United States Cities by Population 2026

United States Overview

The largest city in United States is New York , with a population of 8,546,038 people.

United States is the third-most populous country in the world, behind only India and China, with over 332 million people. The United States has ten cities with over 1 million people and an additional 27 with over 500,000 people. There are 317 U.S. cities with populations over 100,000.

The most populous U.S. city is New York, which has over 8.3 million people. New York City has one of the highest population densities of 28,317 persons per square mile. New York is considered one of the world’s financial, cultural, and media capitals with significant influence on business, fashion, entertainment, education, art, tourism, and more. Los Angeles is the second-most populous city in the U.S., with over 3.9 million people, followed by Chicago with 2.7 million and Houston with 2.3 million. The other cities with populations of over 1 million are Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, and San Jose.

An estimated 83% of the United States population lives in urban areas. In 1950, this number was 64%, and by 2050, it is expected to rise to 89%.