This list tracks and ranks the population of the top 10 largest cities and other urban places in the United States by decade, as reported by each decennial United States Census, starting with the 1790 Census. For 1790 through 1990, tables are taken from the U.S Census Bureau's "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990." 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. The 2010 rankings are based on the 2010 census results. The Census Bureau's definition of an " urban place" has included a variety of designations, including

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

, and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. The top 10 urban areas in 1790 consisted of various places designated as cities, towns and townships. The top 10 urban areas in 2010 are all separate incorporated places. This list generally refers only to the population of individual urban places within their defined limits at the time of the indicated census. Some of these places have since been annexed or merged into other cities. Other places may have expanded their borders due to such annexation or consolidation. For example, after the 1898 consolidation of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the Census Bureau has defined all the

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

within its city limits as one "urban place". Similarly,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

's population has included the census counts within both the former urban areas of Northern Liberties, Pennsylvania and

Southwark, Pennsylvania Southwark was originally the Southwark District, a colonial-era municipality in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Today, it is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Because of its location south of the ...

ever since Philadelphia's 1854 consolidation.

1790

When the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

declared independence in 1776,

was its most populous city. By the time the first U.S. census count was completed in 1790,

had already grown to be 14% more populous than Philadelphia (though Philadelphia still had the larger metropolitan population in 1790). Note that, in 1790,

consisted of the entire island of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and that

only included the most central neighborhoods of the city. The total population of these 11 cities was 152,087.

1800

Rankings based on population data from the second United States Census. The total population of these 10 cities was 216,346.

1810

Rankings based on population data from the third United States Census. The total population of these 10 cities was 329,346.

1820

Rankings based on population data drawn the fourth United States Census. The total population of these 10 cities was 405,869. Last time Massachusetts has two cities in the top ten.

1830

Rankings based on population data from the fifth United States Census The total population of these 10 cities was 599,927.

1840

Rankings based on data drawn from the sixth United States Census. The total population of these 10 cities was 884,291.

1850

By 1850, the United States was in the midst of the

First Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going fr ...

. Rankings based on population data compiled in the seventh United States Census. The total population of these 10 cities was 1,459,023.

1860

Rankings based on data drawn from the eighth United States Census, the last national decennial census conducted before the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

in 1861. This is the first census where the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

does not hold a supermajority of the top ten largest cities. The total population of these 10 cities was 2,719,910.

1870

This was the ninth United States Census. This is the first census where the

does not hold a simple majority of the top ten largest cities (Briefly returns to 6 in the 1910 census). This is also the first census in which every city in the top 10 has a population of over 100,000. The total population of these 10 cities was 3,697,264.

1880

This was the tenth United States Census. The total population of these 10 cities was 4,874,175.

1890

The 1890 Census was the

Eleventh In music or music theory, an eleventh is the note eleven scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the eleventh. The interval can be also described as a compound fourth, spanning an octave plus a ...

. Four Midwest cities occupied the top ten spots, with two cities from Ohio in the top ten for the first time. The total population of these 10 cities was 6,660,402.

1900

The 1900 Census was the Twelfth. The total population of these 10 cities was 9,487,400.

1910

The 1910 Census was the

Thirteenth In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octa ...

. The total population of these 10 cities was 12,401,322.

1920

The 1920 Census was the Fourteenth. Only time three midwestern cities occupy the top five. The total population of these 10 cities was 15,355,250.

1930

The 1930 Census was the

Fifteenth In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...

. The total population of these 10 cities was 19,042,823.

1940

Four of the ten cities here would have their first ever population drop in 1940. Though slight, they would presage a precipitous decline that started in 1950. The 1940 Census was the Sixteenth. The total population of these 10 cities was 19,909,825.

1950

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 Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urba ...

associated with pollution, congestion, and increased crime rates in

inner cities The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists someti ...

, while the improved infrastructure of the

Eisenhower Interstate System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

more easily facilitated car commutes and

white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

of the white middle class. The

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

made available low interest loans for returning

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

veterans seeking more commodious housing in the suburbs. Although populations within city limits dropped in many American cities, the metropolitan populations of most cities continued to increase greatly. The 1950 census was the seventeenth. The total population of these 10 cities was 21,809,384.

1960

The 1960 Census was the Eighteenth. This was the first census (see also 1980) to show a decline in the combined total population of top ten cities, with 766,495 (3.5%) fewer people than the 1950 Census' top ten cities. The total population of these 10 cities was 20,982,889.

1970

The 1970 Census was the Nineteenth. The total population of these 10 cities was 22,028,346.

1980

By 1980, the population trends of urban decline and

that started in the 1950s were at their peak. This was the second census (see also 1960) to show a decline in the combined total population of the top ten cities, with 1,142,003 (5.2%) fewer people than the 1970 Census' top ten cities, mostly due to the large drop in population of New York City. This is the first census in which half of the top ten cities are in the Sun Belt, specifically the West South Central and South Western area of the country. The 1980 census was the twentieth. The total population of these 10 cities was 20,886,343.

1990

The 1990 Census was the Twenty-first. Continued trends of western cities' growth and

Northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

cities' contraction now place a majority of the top ten cities in the western portion of the Sun Belt, a regional concentration not seen since Northeastern cities dominated the top of the first seven censuses. The total population of these 10 cities was 21,872,554.

2000

The 2000 Census was the 22nd in U.S. history. The total population of these 10 cities was 23,899,236.

2010

Seven of the country's ten largest cities in 2010 were located in the Sun Belt region of the south and west, all of which have far lower population density than their earlier top-ranking counterparts. A different ranking is evident when considering U.S. metro area populations which count both city and suburban populations. The 2010 census was the twenty-third. The total population of these 10 cities was 24,513,008.

2020

2020 is the first census in which all ten of the largest cities have populations of over one million. It is also the first census since 1940 in which no cities entered or left the top ten, and the first census since 1950 in which all ten cities gained population. This was the twenty-fourth census. The total population of these 10 cities was 26,105,017.

References

Notes Sources

External links

United States, 1780-1789
mdash;discusses population size from 1780 to 1789 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Largest Cities In The United States By Population By Decade Demographic history of the United States Histories of cities in the United States