The chart above shows the urban area of each city with a population of over one million. The urban area has 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 City is the largest urban area in the US followed by Boston.
Findings
- The difference between the urban area with the greatest size, New York City, and the urban area with the least, Bakersfield, is 4,531 square miles.
- New York City has 33.83 times the urban area that Bakersfield does.
- The median size of urban area with a minimum population of one million in the 50 US states is 521.50 square miles and the mean 816.39 square miles.
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. This is how Washington DC's urban area size is larger than Washington DC itself.
- 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 one million 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 City makes up over one-twentieth of the total area of US urban areas with over one million inhabitants at 7.73%. It, along with Boston, Atlanta, and Chicago make up one-fifth of the total area of US urban areas with over one million inhabitants at 23.03%. Adding in Los Angeles brings it up to over one-quarter at 27.09%.
Eight urban areas with a population of over one million people have an urban area of over 2,000 square miles. Five have an urban area of less than 200 square miles.
Texas has the largest area covered by its urban areas of over one million people with a total of 5,682 square miles distributed among its six urban areas. New York follows with 5,669 square miles among its four urban areas. They are followed by California (5,249 square miles), Florida (4,628 square miles), Massachusetts (4,032 square miles), Pennsylvania (3,624 square miles), Ohio (3,285 square miles), Georgia (2,857 square miles), Illinois (2,705 square miles), the District of Columbia (2,124 square miles), Michigan (1,929 square miles), North Carolina (1,899 square miles), Missouri (1,718 square miles), Arizona (1,604 square miles), Tennessee (1,518 square miles), Washington (1,260 square miles), Minnesota (1,111 square miles), Virginia (1,030 square miles), Colorado (869 square miles), Oklahoma (754 square miles), Indiana (718 square miles), South Carolina (673 square miles), Utah (665 square miles), Louisiana (635 square miles), Wisconsin (565 square miles), Oregon (538 square miles), Alabama (530 square miles), Connecticut (525 square miles), Kentucky (489 square miles), Nevada (417 square miles), Nebraska (271 square miles), New Mexico (254 square miles), Kansas (215 square miles), Iowa (201 square miles), and Hawaii (170 square miles).
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 of over one million inhabitants.
Data
| State | Total Area (in square miles) | Average Area | Median Area | Number of Large Urban Areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 530 | 530 | 530 | 1 |
| Arizona | 1604 | 802 | 802 | 2 |
| California | 5249 | 749.86 | 476 | 7 |
| Colorado | 869 | 434.5 | 434.5 | 2 |
| Connecticut | 525 | 525 | 525 | 1 |
| District of Columbia | 2124 | 2124 | 2124 | 1 |
| Florida | 4628 | 661.14 | 608 | 7 |
| Georgia | 2857 | 2857 | 2857 | 1 |
| Hawaii | 170 | 170 | 170 | 1 |
| Illinois | 2705 | 2705 | 2705 | 1 |
| Indiana | 718 | 718 | 718 | 1 |
| Iowa | 201 | 201 | 201 | 1 |
| Kansas | 215 | 215 | 215 | 1 |
| Kentucky | 489 | 489 | 489 | 1 |
| Louisiana | 635 | 317.5 | 317.5 | 2 |
| Massachusetts | 4032 | 2016 | 2016 | 2 |
| Michigan | 1929 | 964.5 | 964.5 | 2 |
| Minnesota | 1111 | 1111 | 1111 | 1 |
| Missouri | 1718 | 859 | 859 | 2 |
| Nebraska | 271 | 271 | 271 | 1 |
| Nevada | 417 | 417 | 417 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 254 | 254 | 254 | 1 |
| New York | 5669 | 1417.25 | 352 | 4 |
| North Carolina | 1899 | 949.5 | 949.5 | 2 |
| Ohio | 3285 | 657 | 518 | 5 |
| Oklahoma | 754 | 377 | 377 | 2 |
| Oregon | 538 | 538 | 538 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 3624 | 906 | 634 | 4 |
| South Carolina | 673 | 336.5 | 336.5 | 2 |
| Tennessee | 1518 | 506 | 501 | 3 |
| Texas | 5682 | 947 | 564.5 | 6 |
| Utah | 665 | 665 | 665 | 1 |
| Virginia | 1030 | 515 | 515 | 2 |
| Washington | 1260 | 1260 | 1260 | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 565 | 565 | 565 | 1 |
Sources
Demographia. 2021. "Demographia World Urban Areas: 16th Annual Edition." Accessed March 9, 2021. http://demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf.