837
Age at inauguration: 61
Fun facts: According to Scholastic, Andrew Jackson was the first president to ride on a trade. In addition, Jackson loved duels, particularly when defending his wife’s honor. He was involved in more than 100 of them and survived a shot in the chest from one in 1806.
7. Franklin Pierce
He came from New Hampshire. | National Archive/Newsmakers/Getty Images
Hometown: Hillsboro, New Hampshire
Population as of 2016: 407,761
Party: Democratic
Term: 1853 to 1857
Age at inauguration: 48
Fun facts: Franklin Pierce was arrested while he was serving as president. He ran over a woman with his horse, according to Mashable, but the case was dropped due to lack of evidence. Pierce’s wife had a long-standing hatred of Washington, D.C. — when she heard Pierce had been nominated for president, she flat-out fainted, according to Scholastic.
8. Ulysses S. Grant
He was from a small Ohio community. | Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons
Hometown: Point Pleasant, Ohio
Population as of 2016: July 23, 1885
Party: Republican
Term: 1869 to 1877
Age at inauguration: 46
Fun facts: A well-known Civil War Union military hero, Grant was also arrested during his term. The charge? He was speeding on his horse. Grant paid a $20 fine for his reckless behavior, according to Mashable. Although Grant’s given name was Hiram Ulysses Grant, when he applied to West Point somehow his name was changed to Ulysses Simpson Grant. He liked the new name, so he kept it.
9. William McKinley
He also was from Ohio. | Photos.com/Getty Images
Hometown: Niles, Ohio
Population as of 2016: 18,458
Party: Republican
Term: 1897 to 1901
Age at inauguration: 54
Fun facts: McKinley saw the U.S. through the Spanish-American War, during which the U.S. won several overseas colonies, according to Scholastic. He always wore a red carnation in his lapel — for luck. In 1901, however, he gave the flower to a little girl while he was greeting people. Seconds later, an assassin shot McKinley, and he died eight days later.
10. Calvin Coolidge
He was from a tiny town in Vermont. | National Archives/Getty Images
Hometown: Plymouth Notch, Vermont
Population as of 2016: 475
Party: Republican
Term: 1923 to 1929
Age at inauguration: 51
Fun facts: Coolidge served during a time of economic prosperity, although he ignored the fact that the stock market would conceivably crash, according to Scholastic. Coolidge’s nickname was “Silent Cal.” When a report told him, “I bet my editor I could get more than two words out of you,” Coolidge said, “You lose.”
11. Herbert C. Hoover
He came from the Midwest. | Central Press/Getty Images
Hometown: West Branch, Iowa
Population as of 2016: 2,359
Party: Republican
Term: 1929 to 1933
Age at inauguration: 54
Fun facts: Hoover hadn’t been president long when the stock market crashed and the U.S. entered the Great Depression — and America blamed Hoover. Hoover son had two pet alligators, which the president occasionally allowed to run loose through the White House.
12. Harry S. Truman
He was from a small Missouri town. | Fox Photos/Getty Images
Hometown: Lamar, Missouri
Population as of 2016: 4,363
Party: Democratic
Term: 1945 to 1953
Age at inauguration: 60
Fun facts: Harry Truman will always be famous for dropping the atomic bomb on Japan, which ended World War II. Truman was all business — a plaque he kept on his desk said, “The Buck Stops Here,” according to Scholastic.
13. Dwight D. Eisenhower
He came from a relatively larger town in Kansas. | James Anthony Wills/Wikimedia Commons
Hometown: Abilene, Kansas
Population as of 2016: 122,225
Party: Republican
Term: 1953 to 1961
Age at inauguration: 62
Fun facts: According to Scholastic, Eisenhower wanted to attend the Naval Academy instead of West Point, but he was not admitted because he was too old. Strangely, he was born into a Mennonite family that did not support the military. In addition, Eisenhower played more rounds of golf — 800 — than any president and appears in the Lifetime Achievement Category of the World Golf Hall of Fame. He even had a putting green installed in the White House.
14. Lyndon B. Johnson
He was from Texas. | Keystone/Getty Images
Hometown: Stonewall, Texas
Population as of 2016: 505
Party: Democratic
Term: 1963 to 1969
Age at inauguration: 55
Fun facts: Although Johnson passed many civil rights programs during his term he was involved in the Vietnam War, which was very unpopular in the U.S. Johnson has an odd habit of calling his penis “Jumbo,” according to Mashable. Biographer Robert Dallek tells a story that a reporter asked Johnson one too many times why the U.S. military was in Vietnam and Johnson whipped out “Jumbo,” saying, “This is why!”
15. Richard M. Nixon
He was a California native. | National Archive/Newsmakers
Hometown: Yorba Linda, California
Population as of 2016: 68,235
Party: Republican
Term: 1969 to 1974
Age at inauguration: 56
Fun facts: Nixon is the one and only president who resigned in office — the Watergate scandal ruined him so he resigned before Congress could impeach him. The most recognized Western names in China are Jesus Christ, Elvis Presley, and Richard Nixon, according to Mashable.
16. Warren G. Harding
He was another president from Ohio. | Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons
Hometown: Blooming Grove, Ohio
Population as of 2016: 5,063
Party: Republican
Term: 1921 to 1923
Age at inauguration: 55
Fun facts: During Harding’s election women voted — for the first time, according to Scholastic. Harding is known for dying in office, just before the Teapot Dome scandal became public.
17. Abraham Lincoln
He was born in Kentucky but then made Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, his home. | Alexander Gardner/U.S. Library of Congress via Getty Images
Hometown: Hodgenville, Kentucky
Population as of 2016: 3,226
Party: Republican
Term: 1861 to 1865
Age at inauguration: 52
Fun facts: Lincoln took the U.S. into the Civil War in an effort to end slavery. Five days before the Confederate armies surrendered, John Wilkes Booth assassinated him in the presidential box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. When Lincoln was young, he wrestled competitively, winning all but one of his near-300 matches and making it into the Wrestling Hall of Fame, according to Mashable.
Read more: These Are the Smartest and Dumbest U.S. Presidents and How Donald Trump Compares
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