Population of the 20 Largest U.S. Cities, 1900–2012
Updated August 5, 2020 |
Infoplease Staff
The table below lists the largest 20 cities in the United States based on population for select years between 1900 to 2012.
1900 | 1920 | 1940 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Place | Population | Place | Population | Place | Population |
1. | New York, N.Y. | 3,437,202 | New York, N.Y. | 5,620,048 | New York, N.Y. | 7,454,995 |
2. | Chicago, Ill. | 1,698,575 | Chicago, Ill. | 2,701,705 | Chicago, Ill. | 3,396,808 |
3. | Philadelphia, Pa. | 1,293,697 | Philadelphia, Pa. | 1,823,779 | Philadelphia, Pa. | 1,931,334 |
4. | St. Louis, Mo. | 575,238 | Detroit, Mich. | 993,078 | Detroit, Mich. | 1,623,452 |
5. | Boston, Mass. | 560,892 | Cleveland, Ohio | 796,841 | Los Angeles, Calif. | 1,504,277 |
6. | Baltimore, Md. | 508,957 | St. Louis, Mo. | 772,897 | Cleveland, Ohio | 878,336 |
7. | Cleveland, Ohio | 381,768 | Boston, Mass. | 748,060 | Baltimore, Md. | 859,100 |
8. | Buffalo, N.Y. | 352,387 | Baltimore, Md. | 733,826 | St. Louis, Mo. | 816,048 |
9. | San Francisco, Calif. | 342,782 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 588,343 | Boston, Mass. | 770,816 |
10. | Cincinnati, Ohio | 325,902 | Los Angeles, Calif. | 576,673 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 671,659 |
11. | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 321,616 | Buffalo, N.Y. | 506,775 | Washington, DC | 663,091 |
12. | New Orleans, La. | 287,104 | San Francisco, Calif. | 506,676 | San Francisco, Calif. | 634,536 |
13. | Detroit, Mich. | 285,704 | Milwaukee, Wis. | 457,147 | Milwaukee, Wis. | 587,472 |
14. | Milwaukee, Wis. | 285,315 | Washington, DC | 437,571 | Buffalo, N.Y. | 575,901 |
15. | Washington, DC | 278,718 | Newark, N.J. | 414,524 | New Orleans, La. | 494,537 |
16. | Newark, N.J. | 246,070 | Cincinnati, Ohio | 401,247 | Minneapolis, Minn. | 492,370 |
17. | Jersey City, N.J. | 206,433 | New Orleans, La. | 387,219 | Cincinnati, Ohio | 455,610 |
18. | Louisville, Ky. | 204,731 | Minneapolis, Minn. | 380,582 | Newark, N.J. | 429,760 |
19. | Minneapolis, Minn. | 202,718 | Kansas City, Mo. | 324,410 | Kansas City, Mo. | 399,178 |
20. | Providence, R.I. | 175,597 | Seattle, Wash. | 315,312 | Indianapolis, Ind. | 386,972 |
1960 | 1980 | 20051 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Place | Population | Place | Population | Place | Population |
1. | New York, N.Y. | 7,781,984 | New York, N.Y. | 7,071,639 | New York, N.Y. | 8,143,197 |
2. | Chicago, Ill. | 3,550,404 | Chicago, Ill. | 3,005,072 | Los Angeles, Calif. | 3,844,829 |
3. | Los Angeles, Calif. | 2,479,015 | Los Angeles, Calif. | 2,966,850 | Chicago, Ill. | 2,842,518 |
4. | Philadelphia, Pa. | 2,002,512 | Philadelphia, Pa. | 1,688,210 | Houston, Tex. | 2,016,582 |
5. | Detroit, Mich. | 1,670,144 | Houston, Tex, | 1,595,138 | Philadelphia, Pa. | 1,463,281 |
6. | Baltimore, Md. | 939,024 | Detroit, Mich. | 1,203,339 | Phoenix, Ariz. | 1,461,575 |
7. | Houston, Tex. | 938,219 | Dallas, Tex. | 904,078 | San Antonio, Tex. | 1,256,509 |
8. | Cleveland, Ohio | 876,050 | San Diego, Calif. | 875,538 | San Diego, Calif. | 1,255,540 |
9. | Washington, DC | 763,956 | Phoenix, Ariz. | 789,704 | Dallas, Tex. | 1,213,825 |
10. | St. Louis, Mo. | 750,026 | Baltimore, Md. | 786,775 | San Jose, Calif. | 912,332 |
11. | Milwaukee, Wis. | 741,324 | San Antonio, Tex. | 785,880 | Detroit, Mich. | 886,671 |
12. | San Francisco, Calif. | 740,316 | Indianapolis, Ind. | 700,807 | Indianapolis, Ind. | 784,118 |
13. | Boston, Mass. | 697,197 | San Francisco, Calif. | 678,974 | Jacksonville, Fla. | 782,623 |
14. | Dallas, Tex. | 679,684 | Memphis, Tenn. | 646,356 | San Francisco, Calif. | 739,426 |
15. | New Orleans, La. | 627,525 | Washington, DC | 638,333 | Columbus, Ohio | 730,657 |
16. | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 604,332 | Milwaukee, Wis. | 636,212 | Austin, Tex. | 690,252 |
17. | San Antonio, Tex. | 587,718 | San Jose, Calif. | 629,442 | Memphis, Tenn. | 672,277 |
18. | San Diego, Calif. | 573,224 | Cleveland, Ohio | 573,822 | Baltimore, Md. | 635,815 |
19. | Seattle, Wash. | 557,087 | Columbus, Ohio | 564,871 | Fort Worth, Tex. | 624,067 |
20. | Buffalo, N.Y. | 532,759 | Boston, Mass. | 562,994 | Charlotte, N.C. | 610,949 |
2010 | 2012 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Place | Population | Place | Population |
1. | New York, N.Y. | 8,175,133 | New York, N.Y. | 8,336,697 |
2. | Los Angeles, Calif. | 3,792,621 | Los Angeles, Calif. | 3,857,799 |
3. | Chicago, Ill. | 2,695,598 | Chicago, Ill. | 2,714,856 |
4. | Houston, Tex. | 2,099,451 | Houston, Tex. | 2,160,821 |
5. | Philadelphia, Pa. | 1,526,006 | Philadelphia, Pa. | 1,547,607 |
6. | Phoenix, Ariz. | 1,445,632 | Phoenix, Ariz. | 1,488,750 |
7. | San Antonio, Tex. | 1,327,407 | San Antonio, Tex. | 1,382,951 |
8. | San Diego, Calif. | 1,307,402 | San Diego, Calif. | 1,338,348 |
9. | Dallas, Tex. | 1,197,816 | Dallas, Tex. | 1,241,162 |
10. | San Jose , Calif. | 945,942 | San Jose , Calif. | 982,765 |
11. | Jacksonville , Fla. | 821,784 | Austin , Tex. | 842,592 |
12. | Indianapolis , Ind. | 820,445 | Jacksonville , Fla. | 836,507 |
13. | San Francisco , Calif. | 805,235 | Indianapolis , Ind. | 834,852 |
14. | Austin , Tex. | 790,390 | San Francisco , Calif. | 825,863 |
15. | Columbus , Ohio | 787,033 | Columbus , Ohio | 809,798 |
16. | Fort Worth , Tex. | 741,206 | Fort Worth , Tex. | 777,992 |
17. | Charlotte , N.C. | 731,424 | Charlotte , N.C. | 775,202 |
18. | Detroit , Mich. | 713,777 | Detroit , Mich. | 701,475 |
19. | El Paso , Tex. | 649,121 | El Paso , Tex. | 672,538 |
20. | Memphis , Tenn. | 646,889 | Memphis , Tenn. | 655,155 |
1. Populations for 1900–1980, 2010 are Census figures. 2005 figures are population estimates.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. For 2000 Census figures, see Top 50 Cities in the U.S. by Population and Rank.
U.S. Cities |