Largest U.S. Cities by Population
Rank U.S. cities and towns by July 2025 Census population. Explore the top 100, compare growth, filter all 19,483 places and download the results.
New York is the largest place in this national directory. The ranking measures residents inside Census place boundaries, with city, town and village records kept separate from counties and metropolitan areas. Population answers how large a municipality is; it does not establish how far its urban development extends or how many jobs its surrounding region offers.
What the data show
New York city, New York leads the eligible table at 8,584,629 . The ranking contains 19,483 places. Among the first 100 rows, California has 15; Texas has 15; Arizona has 7. These counts describe ranked places, not the share of all residents living in those states.
The first 10 places together contain 26,134,516 residents. Their combined total describes those administrative places only. It excludes the rest of their surrounding metropolitan regions.
Population ranking and city comparison table
Filter the complete eligible set by name, state or a higher population threshold. The rank column keeps each place’s position in the original national eligible universe. Downloads contain all matching rows, including rows on later table pages.
Top 100 of 19,483 eligible places. National ranks use unrounded values.
| National rank | Place | Population · July 2025 | Population | 2024–2025 growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York city, NY | 8,584,629 | 8,584,629 | -0.1% |
| 2 | Los Angeles city, CA | 3,869,089 | 3,869,089 | -0.1% |
| 3 | Chicago city, IL | 2,731,585 | 2,731,585 | 0.2% |
| 4 | Houston city, TX | 2,397,315 | 2,397,315 | 0.5% |
| 5 | Phoenix city, AZ | 1,665,481 | 1,665,481 | 0.2% |
| 6 | Philadelphia city, PA | 1,574,281 | 1,574,281 | 0.1% |
| 7 | San Antonio city, TX | 1,548,422 | 1,548,422 | 0.9% |
| 8 | San Diego city, CA | 1,406,106 | 1,406,106 | 0.4% |
| 9 | Dallas city, TX | 1,329,491 | 1,329,491 | -0.1% |
| 10 | Fort Worth city, TX | 1,028,117 | 1,028,117 | 1.9% |
| 11 | Jacksonville city, FL | 1,017,689 | 1,017,689 | 0.8% |
| 12 | Austin city, TX | 1,002,632 | 1,002,632 | 0.4% |
| 13 | San Jose city, CA | 989,814 | 989,814 | 0.2% |
| 14 | Charlotte city, NC | 964,784 | 964,784 | 2.2% |
| 15 | Columbus city, OH | 938,396 | 938,396 | 0.8% |
| 16 | Indianapolis city (balance), IN | 901,116 | 901,116 | 0.2% |
| 17 | San Francisco city, CA | 826,079 | 826,079 | 0.6% |
| 18 | Seattle city, WA | 784,777 | 784,777 | 1.5% |
| 19 | Denver city, CO | 740,613 | 740,613 | -0.1% |
| 20 | Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), TN | 721,074 | 721,074 | 1.3% |
| 21 | Oklahoma City city, OK | 719,849 | 719,849 | 0.9% |
| 22 | Washington city, DC | 693,645 | 693,645 | 0.3% |
| 23 | El Paso city, TX | 683,012 | 683,012 | -0.3% |
| 24 | Las Vegas city, NV | 679,817 | 679,817 | 0.7% |
| 25 | Boston city, MA | 672,973 | 672,973 | -0.2% |
| 26 | Detroit city, MI | 649,095 | 649,095 | 0.8% |
| 27 | Louisville/Jefferson County metro government (balance), KY | 641,962 | 641,962 | 0.1% |
| 28 | Portland city, OR | 635,109 | 635,109 | 0.1% |
| 29 | Memphis city, TN | 609,647 | 609,647 | -0.7% |
| 30 | Baltimore city, MD | 569,997 | 569,997 | -0.0% |
| 31 | Milwaukee city, WI | 562,407 | 562,407 | -0.2% |
| 32 | Albuquerque city, NM | 556,588 | 556,588 | -0.4% |
| 33 | Fresno city, CA | 555,549 | 555,549 | 0.1% |
| 34 | Tucson city, AZ | 548,371 | 548,371 | -0.4% |
| 35 | Sacramento city, CA | 536,449 | 536,449 | 0.3% |
| 36 | Atlanta city, GA | 529,110 | 529,110 | 1.6% |
| 37 | Kansas City city, MO | 521,220 | 521,220 | 0.9% |
| 38 | Mesa city, AZ | 513,656 | 513,656 | -0.2% |
| 39 | Raleigh city, NC | 506,306 | 506,306 | 1.5% |
| 40 | Colorado Springs city, CO | 494,743 | 494,743 | 0.5% |
| 41 | Miami city, FL | 489,812 | 489,812 | 1.3% |
| 42 | Omaha city, NE | 488,797 | 488,797 | -0.1% |
| 43 | Virginia Beach city, VA | 453,737 | 453,737 | -0.0% |
| 44 | Long Beach city, CA | 450,469 | 450,469 | -0.2% |
| 45 | Oakland city, CA | 440,838 | 440,838 | 0.2% |
| 46 | Minneapolis city, MN | 430,324 | 430,324 | 0.0% |
| 47 | Bakersfield city, CA | 422,165 | 422,165 | 0.7% |
| 48 | Tulsa city, OK | 416,209 | 416,209 | 0.0% |
| 49 | Tampa city, FL | 413,554 | 413,554 | 0.1% |
| 50 | Aurora city, CO | 410,053 | 410,053 | 0.4% |
| 51 | Arlington city, TX | 402,134 | 402,134 | -0.3% |
| 52 | Wichita city, KS | 400,987 | 400,987 | 0.3% |
| 53 | Cleveland city, OH | 363,608 | 363,608 | 0.1% |
| 54 | New Orleans city, LA | 362,154 | 362,154 | -0.4% |
| 55 | Henderson city, NV | 353,289 | 353,289 | 1.5% |
| 56 | Urban Honolulu CDP, HI | 341,868 | 341,868 | -0.2% |
| 57 | Anaheim city, CA | 341,008 | 341,008 | -0.5% |
| 58 | Orlando city, FL | 333,888 | 333,888 | 0.4% |
| 59 | Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY | 329,751 | 329,751 | 0.8% |
| 60 | Stockton city, CA | 324,597 | 324,597 | -0.0% |
| 61 | Newark city, NJ | 323,808 | 323,808 | 1.1% |
| 62 | Riverside city, CA | 323,057 | 323,057 | -0.1% |
| 63 | Irvine city, CA | 318,764 | 318,764 | 0.3% |
| 64 | Corpus Christi city, TX | 317,247 | 317,247 | 0.0% |
| 65 | Santa Ana city, CA | 315,586 | 315,586 | 0.3% |
| 66 | Cincinnati city, OH | 314,367 | 314,367 | -0.2% |
| 67 | Greensboro city, NC | 308,667 | 308,667 | 0.8% |
| 68 | Pittsburgh city, PA | 307,632 | 307,632 | 0.3% |
| 69 | St. Paul city, MN | 306,684 | 306,684 | -0.0% |
| 70 | Durham city, NC | 305,561 | 305,561 | 1.6% |
| 71 | Jersey City city, NJ | 302,013 | 302,013 | 0.4% |
| 72 | Lincoln city, NE | 301,522 | 301,522 | 0.8% |
| 73 | North Las Vegas city, NV | 296,653 | 296,653 | 1.5% |
| 74 | Plano city, TX | 293,028 | 293,028 | -0.1% |
| 75 | Gilbert town, AZ | 287,285 | 287,285 | 0.1% |
| 76 | Anchorage municipality, AK | 287,155 | 287,155 | -0.1% |
| 77 | Madison city, WI | 286,233 | 286,233 | 0.7% |
| 78 | Reno city, NV | 283,621 | 283,621 | 1.1% |
| 79 | Chandler city, AZ | 278,748 | 278,748 | -0.5% |
| 80 | St. Louis city, MO | 278,144 | 278,144 | -0.8% |
| 81 | Chula Vista city, CA | 275,533 | 275,533 | -0.4% |
| 82 | Fort Wayne city, IN | 275,203 | 275,203 | 0.8% |
| 83 | Buffalo city, NY | 274,613 | 274,613 | -0.3% |
| 84 | Lubbock city, TX | 273,071 | 273,071 | 1.1% |
| 85 | Laredo city, TX | 269,515 | 269,515 | 0.3% |
| 86 | Port St. Lucie city, FL | 268,062 | 268,062 | 3.5% |
| 87 | St. Petersburg city, FL | 264,033 | 264,033 | -0.7% |
| 88 | Toledo city, OH | 263,423 | 263,423 | -0.4% |
| 89 | Glendale city, AZ | 260,572 | 260,572 | 1.5% |
| 90 | Winston-Salem city, NC | 257,271 | 257,271 | 0.6% |
| 91 | Irving city, TX | 257,076 | 257,076 | -0.6% |
| 92 | Chesapeake city, VA | 255,332 | 255,332 | 0.2% |
| 93 | Garland city, TX | 249,625 | 249,625 | -0.6% |
| 94 | Scottsdale city, AZ | 243,006 | 243,006 | -0.7% |
| 95 | Boise City city, ID | 238,429 | 238,429 | 0.3% |
| 96 | Richmond city, VA | 237,257 | 237,257 | 1.0% |
| 97 | Frisco city, TX | 236,955 | 236,955 | 0.8% |
| 98 | Cape Coral city, FL | 236,264 | 236,264 | 1.4% |
| 99 | McKinney city, TX | 236,001 | 236,001 | 3.7% |
| 100 | Huntsville city, AL | 233,627 | 233,627 | 1.4% |
What the largest-city ranking measures
The table orders the Population Estimates Program’s summary-level 162 places by their July 1, 2025 resident population. It covers all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Washington, consolidated-government balance records and Urban Honolulu CDP retain their source classifications. Most other census-designated places and townships recorded as minor civil divisions are outside this defined universe.
A comparison of New York and Houston is a comparison of their published place populations. It does not compare the New York and Houston metropolitan regions. A large city can contain extensive suburban development within its administrative boundary; a smaller city can sit at the center of a much larger metropolitan region. Neither pattern makes the source population incorrect.
Population size and population growth answer different questions
The adjacent annual-growth column measures change between July 2024 and July 2025 in the same Vintage 2025 release. A city can have a very large population with little percentage growth. A much smaller place can add fewer residents and still grow faster in percentage terms. Use the separate fastest-growing-city ranking when the change itself is your research question.
For a moving shortlist, a population threshold can help distinguish a small municipality from a large urban center, but it does not measure service availability. Follow the linked profiles for household income, rent, home values and residents’ commuting patterns. Those survey measures describe a five-year period and should not be read as measurements taken on the population estimate date.
Why these figures can differ from another population list
Census releases revise earlier annual estimates. A list built from Vintage 2024 may therefore disagree with a Vintage 2025 list even when both describe July 2024. This page uses the latest completed city release in our retained snapshot, rather than a population clock or an undisclosed projection. The year in the ranking is the population reference year, not the publication year.
The PEP methodology updates geographic boundaries for each vintage. We preserve the complete revised series when calculating change. Do not subtract a population from a different vintage and describe the result as migration. Births, deaths and movement affect population, and a place total alone does not identify those components.
Ranking criteria, exclusions and sources
Starting universe: 19,483 PEP place profiles. Population cutoff: 0 residents (all covered places), applied to July 1, 2025. 19,483 places meet that cutoff; 19,483 enter the numbered ranking. 0 are excluded from numbered ranks .
Ties use competition ranking: two places tied for first share rank 1, and the next is rank 3. No sampling MOE is published with these population estimates; absence of one does not make the estimates error-free. Missing records never become zeros.
Original source: Census PEP Vintage 2025 . Census geographic guidance explains boundaries and revised vintages. Our methodology documents transformations and geographic joins. Source releases and the update log identify publication dates. Submit a correction with a source and page address.
Questions about this city ranking
What is the most populated U.S. city?
New York has the largest July 2025 place population in the covered Census PEP universe. The first table row gives the exact estimate and links to its full population history.
Does this include every named community?
It includes every PEP place in this release, not every settlement. Most unincorporated communities, separate township records and metropolitan areas require other geographic universes.