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
| State | Population (Cities over 500,000) | Mean Population | Median Population | Number of Large Urban Areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 825000 | 825000 | 825000 | 1 |
| Arizona | 5554000 | 2777000 | 2777000 | 2 |
| California | 29058000 | 4151143 | 1912000 | 7 |
| Colorado | 3458000 | 1729000 | 1729000 | 2 |
| Connecticut | 918000 | 918000 | 918000 | 1 |
| Florida | 14376000 | 2053714 | 1231000 | 7 |
| Georgia | 5361000 | 5361000 | 5361000 | 1 |
| Hawaii | 875000 | 875000 | 875000 | 1 |
| Illinois | 9014000 | 9014000 | 9014000 | 1 |
| Indiana | 1623000 | 1623000 | 1623000 | 1 |
| Iowa | 525000 | 525000 | 525000 | 1 |
| Kansas | 515000 | 515000 | 515000 | 1 |
| Kentucky | 1028000 | 1028000 | 1028000 | 1 |
| Louisiana | 1663000 | 831500 | 831500 | 2 |
| Massachusetts | 7962000 | 3981000 | 3981000 | 2 |
| Michigan | 4784000 | 2392000 | 2392000 | 2 |
| Minnesota | 2917000 | 2917000 | 2917000 | 1 |
| Missouri | 3969000 | 1984500 | 1984500 | 2 |
| Nebraska | 810000 | 810000 | 810000 | 1 |
| Nevada | 2482000 | 2482000 | 2482000 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 874000 | 874000 | 874000 | 1 |
| New York | 23150000 | 5787500 | 827500 | 4 |
| North Carolina | 3568000 | 1784000 | 1784000 | 2 |
| Ohio | 7214000 | 1442800 | 1487000 | 5 |
| Oklahoma | 1718000 | 859000 | 859000 | 2 |
| Oregon | 2091000 | 2091000 | 2091000 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 8642000 | 2160500 | 1219000 | 4 |
| South Carolina | 1345000 | 672500 | 672500 | 2 |
| Tennessee | 2930000 | 976667 | 1078000 | 3 |
| Texas | 18887000 | 3147833 | 1992000 | 6 |
| Utah | 2412000 | 2412000 | 2412000 | 1 |
| Virginia | 2562000 | 1281000 | 1281000 | 2 |
| Washington | 4017000 | 4017000 | 4017000 | 1 |
| Washington DC | 7518000 | 7518000 | 7518000 | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 1393000 | 1393000 | 1393000 | 1 |
Sources
Demographia. 2021. "Demographia World Urban Areas: 16th Annual Edition." Accessed March 9, 2021. http://demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf.