Largest US Cities Table
| City | 2025 estimate | 2020 census | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York city, New York | 8,584,629 | 8,751,188 | -1.9% |
| Los Angeles city, California | 3,869,089 | 3,896,473 | -0.7% |
| Chicago city, Illinois | 2,731,585 | 2,741,640 | -0.4% |
| Houston city, Texas | 2,397,315 | 2,298,295 | +4.3% |
| Phoenix city, Arizona | 1,665,481 | 1,612,458 | +3.3% |
| Philadelphia city, Pennsylvania | 1,574,281 | 1,600,737 | -1.7% |
| San Antonio city, Texas | 1,548,422 | 1,438,310 | +7.7% |
| San Diego city, California | 1,406,106 | 1,382,566 | +1.7% |
| Dallas city, Texas | 1,329,491 | 1,303,503 | +2.0% |
| Fort Worth city, Texas | 1,028,117 | 923,653 | +11.3% |
| Jacksonville city, Florida | 1,017,689 | 951,880 | +6.9% |
| Austin city, Texas | 1,002,632 | 962,163 | +4.2% |
| San Jose city, California | 989,814 | 1,009,573 | -2.0% |
| Charlotte city, North Carolina | 964,784 | 874,907 | +10.3% |
| Columbus city, Ohio | 938,396 | 906,675 | +3.5% |
| Indianapolis city (balance), Indiana | 901,116 | 887,223 | +1.6% |
| San Francisco city, California | 826,079 | 875,139 | -5.6% |
| Seattle city, Washington | 784,777 | 740,675 | +6.0% |
| Denver city, Colorado | 740,613 | 717,680 | +3.2% |
| Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), Tennessee | 721,074 | 689,780 | +4.5% |
| Oklahoma City city, Oklahoma | 719,849 | 682,938 | +5.4% |
| Washington city, District of Columbia | 693,645 | 670,958 | +3.4% |
| El Paso city, Texas | 683,012 | 679,296 | +0.5% |
| Las Vegas city, Nevada | 679,817 | 647,676 | +5.0% |
| Boston city, Massachusetts | 672,973 | 669,665 | +0.5% |
| Detroit city, Michigan | 649,095 | 638,419 | +1.7% |
| Louisville/Jefferson County metro government (balance), Kentucky | 641,962 | 631,872 | +1.6% |
| Portland city, Oregon | 635,109 | 653,049 | -2.7% |
| Memphis city, Tennessee | 609,647 | 628,282 | -3.0% |
| Baltimore city, Maryland | 569,997 | 583,295 | -2.3% |
| Milwaukee city, Wisconsin | 562,407 | 577,151 | -2.6% |
| Albuquerque city, New Mexico | 556,588 | 564,752 | -1.4% |
| Fresno city, California | 555,549 | 542,675 | +2.4% |
| Tucson city, Arizona | 548,371 | 542,621 | +1.1% |
| Sacramento city, California | 536,449 | 525,615 | +2.1% |
| Atlanta city, Georgia | 529,110 | 500,086 | +5.8% |
| Kansas City city, Missouri | 521,220 | 508,128 | +2.6% |
| Mesa city, Arizona | 513,656 | 505,990 | +1.5% |
| Raleigh city, North Carolina | 506,306 | 466,310 | +8.6% |
| Colorado Springs city, Colorado | 494,743 | 481,230 | +2.8% |
| Miami city, Florida | 489,812 | 442,895 | +10.6% |
| Omaha city, Nebraska | 488,797 | 492,766 | -0.8% |
| Virginia Beach city, Virginia | 453,737 | 459,626 | -1.3% |
| Long Beach city, California | 450,469 | 465,566 | -3.2% |
| Oakland city, California | 440,838 | 441,157 | -0.1% |
| Minneapolis city, Minnesota | 430,324 | 430,772 | -0.1% |
| Bakersfield city, California | 422,165 | 405,185 | +4.2% |
| Tulsa city, Oklahoma | 416,209 | 413,617 | +0.6% |
| Tampa city, Florida | 413,554 | 388,655 | +6.4% |
| Aurora city, Colorado | 410,053 | 386,688 | +6.0% |
The 50 biggest American cities hold about 10% of the country, and their 2025 estimate tells a decade-scale story in one column: the coastal giants are shrinking - New York down 1.9% since the 2020 census to 8,584,629, Los Angeles down 0.7% - while Texas places four cities in the top 10 and Fort Worth posts the fastest growth of the entire list at +11.3%. San Antonio gained more people than Chicago lost, and Houston passed the 2.4 million mark.
Every figure below is the Census Bureau's own Vintage 2025 sub-county estimate for incorporated places - not metro areas, not urbanized-area guesses - with the 2020 census count beside it and the percent change doing the talking. Type any top-50 city into the finder to pull its rank and trend.
How to use
- Type a city name (Houston, Phoenix, Fort Worth) to see its rank, 2025 estimate, and change since the 2020 census.
- Read the Change column for direction: negative percentages concentrate in the biggest legacy cities, positives in the Texas-Arizona-Florida belt.
- Compare against the population-by-state table when a city's rank surprises you - city limits are legal boundaries, not the whole urban area.
Frequently asked questions
Are these figures the 2020 census or an estimate?
They are the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 population estimates for incorporated places - the annual update between the 2020 census and the 2030 census - published as the SUB-EST2025 dataset. The 2020 column shows the actual census count for reference, and the Change column is the arithmetic between them. Estimates carry the Bureau's methodology for births, deaths, and migration; the next full recount is 2030.
Why do some city names say 'balance'?
That is Census verbatim wording for a consolidated city-county government: Indianapolis city (balance) means the parts of Marion County inside the consolidated city-county, excluding separately incorporated towns. Nashville-Davidson and a few others work the same way. The name is awkward; the population is the official count of the governed entity, which is why the table keeps Census naming untouched.
Is New York City really shrinking?
By city-limit estimate, modestly: 8,584,629 in 2025 against 8,751,188 at the 2020 census, a 1.9% decline - and Los Angeles and Chicago show smaller declines of the same family. Two cautions apply: estimates lag reality and get revised with immigration data, and city limits are not the metro area, where the population story is closer to flat. The trend line matters more than any single year.
Which big city is growing fastest?
Fort Worth, at +11.3% since 2020 (923,653 to over a million) - the fastest growth rate in the entire top 50, ahead of San Antonio's +7.7% and Tampa's +6.4%. The Texas trio of Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth all gained while adding the state's characteristically annexation-friendly boundaries, which is a reminder that city-limit comparisons always mix migration with municipal strategy.