US Cities by Population of Urban Area

Oct 1, 2021
Population of Urban Areas

The chart above shows the population of each urban area with a population over 500,000.  The urban areas have been normalized so as to avoid any inconsistencies with how cities and their metropolitan areas are defined by their governments.  Each urban area has similar characteristics making this the definitive method with which to compare cities across various countries.  New York has the largest population in the US.

Findings

  • The difference between the urban area with the greatest population, New York, and the urban area with the least, Palm Bay, is 20,365,000 people.
  • New York has 41.33 times the population that Palm Bay does.
  • The median population of urban areas with a minimum population of 500,000 in the 50 US states is 1,194,000 people and the mean 2,514,027.03 people.

Caveats

  • Data is from 2020.
  • The methodology for how these urban areas have been defined can be found in the source link below.  As of this writing this is the most reliable way to compare urban areas throughout the world.
  • Some of these urban areas span several states, and the state that is being used here is the one where the core of the urban area is located.  For instance, New Jersey has parts of the New York City and Philadelphia urban area within it but both of those cores are located in the states of New York and Pennsylvania and are thus included in those states and not New Jersey.
  • All figures are rounded to the nearest whole.

Details

Only 34 of the 50 US states and Washington DC have urban areas with at least 500,000 people.  Of these, Florida and California have seven; Texas has six; Ohio has five; New York and Pennsylvania each have four; Tennessee has three; Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Virginia each have two; and Alabama, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin each have one.

New York makes up one-tenth of the total population of US urban areas with over 500,000 inhabitants at 11.22%.  It, along with Los Angeles make up just under one-fifth of the total population of US urban areas with over 500,000 inhabitants at 19.50%.  Adding in Chicago brings it up to under one-quarter at 24.34%.

Of the 74 urban areas with a population over 500,000, 41 have a population of over 1 million.  Eleven have a population of more than 5 million, and two have a population of more than 10 million.

Illinois has the largest mean population in its urban areas over 500,000 people with a mean of 9,014,000 people distributed among its one urban area.  Washington DC follows with 7,518,000 people among its one urban area.  They are followed by New York (5,787,500), Georgia (5,361,000), California (4,151,143), Washington (4,017,000), Massachusetts (3,981,000), Texas (3,147,833), Minnesota (2,917,000), Arizona (2,777,000), Nevada (2,482,000), Utah (2,412,000), Michigan (2,392,000), Pennsylvania (2,160,500), Oregon (2,091,000), Florida (2,053,714), Missouri (1,984,500), North Carolina (1,784,000), Colorado (1,729,000), Indiana (1,623,000), Ohio (1,442,800), Wisconsin (1,393,000), Virginia (1,281,000), Kentucky (1,028,000), Tennessee (976,667), Connecticut (918,000), Hawaii (875,000), New Mexico (874,000), Oklahoma (859,000), Louisiana (831,500), Alabama (825,000), Nebraska (810,000), South Carolina (672,500), Iowa (525,000), and Kansas (515,000).

Illinois has the largest median population in its urban areas over 500,000 people with a median of 9,014,000 people distributed among its one urban area.  Washington DC follows with 7,518,000 people among its one urban area.  They are followed by Georgia (5,361,000), Washington (4,017,000), Massachusetts (3,981,000), Minnesota (2,917,000), Arizona (2,777,000), Nevada (2,482,000), Utah (2,412,000), Michigan (2,392,000), Oregon (2,091,000), Texas (1,992,000), Missouri (1,984,500), California (1,912,000), North Carolina (1,784,000), Colorado (1,729,000), Indiana (1,623,000), Ohio (1,487,000), Wisconsin (1,393,000), Virginia (1,281,000), Florida (1,231,000), Pennsylvania (1,219,000), Tennessee (1,078,000), Kentucky (1,028,000), Connecticut (918,000), Hawaii (875,000), New Mexico (874,000), Oklahoma (859,000), Louisiana (831,500), New York (827,500), Alabama (825,000), Nebraska (810,000), South Carolina (672,500), Iowa (525,000), and Kansas (515,000).

Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming do not have any urban areas with a population over 500,000 inhabitants.

Data

StatePopulation (Cities over 500,000)Mean PopulationMedian PopulationNumber of Large Urban Areas
Alabama8250008250008250001
Arizona5554000277700027770002
California29058000415114319120007
Colorado3458000172900017290002
Connecticut9180009180009180001
Florida14376000205371412310007
Georgia5361000536100053610001
Hawaii8750008750008750001
Illinois9014000901400090140001
Indiana1623000162300016230001
Iowa5250005250005250001
Kansas5150005150005150001
Kentucky1028000102800010280001
Louisiana16630008315008315002
Massachusetts7962000398100039810002
Michigan4784000239200023920002
Minnesota2917000291700029170001
Missouri3969000198450019845002
Nebraska8100008100008100001
Nevada2482000248200024820001
New Mexico8740008740008740001
New York2315000057875008275004
North Carolina3568000178400017840002
Ohio7214000144280014870005
Oklahoma17180008590008590002
Oregon2091000209100020910001
Pennsylvania8642000216050012190004
South Carolina13450006725006725002
Tennessee293000097666710780003
Texas18887000314783319920006
Utah2412000241200024120001
Virginia2562000128100012810002
Washington4017000401700040170001
Washington DC7518000751800075180001
Wisconsin1393000139300013930001

Sources

Demographia.  2021.  "Demographia World Urban Areas: 16th Annual Edition."  Accessed March 9, 2021.  http://demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf.

Filed under: Charts and Graphs