The 100 Biggest Cities Have 65 Million People, and Rural America Has 66 Million

Many people think that the big cities of the United States are bigger than they are, or that the rural areas of the country are smaller than they are.

The 100 biggest cities have 64,983,448 people (19.6% of the U.S. population of 331,449,281), according to the 2020 census.[1] The 100^th biggest is Baton Rouge, Louisiana (with 225,128 people).

The population of rural America is 66,300,254 people (20.0% of the U.S. population).[2]

Rural America and the 100 biggest cities together constitute about two-fifths (39.6%) of the U.S. population.

Three-fifths (60.4%) of the U.S. population lives in suburbs or cities smaller than 225,000.

Rank	City	Population
1	New York, New York	8,804,190	Biggest (NYC) is 2.7% of U.S. population
2	Los Angeles, California	3,893,986	Top 2 cities are 3.8% of U.S. population
3	Chicago, Illinois	2,747,231	Top 3 cities are 4.7% of U.S. population
4	Houston, Texas	2,302,792	Top 4 cities are 5.4% of U.S. population
5	Phoenix, Arizona	1,607,739	Top 5 cities are 5.8% of U.S. population
6	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	1,603,797	Top 6 cities are 6.3% of U.S. population
7	San Antonio, Texas	1,434,270	Top 7 cities are 6.8% of U.S. population
8	San Diego, California	1,385,922	Top 8 cities are 7.2% of U.S. population
9	Dallas, Texas	1,304,442	Top 9 cities are 7.6% of U.S. population
10	San Jose, California	1,014,545	Top 10 cities are 7.9% of U.S. population
11	Austin, Texas	959,549
12	Jacksonville, Florida	949,577
13	Fort Worth, Texas	918,377
14	Columbus, Ohio	905,672
15	Indianapolis (balance), Indiana	887,752
16	Charlotte, North Carolina	874,541
17	San Francisco, California	873,965
18	Seattle, Washington	735,157
19	Denver, Colorado	715,522
20	Washington, District of Columbia	689,545
21	Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee	689,504
22	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	681,387
23	El Paso, Texas	678,587
24	Boston, Massachusetts	676,216
25	Portland, Oregon	652,089	Top 25 cities are 11.5% of U.S. population
26	Las Vegas, Nevada	641,825
27	Detroit, Michigan	639,614
28	Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky	632,689
29	Memphis, Tennessee	632,207
30	Baltimore, Maryland	585,708
31	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	577,235
32	Albuquerque, New Mexico	564,563
33	Fresno, California	542,161
34	Tucson, Arizona	541,349
35	Sacramento, California	522,754
36	Kansas City, Missouri	507,969
37	Mesa, Arizona	504,500
38	Atlanta, Georgia	498,602
39	Omaha, Nebraska	490,627
40	Colorado Springs, Colorado	479,260
41	Raleigh, North Carolina	467,592
42	Long Beach, California	466,302
43	Virginia Beach, Virginia	459,470
44	Miami, Florida	442,265
45	Oakland, California	439,349
46	Minneapolis, Minnesota	428,403
47	Tulsa, Oklahoma	412,458
48	Bakersfield, California	402,907
49	Wichita, Kansas	397,070
50	Arlington, Texas	394,218	Top 50 cities are 15.3% of U.S. population
51	Aurora, Colorado	386,241
52	New Orleans, Louisiana	383,997
53	Tampa, Florida	382,769
54	Cleveland, Ohio	373,091
55	Urban Honolulu CDP, Hawaii	350,943
56	Anaheim, California	347,015
57	Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky	322,570
58	Stockton, California	320,759
59	Corpus Christi, Texas	317,929
60	Henderson, Nevada	317,521
61	Riverside, California	314,347
62	St. Paul, Minnesota	311,448
63	Newark, New Jersey	310,876
64	Santa Ana, California	310,538
65	Cincinnati, Ohio	310,242
66	Orlando, Florida	307,674
67	Irvine, California	305,313
68	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	303,160
69	St. Louis, Missouri	301,578
70	Greensboro, North Carolina	297,899
71	Jersey City, New Jersey	292,412
72	Anchorage, Alaska	291,247
73	Lincoln, Nebraska	291,114
74	Plano, Texas	285,900
75	Durham, North Carolina	283,547
76	Buffalo, New York	278,302
77	Chandler, Arizona	276,330
78	Chula Vista, California	276,025
79	Toledo, Ohio	270,726
80	Madison, Wisconsin	268,414
81	Gilbert town, Arizona	268,302
82	Fort Wayne, Indiana	263,852
83	Reno, Nevada	263,436
84	North Las Vegas, Nevada	262,678
85	St. Petersburg, Florida	258,277
86	Lubbock, Texas	257,180
87	Irving, Texas	256,793
88	Laredo, Texas	255,181
89	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	249,443
90	Chesapeake, Virginia	249,422
91	Glendale, Arizona	248,345
92	Garland, Texas	246,132
93	Scottsdale, Arizona	241,488
94	Norfolk, Virginia	238,005
95	Boise City, Idaho	235,670
96	Fremont, California	232,084
97	Santa Clarita, California	229,213
98	Spokane, Washington	228,831
99	Richmond, Virginia	226,610
100	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	225,128	Top 100 cities are 19.6% of U.S. population
	Total for 100 biggest cities	64,983,448

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[1] U.S. Census Bureau. 2021. City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2021. SUB-IP-EST2021-POP. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html#tables

[2] U.S. Census Bureau. 2023. 2020 Census Urban Areas Facts. February 9, 2023. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/urban-rural/2020-ua-facts.html