We bring to you the latest list of the top 10 largest cities in the United States by population, as of 2023.
The habitable parts of the world as a whole are geographically divided into continents, countries, and states, with cities, towns, and homes.
This division is not equal in terms of land and population size as some places are bigger than others when land area is considered, while some are more populated than others.
In this article, we will be looking at the 10 largest cities in the United States of America by population size.
The USA as a country is one of the largest countries in the world when population size is considered. Its population of about 333 million people makes it the third-largest country in the world by population size.
The country is divided into 50 states and further divided down into cities. You should check our detailed post about the list of states in alphabetical order for more details.
According to the United States act, a city is a legally defined government entity that has powers delegated by the state and county. The city has elected officials and provides local government services to its citizens.
There are about 326 cities in the United States and the United States census bureau is responsible for compiling the statistics for the population census of the country.
This list of the top 10 largest cities in the United States by population size is based on the United States population census of 2020.
You’ll find information about the leading of cities from 6 States. The state of California and Texas has the highest number of cities on this list, both states contribute three cities each to this list.
Top 10 Largest Cities In the United States By Population
The 10 largest cities in United States by population size, in descending order are:
| Rank | Largest Cities In the United States | Estimated Population |
| #10 | San Jose | 1,013,240 |
| #9 | Dallas | 1,304,379 |
| #8 | San Diego | 1,386,932 |
| #7 | San Antonio | 1,434,625 |
| #6 | Philadelphia | 1,603,797 |
| #5 | Phoenix | 1,608,139 |
| #4 | Houston | 2,304,580 |
| #3 | Chicago | 2,746,388 |
| #2 | Los Angeles | 3,898,747 |
| #1 | New York City | 8,804,190 |
1. New York City
New York City is currently the largest city in the United States of America. Interestingly, it is one of the top 10 richest states in USA. It has a population of about 8,804,190 according to the 2020 census. Interestingly
New York City is located in the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is the largest not just in the United States but also in the world.
Apart from being the most populous city in the USA, New York City is also one of the most populous megacities in the world.
New York City is made up of five boroughs namely Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island.
It is also worthy to note that the city and its entire metropolitan area constitute the main gateway for legal immigration into the United States thus making it the most linguistically and culturally diverse city in the world.
In fact, as many as 800 languages are spoken in this popular city called New York. It is also home to more than 3.2 million people born outside the USA, making it the largest foreign-based population of any city in New York City.
It is not just a city of people among the largest cities in the united states, it is also a city of billionaires; yes, New York City is home to the highest number of billionaires in the world.
Billionaires such as Ralph Lauren, Bruce Kovner, Stephen Ross, Jim Simmons, Michael Bloomberg, and media mogul Rupert Murdoch are among a plethora of authors.
No wonder life in the city can be quite expensive (a mixture of priced real estate and many billionaires) this Pierce contributes to a GDP of about 884 billion dollars which is the highest in the United States
The city which was named in honor of King James II of England also boasts of infrastructure that caters to its large population when it comes to housing, transportation, entertainment, education, and others.
The New York City subway is the largest single-operator rapid transit system worldwide with 472 railway stations. The city is also home to busy airports such as the JFK airport, Stewart airport, and the Westchester county airport.
Another area where New York City leads the way is in the education sector. One can’t complain of a lack of educational institutions in the city of New York.
It is worthy to note that the city has over 120 colleges and universities including Columbia University, Rockefeller University, amongst others.
It is also home to the City University of New York which is the largest urban public university system in the USA.
Those who call New York City the capital of the world can’t be faulted as major financial, entertainment, political, religious, and educational institutions are headquartered in the city that never sleeps.
It is home to Wall Street and the world’s two largest stock exchanges (the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ) sauce making the city the most financially powerful city in the world and the financial headquarters of the world. Simply put, New York City is a busy city and a place for business. It is a city that never sleeps.
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2. Los Angeles
Popularly called the City of Angels, this city is the second on the list of the largest cities in the United States by population size.
The United States census of 2020 states that about 3,898,747 people reside in the city of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is located in the Southern region of the state of California and it covers about 169 square miles. This city is also adjacent to the Pacific Ocean.
A Brief History of the city can be traced back to 1542 when Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo Clint was the area for Spain. The city was officially founded on September 4, 1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve.
In 1821 it became part of Mexico and then in 1848 it became part of the United States and was incorporated as a municipal on April 4, 1850, five months before California became a state
Los Angeles is well known for its diverse and robust economy. The city is a city that can pride itself on having multiple streams of income.
Apart from being an oil-rich city, Los Angeles has one of the busiest container ports in the Americas. So, why wouldn’t it be one of the largest cities in the United States?
It is also home to Hollywood – the biggest, most popular, and most lucrative film and music industry in the world.
The Los Angeles metropolitan area has a gross metropolitan product of over 1 trillion dollars.
Los Angeles City has the third-largest GDP in the world, only behind Tokyo and New York.
When it comes to destinations for tourists or even vacation spots in the United States of America, Los Angeles is always at the forefront, partly due to its Mediterranean climate.
It is worth noting that while much of the United States is freezing cold, Los Angeles always remains warm in the winter months.
Let me explain in figures; the weather rarely goes below 10 degrees Celsius during the winter and the average summer temperature is 30 degrees Celsius.
When you compare this to other places in the United States, you’d be forgiven for thinking that residents of Los Angeles have no reason to complain about the weather throughout the year.
Apart from the favorable weather, the city is also home to many beaches and exciting destination centers, the most popular of which is the Disneyland resort which is termed as the happiest place in the world.
Los Angeles is also home to the highest number of celebrities. If you want to hang out with the rich and famous, then Los Angeles is the place you have to be.
When it comes to sports, the city of Los Angeles is not lost up there. The city has hosted two Olympic tournaments (1932 and 1984), and it is also set to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The city is also home to some of the most popular sports franchises in the world which include the LA Lakers, the LA Clippers, and the Los Angeles Galaxy football team. Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world.
Los Angeles also has enough land to cater to its growing population. The city is known for ‘growing up and not just ‘growing out’.
It also pioneered the freeway, which gave people the freedom to live in one area and work in another.
So if your choice of a city is a place to live peacefully, make money, and also have fun, then the city of Los Angeles is the place for you.
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3. Chicago City
This city, popularly called the City of Wild Shoulders, is located in the state of Illinois. Its population size of 2,746,388 makes it the largest city in the midwestern United States and the fifth most populous in all of North America.
It is also the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area which has about 10 million residents, hence, being one of the largest cities in the United States.
The city of Chicago was incorporated in 1837 and sits on approximately 227.73 square miles of land.
This city, which was ranked as the most beautiful city in the world in the year 2021, is known for its ability to overcome tragedy.
A testament to this is how the city survived the great Chicago fire of 1871, a fire that left more than 100,000 people homeless. The city survived the tragedy and went on to become the fifth-largest city in the world in about 30 years.
Chicago is an international hub for finance, industry, education, commerce, and trade.
It has the largest number of federal roads, the longest continuous road, and is the railroad hub of the United States of America.
When we talk about a diverse economy, then the economy of Chicago typifies that word.
No single industry in Chicago employs more than 14% of the city’s workforce – this simply means that no single industry has a monopoly on Chicago’s economy.
Chicago is home to Fortune 500 companies such as McDonald’s, Motorola Solutions, Boeing, and Caterpillar, just to name a few.
Jami Gertz, one of the richest actors in USA is from this state.
Chicago, the third-largest city in the USA, is also popular for its display of art, monuments, statues, and innovative architecture, which is its main draw to tourists.
4. Houston
Houston is one of the largest cities in the United States and is located in the state of Texas with a population of 2,304,580.
It ranks as the fourth largest city in the United States of America by population size.
Houston is also the most populous city in the southern United States and the sixth-most populous in the whole of North America.
Geographically, the city of Houston is close to Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. One unique feature of this city is its expansive landscape.
It has a total area of 637.4 square miles which makes it the largest city in the United States by total area size.
The city is also home to the Texas Medical Center, which is the world’s largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions.
5. Phoenix
When you hear the name Phoenix, what comes to mind is that superhero with the unique ability of immortality.
Well, the movie Mulan depicts that the phoenix never dies, but rather rises from the ashes more beautiful. Well, this city is also unique in its own right.
Phoenix is one of the largest cities in the United States and is proud to be the capital and also the most populous city in the state of Arizona.
According to the United States population census of 2020, about 1,608,739 people reside in it making it the fifth-largest city in the USA by population size.
You may want to ask why Phoenix is so unique as a city. Here’s one for you to ponder: The city of Phoenix is the most populous state capital in the United States, and it is even the only state capital with more than one million residents.
Apart from being the capital of Arizona, it is also the uncle of the Phoenix metropolitan area, which is the 11th largest metropolitan area in the United States by population size.
Phoenix is also a city of the sun and it really snows in the city, which is a lure for those of us who want to experience the summer for most of the year.
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6. Philadephia
With a population of 1, 603, 797, the city of Philadelphia cannot be exempted from the list of the top 10 largest cities in the United States.
Ranked as the sixth-largest city in the USA by population size, it is located in the Commonwealth state of Pennsylvania.
This city has the same boundaries as Philadelphia County, the most populous and the main bowl of the 8th largest metropolitan area in the United States}.
Founded in 1682 and incorporated in 1701, Philadelphia prides itself on being one of the oldest cities in the United States of America.
Philadelphia used to top the list of largest cities in the United States before it was taken over by New York City in 1790.
It also served as the temporary capital of the USA while Washington DC was under construction.
The city of Philadelphia is known to have more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other city in the USA.
This city is known for its many colleges and universities and is also the home of many firsts in the USA, which include the nation’s first library, created in 1731, the nation’s first hospital, built in 1751, the first medical school built in 1765, the first capital of the United States of America in 1774, the first stock exchange, the first zoo, which was established in 1874, and the first business school, which was established in 1881.
Philadelphia was also the first city in the United States to be classified as a world heritage city. The PSFS building, constructed in 1932, was the first modern international-style skyscraper in the United States of America.
7. San Antonio
Founded in 1731, this city is the oldest city in the state of Texas and has a population of 1,434,625. It ranks seventh, on the list of the ten largest cities in the United States by population size.
San Antonio is also the most populous city in the state of Texas only behind the city of Houston. It is the center of the San Antonio New Raunfels metropolitan area, which is the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the USA, and the third-largest metropolitan area in the state of Texas.
The city has strong ties to Spain, Mexico, and Portugal. In fact, the city was founded as a Spanish mission and the name of the city is connected to a Portuguese priest, Saint Anthony of Pardua.
San Antonio was also ranked as the fastest-growing city in the United States between years 2000 and 2010 and it attracts about 82 million tourists every year.
Major attractions in San Antonio include the Marriage Islands, the Alamo Bowl, the Riverwalk, and the Tower of America, amongst others.
For lovers of basketball, this city that confidently occupies the 7th position on the list of the 10 largest cities in the United States is also home to five-time NBA champions, the San Antonio Spurs.
In terms of race, San Antonio has the highest number of Hispanics in the USA, about 64% of its entire population is Hispanic.
8. San Diego
The city of San Diego is part of the state of California. It is situated on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and is directly adjacent to the Mexican border.
It is the 8th largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest in the state of California by population size.
The city of San Diego is the county seat of San Diego County, which is the fifth most populous county in the United States.
San Diego is a city with a mild year-round climate, and this is due to its natural deep-water harbor, extensive beaches, and natural parks.
San Diego has lots of natural bodies of water, and its abundance of deep natural water above also makes it a suitable home for the United States Navy.
Dominant economic activities in the city are military and defense-related. Its extensive beaches, natural parks, and favorable weather also boost tourism in the city.
San Ysidro, the port of entry in the city is the fourth busiest international land border crossing in the world and the San Diego International Airport is the busiest single-runway airport in the world.
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9. Dallas
The state of Texas has produced its third entry into this list of the 10 largest cities in the United States of America by population size.
Dallas is the third most populous city in the state of Texas. The United States population census of 2020 shows that about 1,304,379 people reside in the city of Dallas and this figure places it as the 9th largest city in the USA by population size.
The metropolitan area is also the largest in the USA that has no link to the sea. The city is a major hub for transportation.
It has four major interstate highways inside the city itself and a fifth one locked around the City. The balance fortworth airport is one of the largest and busiest in the world.
The metropolitan area of the city is also home to about 41 colleges and universities, and it ranks as the third most popular destination for business travel in the United States.
Major attractions to the city of Dallas include the African American museum, AT&T Performing Arts Center, the Dallas Hilton which is the world’s first modern Hilton, the Dallas World Aquarium, and George. W. Bush presidential center.
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10. San Jose
The last city on my list of the top 10 largest cities in the United States of America by population size is the city of San Jose.
San Jose is a city in the state of California, and with a population size of 1,013,240, it ranks as the third largest city in the USA by population size.
San Jose is also the third most populous city in the state of California. This city is also the most populated and largest city in Northern California. It is located right in the center of the Santa Clara Valley and covers an area of 179.97 square miles.
San Jose is located in one of the most affluent counties in the USA, and the city is notorious for its high cost of living. If you don’t have the dollars in abundance, you simply can’t survive in this city.
San Jose has the third highest GDP per capita in the world. It has the most expensive housing market in the United States, and the fifth most expensive in the world. Simply put, San Jose is a city for the wealthy.
Apart from its affluence, San Jose can be considered the tech headquarters of the United States of America. It is home to Silicon Valley and popular tech companies such as eBay, PayPal, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Samsung, and Acer, amongst others.
FAQs About The Largest Cities In The USA
What is the biggest city in the USA?
New York is the biggest city in the USA in 2023.
Is Chicago bigger than Philadelphia?
Chicago is bigger than Philadephia with a city and land area of 607.43 kilometers square and 589.82 kilometers square respectively.
Is New York bigger than Houston?
No, New York is not bigger than Houston. It has a land area of 778.19 km2 and 1, 223.59 km2, which is less when compared to Houston.
Largest Cities In the United States (Summary)
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