This entry tracks and ranks the population of the largest cities in the United States by decade, starting with the 1790 Census. For 1790 through 1990, tables are taken from "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990."^[1] For year 2000 rankings, data from the Census Bureau's tally of "Cities with 100,000 or More Population Ranked by Selected Subject" is used.^[2] For further research on year 2000 urban population, the County and City Data Book might be instructive.^[3]

Contents 1 1790 2 1800 3 1810 4 1820 5 1830 6 1840 7 1850 8 1860 9 1870 10 1880 11 1890 12 1900 13 1910 14 1920 15 1930 16 1940 17 1950 18 1960 19 1970 20 1980 21 1990 22 2000 23 2005 Estimates 24 References 25 External links

1790 Edit

By 1790, New York had overtaken Philadelphia as the largest city in the United States, a rank it continues to hold to this day. The source population numbers for this list come from the first United States Census Bureau.^[4]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	33,131	New York City has remained the largest city in the United States since the census began. Like many big American cities, it expanded its borders multiple times during the 19th century.[1]
2	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	28,522	Philadelphia has remained on the top 10 list of largest cities throughout its history.
3	Boston	Massachusetts	18,320
4	Charleston	South Carolina	16,359
5	Baltimore	Maryland	13,503	Existed as a township at the time. Now an independent city.
6	Northern Liberties Township	Pennsylvania	9,913	Township now absorbed in Philadelphia. See Northern Liberties.
7	Salem	Massachusetts	7,921
8	Newport	Rhode Island	6,716	Listed as a town in 1790 census. Presently a city.
9	Providence	Rhode Island	6,380	Listed as a town in 1790 census. Now a city.
10	Marblehead	Massachusetts	5,661	Still a town as of 2006.
10	District of Southwark	Pennsylvania	5,661	Before 1854 Act of Consolidation, Southwark was an independent municipality; it is now a neighborhood in South Philadelphia.

1800 Edit

Source data for population is available from the Census Bureau.^[5]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	60,515
2	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	41,220
3	Baltimore	Maryland	26,514
4	Boston	Massachusetts	24,937
5	Charleston	South Carolina	18,824
6	Northern Liberties	Pennsylvania	10,718	Now a neighborhood in Philadelphia.
7	District of Southwark	Pennsylvania	9,621	Before 1854 Act of Consolidation, Southwark was an independent municipality; it is now a neighborhood in South Philadelphia.
8	Salem	Massachusetts	9,457	Listed as a town.
9	Providence	Rhode Island	7,614
10	Norfolk	Virginia	6,926	Listed as a borough; now an independent city.

1810Edit

A list of the 46 largest cities from the 1810 census is available from the Census Bureau and the source of this information.^[6]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	96,373
2	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	53,722
3	Baltimore	Maryland	46,555
4	Boston	Massachusetts	33,787
5	Charleston	South Carolina	24,711
6	Northern Liberties	Pennsylvania	19,874	Listed as a district; now a neighborhood of Philadelphia.
7	New Orleans	Louisiana	17,242	First entry on the top 10 list of largest cities not located in one of the original 13 colonies
8	District of Southwark	Pennsylvania	13,707	Before 1854 Act of Consolidation, Southwark was an independent municipality; it is now a neighborhood in South Philadelphia.
9	Salem	Massachusetts	12,613	Listed as a town. Today, Salem is a city.
10	Albany	New York	10,762

1820 Edit

A list of the 61 largest cities from the 1820 census is available from the Census Bureau and the source of this information.^[7]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	123,706	New York was the first city to surpass 100,000 people in population.
2	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	63,802
3	Baltimore	Maryland	62,738
4	Boston	Massachusetts	43,298
5	New Orleans	Louisiana	27,176
6	Charleston	South Carolina	24,780
7	Northern Liberties	Pennsylvania	19,678	Listed as a district; now a neighborhood of Philadelphia.
8	Southwark	Pennsylvania	14,713	Before 1854 Act of Consolidation, Southwark was an independent municipality; it is now a neighborhood in South Philadelphia.
9	Washington	District of Columbia	13,247	Washington is the capital of the United States; under the United States Constitution, it is forbidden to be part of any state.
10	Salem	Massachusetts	12,731	Listed as a town in 1820 census; Salem is a city today.

1830 Edit

Source data for population is available from the Census Bureau.^[8]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	202,589
2	Baltimore	Maryland	80,620
3	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	80,462
4	Boston	Massachusetts	61,392
5	New Orleans	Louisiana	46,082
6	Charleston	South Carolina	30,289
7	Northern Liberties	Pennsylvania	28,872	Now a neighborhood in Philadelphia.
8	Cincinnati	Ohio	24,831	Listed as a town.
9	Albany	New York	24,209
10	District of Southwark	Pennsylvania	20,581	Before 1854 Act of Consolidation, Southwark was an independent municipality; it is now a neighborhood in South Philadelphia.

1840 Edit

Source data for population is available from the Census Bureau.^[9]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	312,710
2	Baltimore	Maryland	102,313	Baltimore is likely the second city to surpass the 100,000 population mark.
3	New Orleans	Louisiana	102,193	New Orleans' rapid growth shows the increasing importance of Mississippi River trade.
4	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	93,665
5	Boston	Massachusetts	93,383
6	Cincinnati	Ohio	46,338	Listed as a town.
7	Brooklyn	New York	36,233	Brooklyn would cease to be a city in its own right in 1898. It is now a borough of New York City.
8	Northern Liberties	Pennsylvania	34,474	Now a neighborhood in Philadelphia.
9	Albany	New York	33,721
10	Charleston	South Carolina	29,261	Charleston actually lost population between the 1830 and 1840 censuses.

1850Edit

By 1850, the United States was in the midst of the First Industrial Revolution. A list of the hundred largest cities from the 1850 census is available from the Census Bureau and the source of this information.^[10]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	515,547
2	Baltimore	Maryland	169,054
3	Boston	Massachusetts	136,881
4	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	121,376
5	New Orleans	Louisiana	116,375
6	Cincinnati	Ohio	115,435
7	Brooklyn	New York	96,838	Brooklyn would cease to be a city in its own right in 1898. It is now a borough of New York City.
8	St. Louis	Missouri	77,860
9	District of Spring Garden	Pennsylvania	58,894	Now a neighborhood of Philadelphia.
10	Albany	New York	50,763

1860Edit

1860 was the eve of the American Civil War. A list of the hundred largest cities is available from the Census Bureau.^[11] This was the the eighth United States Census.

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	813,669
2	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	565,529	The large jump in population during the period from the seventh to eighth census counts is due to the 1854 Act of Consolidation, which merged the County and City of Philadelphia into a single government entity and abolished all other local governments.
3	Brooklyn	New York	266,661	Brooklyn would cease to be a city in its own right in 1898. It is now a borough of New York City.
4	Baltimore	Maryland	212,418
5	Boston	Massachusetts	177,840
6	New Orleans	Louisiana	168,675
7	Cincinnati	Ohio	161,044
8	St. Louis	Missouri	160,773
9	Chicago	Illinois	112,172	The population of Chicago jumped drastically between the 1850 and 1860 censuses. In the 1850 Census, Chicago was ranked 24th largest city with a population of 29,963.
10	Buffalo	New York	81,129

1870 Edit

A list of the hundred largest cities is available from the Census Bureau.^[12] This was the the ninth United States Census.

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	942,292
2	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	674,022
3	Brooklyn	New York	396,099
4	St. Louis	Missouri	310,864
5	Chicago	Illinois	298,977
6	Baltimore	Maryland	267,354
7	Boston	Massachusetts	250,526
8	Cincinnati	Ohio	216,239
9	New Orleans	Louisiana	191,418
10	San Francisco	California	149,473	First West Coast city in the top ten.

1880Edit

The Census bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in the United States during this year.^[13]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	1,206,299	This marks the first time the population of a U.S. city exceeds 1 million.
2	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	847,170
3	Brooklyn	New York	566,663
4	Chicago	Illinois	503,185
5	Boston	Massachusetts	362,839
6	St. Louis	Missouri	350,518
7	Baltimore	Maryland	332,313
8	Cincinnati	Ohio	255,139
9	San Francisco	California	233,959
10	New Orleans	Louisiana	216,090

1890 Edit

The 1890 Census was the Eleventh. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.^[14]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	1,515,301	This is the last census before New York City was consolidated into The Five Boroughs. At this point, the city is coterminus with New York County (the Borough of Manhattan), which included what is now Bronx County (the Borough of The Bronx).
2	Chicago	Illinois	1,099,850
3	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,046,964
4	Brooklyn	New York	806,343	This is the last census where the City of Brooklyn is independent of New York City. Interestingly, if Brooklyn were to be its own city today, it would still make the top five list and New York City would still be in the number one slot.
5	St. Louis	Missouri	451,770
6	Boston	Massachusetts	448,477
7	Baltimore	Maryland	434,439
8	San Francisco	California	298,997
9	Cincinnati	Ohio	296,908
10	Cleveland	Ohio	261,353

1900 Edit

The 1900 Census was the Twelfth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.^[15]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	3,437,202	This is the first census after the creation of The Five Boroughs.
2	Chicago	Illinois	1,698,575
3	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,293,697
4	St. Louis	Missouri	575,238
5	Boston	Massachusetts	560,892
6	Baltimore	Maryland	508,957
7	Cleveland	Ohio	381,768
8	Buffalo	New York	352,387
9	San Francisco	California	342,782
10	Cincinnati	Ohio	325,902

1910 Edit

The 1910 Census was the Thirteenth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.^[16]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	4,766,883	Much of the population of New York City was in Manhattan, more or less the part of the city that was New York City until 1898, at this time. However, the other boroughs began to grow rapidly as the Interborough Rapid Transit system and other mass transit franchises built what is today the New York Subway.
2	Chicago	Illinois	2,185,283
3	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,549,008
4	St. Louis	Missouri	687,029
5	Boston	Massachusetts	670,585
6	Cleveland	Ohio	560,663
7	Baltimore	Maryland	558,485
8	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	533,905
9	Detroit	Michigan	465,766
10	Buffalo	New York	423,715

1920 Edit

The 1920 Census was the Fourteenth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.^[17]

Rank	City	State	Population	Land Area (sq. miles)	Density People/Sq. mile	Notes
1	New York	New York	5,620,048	299.0	18,796
2	Chicago	Illinois	2,701,705	192.8	14,013
3	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,823,779	128.0	14,248
4	Detroit	Michigan	993,078	77.9	12,748
5	Cleveland	Ohio	796,841	56.4	14,128
6	St. Louis	Missouri	772,897	61.0	12,670
7	Boston	Massachusetts	748,060	43.5	17,197
8	Baltimore	Maryland	733,826	79.0	9,289
9	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	588,343	39.9	14,745
10	Los Angeles	California	576,673	365.7	1,577	By the 1920s, Los Angeles was already showing signs of its automobile-centric future. It is far less dense than any other city listed here.

1930 Edit

The 1930 Census was the Fifteenth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.^[18]

Rank	City	State	Population	Land Area (sq. miles)	Density People/Sq. mile	Notes
1	New York	New York	6,930,446	299.0	23,179
2	Chicago	Illinois	3,376,438	201.9	16,723
3	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,950,961	128.0	15,242
4	Detroit	Michigan	1,568,662	137.9	11,375
5	Los Angeles	California	1,238,048	440.3	2,812
6	Cleveland	Ohio	900,429	70.8	12,718
7	St. Louis	Missouri	821,960	61.0	13,475
8	Baltimore	Maryland	804,874	78.7	10,227
9	Boston	Massachusetts	781,188	43.9	17,795
10	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	669,817	51.3	13,057

1940 Edit

The 1940 Census was the Sixteenth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.^[19]

Rank	City	State	Population	Land Area (sq. miles)	Density People/Sq. mile	Notes
1	New York	New York	7,457,995	299.0	24,933
2	Chicago	Illinois	3,396,808	206.7	16,434
3	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,931,334	127.2	15,182
4	Detroit	Michigan	1,623,452	137.9	11,773
5	Los Angeles	California	1,504,277	448.3	3,356
6	Cleveland	Ohio	878,336	73.1	12,016
7	Baltimore	Maryland	859,100	78.7	10.916
8	St. Louis	Missouri	816,048	61.0	13,378
9	Boston	Massachusetts	770,816	46.1	16,721
10	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	671,659	52.1	12,892

1950 Edit

1950 was a watershed year for many cities in the United States. Many cities in the country peaked in population, and began a slow decline caused by suburbanization, increased crime rates, and so-called white flight. Of the cities listed below, most have declined in population since 1950. New York and Los Angeles are exceptions.

The source document for these numbers is available from the United States Census Bureau.^[20]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	7,891,957	The Census Bureau wouldn't record a population larger than this for New York City until 1970. By 2000, the number would exceed eight million people.
2	Chicago	Illinois	3,620,962	Chicago also peaked in population this year, and has never fully recovered. See Demographics of Chicago.
3	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	2,071,605	Population peaked this year; has never recovered fully.
4	Los Angeles	California	1,970,358	Los Angeles is one of the few cities to enjoy nearly continuous growth since 1950.
5	Detroit	Michigan	1,849,568	As of 2006, Detroit is the only city in the United States to have a population grow beyond 1 million and then fall below 1 million.
6	Baltimore	Maryland	949,708	Population peaked this year.
7	Cleveland	Ohio	914,808	Population peaked this year.
8	St. Louis	Missouri	856,796	Population peaked this year.
9	Washington	District of Columbia	802,178	Population peaked this year.
10	Boston	Massachusetts	801,444	Population peaked this year.

1960 Edit

The 1960 Census was the Eighteenth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.^[21]

Rank	City	State	Population	Land Area (sq. miles)	Density People/Sq. mile	Notes
1	New York	New York	7,781,984	315.1	24,697
2	Chicago	Illinois	3,550,404	224.2	15,836
3	Los Angeles	California	2,479,015	454.8	5,451
4	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	2,002,512	127.2	15,743
5	Detroit	Michigan	1,670,144	139.6	11,964
6	Baltimore	Maryland	939,024	79.0	11,886
7	Houston	Texas	938,219	328.1	2,860
8	Cleveland	Ohio	876,050	81.2	10.789
9	Washington	District of Columbia	763,956	61.4	12,442
10	St. Louis	Missouri	750,026	61.0	12,296

1970 Edit

The 1970 Census was the Nineteenth. The Census Bureau provides a list of the 100 largest cities in that year.^[22]

Rank	City	State	Population	Land Area (sq. miles)	Density People/Sq. mile	Notes
1	New York	New York	7,894,862	299.7	26,343	This is a peak population for New York City that would not be surpassed until the 2000 Census.
2	Chicago	Illinois	3,366,957	222.6	15,126
3	Los Angeles	California	2,816,061	463.7	6,073
4	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,948,609	128.5	15,164
5	Detroit	Michigan	1,511,482	138.0	10,953
6	Houston	Texas	1,232,802	433.9	2,841
7	Baltimore	Maryland	905,759	78.3	11,568
8	Dallas	Texas	844,401	265.6	3,179	First appearance in top 10.
9	Washington	District of Columbia	756,510	61.4	12,321
10	Cleveland	Ohio	750,903	75.9	9,893	Cleveland is notably smaller by population and larger by area, and therefore less dense, than it was in 1920.

1980Edit

By 1980, the trends towards suburbanization started in the 1950s continued. Population shifts towards the west and south began.^[23]

For a more complete ranking, see the source material from the Census Bureau.^[24]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	7,071,639	This year marks a historic drop in population for New York City. 1970s numbers will not be exceeded again until the year 2000.
2	Chicago	Illinois	3,005,072	This is the last year Chicago was the second largest city in the United States. Sometime soon after 1980, Los Angeles surpassed Chicago in population.
3	Los Angeles	California	2,966,850
4	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,688,210
5	Houston	Texas	1,595,138
6	Detroit	Michigan	1,203,339
7	Dallas	Texas	904,078
8	San Diego	California	875,538	First appearance in top 10.
9	Phoenix	Arizona	789,704	First appearance in top 10.
10	Baltimore	Maryland	786,775	This is the last year Baltimore made the top 10 list. This was the final occurrence of a city ranked in the top 10 of the initial 1790 Census to drop out of it altogether.

1990Edit

By 1990, trends had continued that started during the 1970s. Northeastern cities largely depopulated, and western and southwestern cities began to grow in size.^[25]

Rank	City	State	Population	Notes
1	New York	New York	7,322,564	The City of New York, notably, gained a little more population during the 1980s after heavy losses in the 1970s.
2	Los Angeles	California	3,485,398
3	Chicago	Illinois	2,783,726
4	Houston	Texas	1,630,553
5	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,585,577
6	San Diego	California	1,110,549
7	Detroit	Michigan	1,027,974
8	Dallas	Texas	1,006,877
9	Phoenix	Arizona	983,403
10	San Antonio	Texas	935,933	First appearance in top 10.

2000Edit

The 2000 census was the most detailed to date. The Census Bureau provides a list of all cities with populations over 100,000.^[26][27]

Rank	City	State	Population	Density People/Sq. mile	Notes
1	New York	New York	8,008,278	26,403.8
2	Los Angeles	California	3,694,820	7,876.4
3	Chicago	Illinois	2,896,016	12,752.2	Chicago regained a little population since 1990, according to the enumeration, but is still well below its 1950 peak.
4	Houston	Texas	1,953,631	3,371.8
5	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,517,550	11,232.8
6	Phoenix	Arizona	1,321,045	2,781.7
7	San Diego	California	1,223,400	3,772.4
8	Dallas	Texas	1,188,580	3,470.3
9	San Antonio	Texas	1,144,646	2,808.3
10	Detroit	Michigan	951,270	6,853.5	Estimated to have dropped out of top 10 by 2005.

2005 Estimates Edit

The United States has dozens of major cities, including 11 of the 55 global cities of all types—with three "alpha" global cities: New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

The figures expressed below are for populations within city limits. A different ranking is evident when considering U.S. metro area populations, although the top three would be unchanged. The ten largest cities, based on the United States Census Bureau's 2005 estimates, are as follows:

Rank	City	Population within city limits	Population Density per sq mi	Metropolitan Area		Region
				millions	rank
1	New York City, New York	8,143,197	26,402.9	18.7	1	Northeast
2	Los Angeles, California	3,844,829	7,876.8	12.9	2	West
3	Chicago, Illinois	2,842,518	12,750.3	9.4	3	Midwest
4	Houston, Texas	2,016,582	3,371.7	5.2	7	South
5	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	1,463,281	11,233.6	5.8	4	Northeast
6	Phoenix, Arizona	1,461,575	2,782.0	3.7	14	West
7	San Antonio, Texas	1,256,509	2,808.5	1.8	29	South
8	San Diego, California	1,255,540	3,771.9	2.9	17	West
9	Dallas, Texas	1,213,825	3,469.9	5.7	5	South
10	San Jose, California	912,332	5,117.9	1.7	30	West

For a more extensive list of present population estimates see List of United States cities by population.

References Edit

1. ^ Jackson, Kenneth T. Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. Chapter 8: "Suburbs Into Neighborhoods: The Rise and Fall of Municipal Annexation."

1. ^  "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990"
2. ^  "Cities with 100,000 or More Population Ranked by Selected Subject"
3. ^  County and City Data Book
4. ^  "Population of the 24 Urban Places: 1790"
5. ^  "Population of the 33 Urban Places: 1800"
6. ^  "Population of the 46 Urban Places: 1810"
7. ^  "Population of the 61 Urban Places: 1820"
8. ^  "Population of the 90 Urban Places: 1830"
9. ^  "Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1840"
10. ^  "Population of 100 Largest Urban Places: 1850"
11. ^  "Population of 100 Largest Urban Places: 1860"
12. ^  "Population of 100 Largest Urban Places: 1870"
13. ^  "Population of 100 Largest Urban Places: 1880"
14. ^  "Population of 100 Largest Urban Places: 1890"
15. ^  "Population of 100 Largest Urban Places: 1900"
16. ^  "Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1910"
17. ^  "Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1920"
18. ^  "Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1930"
19. ^  "Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1940"
20. ^  "Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1950"
21. ^  "Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1960"
22. ^  "Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1970"
23. ^  "Population of 100 Largest Urban Places: 1980"
24. ^  "Population of 100 Largest Urban Places: 1990"
25. ^  "Cities with 100,000 or More Population in 2000 ranked by Population, 2000 in Rank Order"
26. ^  "Cities with 100,000 or More Population in 2000 ranked by Population per Square Mile, 2000 in Rank Order"

External links Edit

• United States, 1780-1789—discusses population size from 1780 to 1789

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