Metropolitan USA: Evidence from the 2010 Census

Table 3

Twenty largest metropolitan cities in the US by population, 1950–2010.

Rank	1950	1970	1990	2000	2010
	City name	City name	City name	City name	City name
1	New York, NY	New York, NY	New York, NY	New York, NY	New York, NY
2	Chicago, IL	Chicago, IL	Los Angeles, CA	Los Angeles, CA	Los Angeles, CA
3	Philadelphia, PA	Los Angeles, CA	Chicago, IL	Chicago, IL	Chicago, IL
4	Los Angeles, CA	Philadelphia, PA	Houston, TX	Houston, TX	Houston, TX
5	Detroit, MI	Detroit, MI	Philadelphia, PA	Philadelphia, PA	Philadelphia, PA
6	Baltimore, MD	Houston, TX	San Diego, CA	Phoenix, AZ	Phoenix, AZ
7	Cleveland, OH	Baltimore, MD	Detroit, MI	San Diego, CA	San Antonio, TX
8	St. Louis, MO	Dallas, TX	Dallas, TX	Dallas, TX	San Diego, CA
9	Washington, DC	Washington, DC	San Antonio, TX	Louisville-Jefferson Co, KY	Dallas, TX
10	Boston, MA	Cleveland, OH	Phoenix, AZ	San Antonio, TX	San Jose, CA
11	San Francisco, CA	Indianapolis, IN	San Jose, CA	Detroit, MI	Jacksonville, FL
12	Pittsburgh, PA	Milwaukee, WI	Baltimore, MD	San Jose, CA	Indianapolis, IN
13	Milwaukee, WI	San Francisco, CA	Indianapolis, IN	Indianapolis, IN	San Francisco, CA
14	Houston, TX	San Diego, CA	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA	Austin, TX
15	Buffalo, NY	San Antonio, TX	Columbus, OH	Jacksonville, FL	Columbus, OH
16	New Orleans, LA	Boston, MA	Jacksonville, FL	Columbus, OH	Fort Worth, TX
17	Minneapolis, MN	Memphis, TN	Milwaukee, WI	Austin, TX	Charlotte, NC
18	Cincinnati, OH	St. Louis, MO	Memphis, TN	Baltimore, MD	Detroit, MI
19	Seattle, WA	New Orleans, LA	Washington, DC	Memphis, TN	El Paso, TX
20	Kansas City, MO	Phoenix, AZ	Boston, MA	Milwaukee, WI	Memphis, TN

Bold denotes new to the top twenty.