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Biggest English-Speaking Cities

What are the most populous urban areas in the world where English is the most commonly-spoken first language?
Urban-area population according to citypopulation.de, January 2026
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Last updated: March 15, 2026
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First submittedApril 4, 2011
Times taken160,216
Average score77.3%
Rating4.44
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Population
City
22.6 m
New York City
17.4 m
Los Angeles
15.4 m
London
9.80 m
Chicago
8.80 m
Washington D.C. /
Baltimore
8.30 m
Toronto
8.15 m
Singapore
8.10 m
Dallas
7.85 m
Boston
7.70 m
San Francisco /
San Jose
7.65 m
Philadelphia
7.55 m
Houston
6.70 m
Miami
6.35 m
Manchester /
Liverpool
6.25 m
Atlanta
5.85 m
Detroit
5.45 m
Melbourne
5.30 m
Sydney
5.15 m
Tampa
5.05 m
Phoenix
4.63 m
Seattle
4.10 m
Birmingham
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114 Recent Comments
ribs3147
+21
Level 16
Feb 25, 2016
The metro areas always make everything so much more confusing
Quizmaster
+31
Level ∞
Jun 12, 2016
Why? It's a much better measure of city size than city population.
Sifhraven
+3
Level 76
Jun 20, 2019
I think because in everyday life you dont really use it/think of it that way. Though for quizzes and statistics it might be more convenient.
HydratedMite
+13
Level 68
Mar 20, 2024
I live in Dallas. See? I technically don't but I say I do because nobody knows what Plano is, outside of DFW of course. See? I did it again! Because it's one metro area!
DocEckleburg
+13
Level 68
Mar 24, 2026
and no one has ever considered Manchester and Liverpool to be a single metro area
tranagceist
+1
Level 69
May 19, 2026
Indeed. I didn't guess either of them because I knew they were too small
IsleAuHaulte
+11
Level 92
Jun 26, 2019
The government defined "metropolitan" areas often contain enormous physical areas of rural land and thoroughly separate urban areas. China and the U.S. are notoriously bad for inflated population numbers in a "metro" area.

The U.S. Census does tabulate actual urbnaized areas, which often differ greatly. However, they bafflingly break down a few solidly continual urban areas such as Los Angeles and San Francisco into several urban areas, which leaves an underrepresentation of overall urban population. Go figure.

PanAmerica
+3
Level 66
Oct 14, 2024
Yes, San Francisco/Oakland and San Jose are usually counted as two separate metro areas. Same with Los Angeles/Anaheim and Riverside. But both examples are really one urban area each.
Findlay
+19
Level 80
Aug 9, 2016
Using just city population major world cities get reduced to small towns and expanses of suburban sprawl get turned into large cities. Metropolitan population much more closely reflects the real world reality than arbitrary and imaginary lines around cities. Take California - using city population San Francisco is just two Bakersfields. Go to one and then the other - that patently does not reflect the realities. In Australia the warping of reality is even plainer. What are the five largest cities in Australia? You might think Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Going by official city population it's Brisbane, Gold Coast, Moreton Bay, Canterbury, Central Coast.
Quizmaster
+13
Level ∞
Aug 10, 2016
Exactly! Not to mention the city of London with a population of 7,000 give or take.
Evenultrapawn
+4
Level 65
Aug 7, 2025
The City of London is a separate entity to Greater London, though it is enclaved inside of it. According to Wikipedia the City is 2.9 sq km and has 10,847 people, it functions completely independently of Greater London, which is what most people mean when they say London, and Greater London, which is the capital city of the UK, not the City, has a city proper area of 1572 sq km and a population of 8,855,333 people. I agree that urban area is superior, and as such will mention that London has an urban area of 1738 sq km and a metro area of 8382 sq km, and their respective populations are 9,787,428 and 15,100,000. I just want to make it clear that the two should not be confused, and the London city proper is both of them together, not just the City.
QRU
+9
Level 77
Oct 24, 2016
Well, you're confusing the City of London with London. I still believe, that city populations are the better measurements. It is easy, to take the population of nearby cities into accountance, but figuring out, where a metro area ends or beginns is far harder and often arbitrary. City population may be counterintuitiv in many instances, but it is far more precise.
IsleAuHaulte
+3
Level 92
Jun 26, 2019
Actually, you're comparing the City of London with Greater London.
PanAmerica
+1
Level 66
Oct 15, 2024
Some metro and urban areas have multiple highly populated cities, but people often only know the main core city, like Mexico City.

How many people know all the cities within all the urban or metro areas in the world?

City populations can also be misleading. Spokane city has a population of about 230,000. The urban area is about 447,000. Even the metro area is only 600,000. Salt Lake City, on the other hand, has a smaller population of 200,000. However, its urban area is about 1.2 million, and the metro area is 1.3 million, and practically speaking, the urban area could include Provo-Orem, putting the population over 2 million.

JetpunkSandwich
+1
Level 48
May 19, 2026
100%
JetpunkSandwich
+1
Level 48
Mar 13, 2026
The opposite for me.
AlfieJMD
+2
Level 38
Aug 9, 2016
The greater Manchester urban area consists of Manchester, Bolton, Sale, Rochdale, Stockport and Salford, plus lots of smaller ares that bring it up to 3 million. Manchester itself only has 514 thousand.
CripplingVelocity
+4
Level 57
Sep 9, 2016
Man, doing urban area rather than city proper really makes a difference. Miami city proper has somewhat more than 600,000. Its urban area is practically ten times that.
Eliotbliss
+4
Level 73
Feb 9, 2017
Should accept San Jose, the city itself is larger than San Francisco and is as much the central city of the Bay Area as San Francisco. Also should accept St Paul, it is comparable in size to Minneapolis and is almost always mentioned together, twin cities or Minneapolis/St Paul.
mhoegg
+1
Level 70
Feb 11, 2017
What about Glasgow in Scotland ? I think its bigger tan Durban or Tampa.
pinkysbrain
+4
Level 87
Sep 14, 2020
I don't think its English they speak in Glasgow . Only joking Scots. och aye.
Tyacke
+2
Level 59
Aug 26, 2021
There are posh parts of Glasgow where English is spoken with greater clarity than many living in Manchester, Liverpool or Newcastle.
Evenultrapawn
+2
Level 65
Aug 7, 2025
I really don't think Liverpool should be the standard for clarity of English
IsleAuHaulte
+3
Level 92
Sep 9, 2025
Neither should London.
jacobrayq
+4
Level 26
Mar 12, 2017
Completely forgot about Canada
GeographyMaster21
+3
Level 34
Mar 14, 2017
Could you accept Philidelphia??
fitheach
+17
Level 58
Jul 12, 2017
Could you learn to spell the city's name correctly?
ooftownroad
+4
Level 70
Oct 6, 2023
ive lived in the us for 15 years and still cant spell it
SnoopDoge
+2
Level 32
Aug 29, 2017
lmao no way toronto has 7.1 million people
chaddo
+8
Level 43
Sep 12, 2017
Yes, the Urban area does
Gigalol12
+1
Level 56
Oct 8, 2017
Damn, i thought that Spanish is more commonly spoken in San Diego, Houston and Miami
Gigalol12
+1
Level 56
Oct 8, 2017
and Phoenix
mrinsomnia
+3
Level 58
Apr 23, 2025
nope, as someone who's been to all 3, you NEED English to get around there.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Mar 15, 2026
It's English by a large margin in all those urban areas.

But I think in Miami proper (which is less than 10% of the urban area) Spanish is more spoken.

siamesedreamer
+2
Level 25
Nov 5, 2017
Lagos, Accra, Cape Town. Also Columbus has a higher population than Cleveland or Cincinatti, no matter which number you take.
mrinsomnia
+4
Level 58
Apr 23, 2025
metro areas.
Stursi
+1
Level 39
Nov 24, 2017
What about Karachi?
Quizmaster
+9
Level ∞
Feb 27, 2019
Urdu by a huge margin. Then Punjabi and Pashto.
TheSovietOnion
+1
Level 55
Jan 15, 2026
Sindhi?
caesaria
+2
Level 79
Aug 11, 2018
I was very doubtful about Durban, but in the 2011 census 49.75% gave English as their first language, when in 2001 it was only 29%. So I guess that is enough to count for this quiz.
kraikk
+5
Level 15
Nov 16, 2018
Singapore should be included. According Wikipedia (which in turn cites a reliable source), 36.9% speak English as the "language most frequently spoken at home", just ahead of Mandarin at 34.9%. By your criteria that makes it a city where English is the most spoken first language. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore#Languages
Quizmaster
+4
Level ∞
Feb 27, 2019
Yes this has changed recently. The quiz has been updated.
Raptorgeo
+1
Level 36
Nov 16, 2018
I live in Cincinnati and can tell you the metro population is around 2.2 million. Are you including all of southwest Ohio as Cincinnati?
Lanso
+1
Level 49
Jan 17, 2019
I got 24 but missed DC. I feel a little dumb...
DaffyDucktheWizard
+2
Level 62
Feb 28, 2019
Where's San Antonio? And Jacksonville?
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Mar 26, 2019
Not big enough.
JackintheBox
+1
Level 82
Mar 1, 2019
I'm surprised by the high average score! I got 28, which is the average score at beats or equals 36.3% of test takers
JackintheBox
+1
Level 82
Mar 11, 2020
I keep forgetting Cleveland and Cincinnati on quizzes that include them.
NDAWG07
+1
Level 20
Oct 13, 2021
oof
Findlay
+6
Level 80
Mar 5, 2019
So I take it that Singapore population figure takes in Johor Bahru too? Cos it is quite a bit bigger than the population of the Republic of Singapore. I suspect with it included, Mandarin once again overtakes English as the most spoken first language, though I can't find precise figures for Johor Bahru to get the totals for the whole metro area.
Mark1232
+1
Level 76
Mar 26, 2019
Sydney is not on here, but I believe it is supposed to be. Am I right?
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Mar 26, 2019
Sydney is on the list.
InternetSpider
+4
Level 52
Apr 11, 2019
apparently the urban population of Boston is greater than the entire population of Massachusetts?
jtb77
+7
Level 35
Apr 11, 2019
That would be because the Boston CSA incorporates other states.
Ainmclarach
+1
Level 71
Jan 25, 2025
The Boston statistical area contains the entire state of Rhode Island, two thirds of Massachusetts (ending just past Worcester) and all of the major cities in New Hampshire.
IsleAuHaulte
+4
Level 92
Sep 9, 2025
No it doesn't, but the source (citypopulation.de) is notorious for grossly overinflating "urban" population statistics by using "metropolitan" statistics instead. For example the U.S. Census Bureau just uses local county boundaries, no matter how gargantuan and no matter how much extra rural population. And Chinese cities which are famously hyperinflated with rural districts larger than most European countries.
Ainmclarach
+3
Level 71
Feb 6, 2026
I'm pretty confident citypopulation.de uses the Boston CSA (or a very similar definition) that includes Eastern Mass, all of Rhode Island and southern New Hampshire for its' hugely inflated urban area figure.
joshxgarrett
+1
Level 61
Apr 11, 2019
Can you accept St Paul for Minneapolis?
tee111
+2
Level 70
Apr 11, 2019
Another Minnesotan passing this blizzardy day with some JetPunk? I am. : )
gzx5
+1
Level 75
Apr 11, 2019
Most people in Montreal know English. A lot of people from there also talk like the most of the rest of North America.
Sifhraven
+3
Level 76
Jun 20, 2019
Same with the netherlands, though it is not what is spoken at home. (though it does seems to go to english more and more. A lot of sentences sneak in. Kids 4 year old say ready set go, before they do something like race eachother. Instead of a phrase that has allways been used here, (klaar voor de start, af). And I can give you many many more examples, little kids talk to eachother and their parents in english for fun. But like I said above, a lot of everyday sentences have been replaced by english ones.

Not just kids. Saying "ready?" When you are about to leave and waiting for the other person, is normal and used as much as the dutch version by adults. "Nice" has replaced its counterpart. "No way!" is normal. The list is rather big. So I'll stop now ;)

Jiaozira
+1
Level 72
Apr 12, 2025
Only around 13% of people in Greater Montreal speak english as a first language.
IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 92
Sep 9, 2025
I'm amazed they got them to admit they understand English, even anonymously.
CdMor
+1
Level 70
May 18, 2026
Lol love this comment.

Partly because it would be true of most Quebecers, but partly because West Islanders are as fiercely anglophone as the rest of the province is francophone.

MDW
+1
Level 56
Apr 14, 2019
You would be safe to add Accra. Most people in Ghana speak English, and most English speakers use it as their primary language. No other African language comes close in terms of exclusive use. However, Accra and Kumasi aren't populous enough to make the list.
cpgatbyu
+1
Level 88
Aug 26, 2021
Accra is large enough now. (5.2 million)
CapitalAce
+3
Level 56
Aug 29, 2021
It is not their first language, though. Having been to Accra several times, I also find it hard to believe that most people speak English at all.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 76
Jun 20, 2019
Interesting quiz ! lowest I got were orlando and capetown, highest I missed were san diego and detroit.
thelfckid07
+1
Level 26
Jul 13, 2019
100% with 30 seconds to go! :)
callofduty45
+2
Level 59
Apr 17, 2020
atlanta is the bane of my existence
ReAvSi9278
+2
Level 51
May 21, 2020
Was Expecting Karachi, Delhi, Mumbai and other Indian and Pakistani cities
SpencerGT
+1
Level 68
Mar 15, 2021
Totally forgot that Los Angeles was an English-speaking city for a moment ahah.
mhill
+1
Level 52
Oct 9, 2021
How could I forget about London
bmore
+2
Level 51
May 18, 2022
baltimore and dc are very different cities
IsleAuHaulte
+3
Level 92
Sep 9, 2025
Drive Route One between them and tell me where the suburbs from either one start and the other begins. Their downtowns are closer than those of Dallas and Fort Worth.
Atzuul
+1
Level 46
Jul 18, 2022
I expected Jacksonville to be here instead of Miami bc Miami is infested with spanish speakers while Jacksonville has a higher population and over there I’ve seen more English speakers
PjotrL
+2
Level 78
Nov 21, 2022
Much has been written on the topic and I'll just add to it. If we are stating "first-language", South African cities are not likely to be included (even taking in the concentration in cities). However, if it is about what is mostly spoken or understood including 2nd level or non-native, South Africa (and others) might very well be on this list.
Jonney
+1
Level 60
May 1, 2023
How are Cincinatti and Cleveland on here but not Columbus. Google says that Columbus is far bigger than both.
Atzuul
+3
Level 46
May 25, 2023
this is based on urban areas
TheMinecrafterAU
+2
Level 41
Nov 9, 2023
Isn't Miami majority-Spanish speaking?
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Mar 15, 2026
Within the city proper, possibly.

In the urban area, not even close.

ZachBeth
+2
Level 73
Dec 20, 2023
Hong Kong?
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Mar 15, 2026
Not even close.
Raringprince
+1
Level 47
Jul 6, 2024
Singapore definitely does not have more than 7 million people. In fact, its populalation was around 5.9 million in 2021
mrinsomnia
+1
Level 58
Apr 23, 2025
Hong Kong is like 50/50 when it comes to English, and it's one of the official languages.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Mar 15, 2026
The vast majority speak Chinese at home.
LeoTheNerd1121
+1
Level 46
Jul 7, 2025
I forgot abt Australia 😭😭
LAP3UNC
+2
Level 91
Mar 15, 2026
Manchester and Liverpool are now combined? Yes close proximity, but this seems new.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Mar 15, 2026
Yeah, they changed it last year. It makes sense, IMO, given their proximity, and how Australia spams everything into its gigantic, sprawling urban areas.

Manchester/Liverpool has 3x the density of Melbourne for example

Berney
+7
Level 84
Mar 15, 2026
They might be geographically fairly close but I don't think it makes sense at all for a quiz called 'English speaking cities'. I know both of the two cities and they are never lumped together. They're separated by green space and are very distinct cities in their own right.
toowise
+2
Level 81
Mar 15, 2026
Yeah, don't tell the Mancs and the Scousers!
BenitoJuarez09
+1
Level 49
Mar 15, 2026
I hate urban/metro populations. I missed a couple of obvious ones
Maramaraonthewal
+1
Level 62
Mar 15, 2026
Lagos?
AlmostAGenius
+1
Level 89
Mar 15, 2026
Yoruba is the main language spoken in Lagos.
Alexquiz17
+1
Level 95
Mar 15, 2026
Is this Birmingham in the UK or Alabama?
Ainmclarach
+3
Level 71
Mar 15, 2026
There are only 5 million people in the whole state of Alabama.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Mar 15, 2026
United Kingdom.

Birmingham, Alabama is very small.

TheodoreE45
+2
Level 94
Mar 15, 2026
Curious how Singapore is listed at 8.15 million when the entire country of Singapore has roughly 6.11 million people?
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Mar 15, 2026
They include some areas of Malaysia (not a fan of this decision personally).
GregoryIX
+1
Level 72
Mar 16, 2026
English is not the most common first language in Singapore or Johor Bahru (Malaysia). It is the main language of government and business, but mandarin/chinese dialects far exceed English as a first language in Singapore, as does Malay in Johor Bahru.
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Mar 16, 2026
English overtook Chinese sometime between 2010-2015 and the lead has grown considerably since.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore

GreenFriday
+1
Level 88
May 3, 2026
English overtook Mandarin in Singapore itself, but when you include Johor Bahru is it still the most common language?

I've just come back to this comment after looking for the data, and it's incredibly hard to find. I think there is one paper on it - "The linguistic landscape of a Malaysian border town: How English language is allowed to thrive outside of the law" - however I don't have access to that.

An excerpt I have found from the paper quoted elsewhere seems to have it in line with Singapore though, so keeping it in this quiz may be the right move.

will2404
+5
Level 69
Mar 15, 2026
Who combines Manchester and Liverpool as a single urban area?!?!?
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Mar 15, 2026
If we're going to allow Melbourne to have 5 million then it only makes sense.

I assume that Manchester/Liverpool is one interconnected urban area.

Ian24092022
+3
Level 76
Mar 15, 2026
I don't understand the beef with Melbourne being recognised as having 5 million people. If you look at roads, public transport, and other infrastructure to support that population it's all built around being a single metropolitan area. Satellite towns like Geelong aren't included because they have some distinct self-containment despite a sizeable number of people commuting to Melbourne for work. Recording population by a local government areas makes far less sense when looking at "largest cities" as they're just arbitrary boundaries drawn to optimise local administration resources and really serve no other purpose.
blizzrd33
+2
Level 81
Mar 16, 2026
At our last census, Melbourne overtook Sydney as the largest city in Australia. Sydney didn't like it and made our statisticians remove a few suburbs from the official extent of Melbourne.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Mar 16, 2026
Lol. Sydney should be larger, IMO, given that its population density is much greater and Melbourne just makes up for it with area.

For perspective, Melbourne's density is not much greater than Rwanda's (the entire country of Rwanda).

ashquo
+4
Level 65
Mar 16, 2026
Not a chance Manchester and Liverpool are 2 totally separate cities!!
OfficerDibble
+1
Level 86
May 11, 2026
Manchester and Liverpool are very much not one interconnected urban area. I'm not saying you shouldn't go with your data source, but for anyone who knows the two cities it seems completely counterintuitive.
JetpunkSandwich
+1
Level 48
Mar 15, 2026
Oh wow South Africa was removed. When I originally took the quiz, I thought that there were too many other major languages in South Africa for it to be removed. I never checked, but I guess I was right.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Mar 16, 2026
Yes.
MalyJacus
+1
Level 60
Mar 16, 2026
Tried Hong Kong, but missed Singapore.
SouthwestChief
+1
Level 73
Mar 16, 2026
Man, I remember when this quiz left off Miami, and boy oh boy did people have opinions about that. I kinda miss it though, it was a novel, intriguing take. And then I look back at the oldest post-Miami-addition comments and realize that the Miami-less era was well over a decade ago... this website makes me feel old sometimes... don't even get me started on thinking about how long it must be now since Kal's been in Dammam....
hannesdewinter
+1
Level 53
May 19, 2026
Never heard of Tampa tbh
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