Urban areas in the United States are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as contiguous census block groups with a population density of at least 1,000 per square mile (about 400 per square km). Urban areas are delineated without regard to political boundaries. Urban areas with a population of at least 50,000 serve as the core of a metropolitan statistical area.
The following is a list of urbanized areas in the United States with at least 100,000 in population.
Rank | Area | Type (UA/UC) |
Population (2000 census) |
Land Area (km²) |
Density (inh./sq mi) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT | UA | 17,799,861 | 8683.2 | 5309.3 |
2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA | UA | 11,789,487 | 4319.9 | 7068.3 |
3 | Chicago, IL-IN | UA | 8,307,904 | 5498.1 | 3913.6 |
4 | Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD | UA | 5,149,079 | 4660.7 | 2861.4 |
5 | Miami, FL | UA | 4,919,036 | 2890.7 | 4407.4 |
6 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | UA | 4,145,659 | 3644.2 | 2946.4 |
7 | Boston, MA-NH-RI | UA | 4,032,484 | 4496.7 | 2322.6 |
8 | Washington, DC-VA-MD | UA | 3,933,920 | 2996 | 3400.8 |
9 | Detroit, MI | UA | 3,903,377 | 3267.1 | 3094.4 |
10 | Houston, TX | UA | 3,822,509 | 3354.7 | 2951.1 |
11 | Atlanta, GA | UA | 3,499,840 | 5083.1 | 1783.3 |
12 | San Francisco-Oakland, CA | UA | 3,228,605 | 1364 | 6130.4 |
13 | Phoenix-Mesa, AZ | UA | 2,907,049 | 2069.4 | 3638.3 |
14 | Seattle, WA | UA | 2,712,205 | 2469.9 | 2844.1 |
15 | San Diego, CA | UA | 2,674,436 | 2026.1 | 3418.7 |
16 | Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN | UA | 2,388,593 | 2316 | 2671.2 |
17 | Saint Louis, MO-IL | UA | 2,077,662 | 2147 | 2506.4 |
18 | Baltimore, MD | UA | 2,076,354 | 1768.3 | 3041.3 |
19 | Tampa-Saint Petersburg, FL | UA | 2,062,339 | 2077.9 | 2570.6 |
20 | Denver-Aurora, CO | UA | 1,984,889 | 1292 | 3979.1 |
21 | Cleveland, OH | UA | 1,786,647 | 1675.7 | 2761.4 |
22 | Pittsburgh, PA | UA | 1,753,136 | 2207.7 | 2056.7 |
23 | Portland, OR-WA | UA | 1,583,138 | 1227.5 | 3340.3 |
24 | San Jose, CA | UA | 1,538,312 | 673.7 | 5914.1 |
25 | Riverside-San Bernardino, CA | UA | 1,506,816 | 1136.4 | 3434.1 |
26 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | UA | 1,503,262 | 1739.9 | 2237.8 |
27 | Virginia Beach, VA | UA | 1,394,439 | 1364.4 | 2647 |
28 | Sacramento, CA | UA | 1,393,498 | 955.8 | 3776.1 |
29 | Kansas City, MO-KS | UA | 1,361,744 | 1513.6 | 2330.1 |
30 | San Antonio, TX | UA | 1,327,554 | 1055.6 | 3257.3 |
31 | Las Vegas, NV | UA | 1,314,357 | 740.5 | 4597.1 |
32 | Milwaukee, WI | UA | 1,308,913 | 1261.4 | 2687.5 |
33 | Indianapolis, IN | UA | 1,218,919 | 1432.1 | 2204.5 |
34 | Providence, RI-MA | UA | 1,174,548 | 1304.4 | 2332.2 |
35 | Orlando, FL | UA | 1,157,431 | 1173.8 | 2554 |
36 | Columbus, OH | UA | 1,133,193 | 1030.1 | 2849.3 |
37 | New Orleans, LA | UA | 1,009,283 | 512.4 | 5101.6 |
38 | Buffalo, NY | UA | 976,703 | 949.7 | 2663.5 |
39 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | UA | 972,091 | 1035.5 | 2431.3 |
40 | Austin, TX | UA | 901,920 | 823.9 | 2835.1 |
41 | Bridgeport-Stamford, CT-NY | UA | 888,890 | 1205.1 | 1910.3 |
42 | Salt Lake City, UT | UA | 887,650 | 597.6 | 3847.3 |
43 | Jacksonville, FL | UA | 882,295 | 1063.2 | 2149.2 |
44 | Louisville, KY-IN | UA | 863,582 | 1013.5 | 2207 |
45 | Hartford, CT | UA | 851,535 | 1215.6 | 1814.3 |
46 | Richmond, VA | UA | 818,836 | 1131.2 | 1874.8 |
47 | Charlotte, NC-SC | UA | 758,927 | 1126.4 | 1745 |
48 | Nashville-Davidson County, TN | UA | 749,935 | 1115.7 | 1740.9 |
49 | Oklahoma City, OK | UA | 747,003 | 834.9 | 2317.4 |
50 | Tucson, AZ | UA | 720,425 | 754.6 | 2472.7 |