Biggest US Cities by Decade

Can you name the 10 most populous U.S. cities in each decennial census?

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Last updated: October 18, 2021

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First submitted	October 17, 2011
Times taken	150,704
Average score	53.1%
Rating	4.95

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2020
8,804,190	New York City
3,898,747	Los Angeles
2,746,388	Chicago
2,304,580	Houston
1,608,139	Phoenix
1,603,797	Philadelphia
1,434,625	San Antonio
1,386,932	San Diego
1,304,379	Dallas
1,013,240	San Jose

1980
7,071,639	New York City
3,005,072	Chicago
2,966,850	Los Angeles
1,688,210	Philadelphia
1,595,138	Houston
1,203,339	Detroit
904,078	Dallas
875,538	San Diego
789,704	Phoenix
786,775	Baltimore

1940
7,454,995	New York City
3,396,808	Chicago
1,931,334	Philadelphia
1,623,452	Detroit
1,504,277	Los Angeles
878,336	Cleveland
859,100	Baltimore
816,048	St. Louis
770,816	Boston
671,659	Pittsburgh

1900
3,437,202	New York City
1,698,575	Chicago
1,293,697	Philadelphia
575,238	St. Louis
560,892	Boston
508,957	Baltimore
381,768	Cleveland
352,387	Buffalo
342,782	San Francisco
325,902	Cincinnati

1860
813,669	New York City
565,529	Philadelphia
266,661	Brooklyn
212,418	Baltimore
177,840	Boston
168,675	New Orleans
161,044	Cincinnati
160,773	St. Louis
112,172	Chicago
81,129	Buffalo

1820
123,706	New York City
63,802	Philadelphia
62,738	Baltimore
43,298	Boston
27,176	New Orleans
24,780	Charleston
19,678	Northern Liberties
14,713	Southwark
13,247	Washington, DC
12,731	Salem

2010
8,175,133	New York City
3,792,621	Los Angeles
2,695,598	Chicago
2,099,451	Houston
1,526,006	Philadelphia
1,445,632	Phoenix
1,327,407	San Antonio
1,307,402	San Diego
1,197,816	Dallas
945,942	San Jose

1970
7,894,862	New York City
3,366,957	Chicago
2,816,061	Los Angeles
1,948,609	Philadelphia
1,511,482	Detroit
1,232,802	Houston
905,759	Baltimore
844,401	Dallas
756,510	Washington, DC
750,903	Cleveland

1930
6,930,446	New York City
3,376,438	Chicago
1,950,961	Philadelphia
1,568,662	Detroit
1,238,048	Los Angeles
900,429	Cleveland
821,960	St. Louis
804,874	Baltimore
781,188	Boston
669,817	Pittsburgh

1890
1,515,301	New York City
1,099,850	Chicago
1,046,964	Philadelphia
806,343	Brooklyn
451,770	St. Louis
448,477	Boston
434,439	Baltimore
298,997	San Francisco
296,908	Cincinnati
261,353	Cleveland

1850
515,547	New York City
169,054	Baltimore
136,881	Boston
121,376	Philadelphia
116,375	New Orleans
115,435	Cincinnati
96,838	Brooklyn
77,860	St. Louis
58,894	Spring Garden
50,763	Albany

1810
96,373	New York City
53,722	Philadelphia
46,555	Baltimore
33,787	Boston
24,711	Charleston
19,874	Northern Liberties
17,242	New Orleans
13,707	Southwark
12,613	Salem
10,762	Albany

2000
8,008,278	New York City
3,694,820	Los Angeles
2,896,016	Chicago
1,953,631	Houston
1,517,550	Philadelphia
1,321,045	Phoenix
1,223,400	San Diego
1,188,580	Dallas
1,144,646	San Antonio
951,270	Detroit

1960
7,781,984	New York City
3,550,404	Chicago
2,479,015	Los Angeles
2,002,512	Philadelphia
1,670,144	Detroit
939,024	Baltimore
938,219	Houston
876,050	Cleveland
763,956	Washington, DC
750,026	St. Louis

1920
5,620,048	New York City
2,701,705	Chicago
1,823,779	Philadelphia
993,078	Detroit
796,841	Cleveland
772,897	St. Louis
748,060	Boston
733,826	Baltimore
588,343	Pittsburgh
576,673	Los Angeles

1880
1,206,299	New York City
847,170	Philadelphia
566,663	Brooklyn
503,185	Chicago
362,839	Boston
350,518	St. Louis
332,313	Baltimore
255,139	Cincinnati
233,959	San Francisco
216,090	New Orleans

1840
312,710	New York City
102,313	Baltimore
102,193	New Orleans
93,665	Philadelphia
93,383	Boston
46,338	Cincinnati
36,233	Brooklyn
34,474	Northern Liberties
33,721	Albany
29,261	Charleston

1800
60,515	New York City
41,220	Philadelphia
26,514	Baltimore
24,937	Boston
18,824	Charleston
10,718	Northern Liberties
9,621	Southwark
9,457	Salem
7,614	Providence
6,926	Norfolk

1990
7,322,564	New York City
3,485,398	Los Angeles
2,783,726	Chicago
1,630,553	Houston
1,585,577	Philadelphia
1,110,549	San Diego
1,027,974	Detroit
1,006,877	Dallas
983,403	Phoenix
935,933	San Antonio

1950
7,891,957	New York City
3,620,962	Chicago
2,071,605	Philadelphia
1,970,358	Los Angeles
1,849,568	Detroit
949,708	Baltimore
914,808	Cleveland
856,796	St. Louis
802,178	Washington, DC
801,444	Boston

1910
4,766,883	New York City
2,185,283	Chicago
1,549,008	Philadelphia
687,029	St. Louis
670,585	Boston
560,663	Cleveland
558,485	Baltimore
533,905	Pittsburgh
465,766	Detroit
423,715	Buffalo

1870
942,292	New York City
674,022	Philadelphia
396,099	Brooklyn
310,864	St. Louis
298,977	Chicago
267,354	Baltimore
250,526	Boston
216,239	Cincinnati
191,418	New Orleans
149,473	San Francisco

1830
202,589	New York City
80,620	Baltimore
80,462	Philadelphia
61,392	Boston
46,082	New Orleans
30,289	Charleston
28,872	Northern Liberties
24,831	Cincinnati
24,209	Albany
20,581	Southwark

1790
33,131	New York City
28,522	Philadelphia
18,320	Boston
16,359	Charleston
13,503	Baltimore
9,913	Northern Liberties
7,921	Salem
6,716	Newport
6,380	Providence
5,661	Marblehead
5,661	Southwark

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94 Comments

+15

Level 28

Oct 17, 2011

Real good, Quizmaster!

Level 81

Sep 21, 2013

agreed. One of the best quizzes on the site. I finally got 32/32, too.

Level 63

Oct 17, 2011

why is New Orleans listed twice in 1840?

Level ∞

Oct 17, 2011

Should have been Brooklyn. Fixed now. Thanks!

Level 26

Aug 29, 2013

northern liberties should just be like that, instead of adding a PA

+30

Level 57

May 14, 2015

Brooklyn was its own city until it joined with NYC in 1898

Level 51

Jul 28, 2015

I think it should say PA since most people no longer know where it is.

Level 56

Jun 11, 2020

Its no5

Level 65

Oct 17, 2011

great quiz

Level 47

Oct 17, 2011

Nice quiz!!!

+14

Level 49

Oct 17, 2011

Spring Garden, Southwark, Marblehead and Northern Liberties I have never heard of therefore I did not get those ones. Brooklyn, interesting.

Level 77

Oct 23, 2021

Gets a little tough starting in 1850.

+11

Level 79

Oct 18, 2011

@xolkan fyi - brooklyn, the bronx, queens and staten island did not join together with manhattan fully until almost 1900 (I think it's 1898, will have to check) up until that time they were separate entities with Manhattan and the southern part of what is now the bronx making up "new york city" and brooklyn it's second largest neighbor. it's why the poem "the new colossus" (give me your tired your poor) talks about twin cities spanning the harbor - its talking about new york city and brooklyn

+21

Level 67

Oct 22, 2011

It's funny that if you were standing in Northern Liberties today and didn't realize it that you would think you were still in downtown Philadelphia. Also you would be checking your billfold frequently.

Level 91

Apr 26, 2013

Best comment ever.

Level 51

Jun 15, 2022

this is perhaps even funnier now because Northern Liberties is so gentrified 10 years later that you likely wouldn't be concerned about your billfold at all -- it's arguably safer than true downtown!

Level 24

Dec 8, 2011

Great quiz! I'm from Philly and forgot that Northern Liberties and Southwark became part of the city in 1854.

Level 81

Jan 20, 2013

I guess that explains why Phillly jumps up to the #2 spot in 1860.

Level 81

Jan 20, 2013

Same thing must have happened to Brooklyn getting absorbed by NYC sometime between 1890 and 1900.

Level 51

Jan 8, 2012

wow times have changed

Level 79

Aug 14, 2022

except for new york

Level 18

Feb 16, 2012

24/32 that was hard

Level 34

Apr 26, 2012

cincinnati!

Level 44

Jan 31, 2015

it was a bustling city during the 1800s

Level 66

Jan 25, 2023

I was mildly surprised that Louisville was never on the top 10 list. It must have topped out around 11 or 12 in the middle of the 19th century.

Level 59

Feb 6, 2024

what was more surprising to me was the lack of Milwaukee. must have also been a reaally close call

Level 24

Dec 28, 2012

51 out of 52, missed Newport RD. Still a good score! WOOT!

Level 81

Jan 20, 2013

interesting quiz but the time limit is harsh considering how many different time periods you have to consider, though of course some carry over across many time periods. I remember when Northern Liberties was quite the happening place, an up-and-coming metropolis. Actually, where the hell is Northern Liberties? Does that even exist anymore? I was surprised Williamsburg didn't crack the top 10 in 1790 but I got 5/10 that year and 7/10 in 1800, including Norfolk. Also thought Richmond would have been top 10 around the middle of the 19th century, it was the capital of the confederacy after all, but I guess not. It's all northern cities in 1860, and then in 1870 you can see that the west is starting to open up as San Fran makes the list for the first time and St Louis jumps up 4 places. SF never makes the top 10 again after the 1906 earthquake that leveled the city, but Los Angeles comes zooming in during the roaring 20s.

Level 86

Nov 13, 2015

Northern Liberties (PA) was long ago absorbed into Philadelphia.

Level 57

Oct 21, 2020

I agree. 30-60 secs more of time would be better.

Level 81

Jun 5, 2022

Reading up more about it, I'm even more skeptical that Williamsburg would not belong on the list in 1790. Since Jamestown was more-or-less abandoned by this point in time, it would have been the oldest permanent settlement in Virginia, and one of the oldest in the colonial United States, in 1790. It was home to the College of William & Mary and for over 100 years had been the capital of the state of Virginia - the most populous of the 13 colonies by far. The capital was relocated only 10 years earlier to Richmond which was less vulnerable to British attack by sea.

I can't find an exact population figure for 1790, but, according to Wikipedia the city had a population of about 5,000 as far back as 1634. Seems like it would be quite a bit higher than that over 150 years later, but the smallest city to show up in 1790 only had a population of 5,661.

Was a lower figure for Williamsburg given in the source?

Level 60

Jun 19, 2013

did not know brooklyn used to be its own city. cool!

Level 45

Mar 11, 2014

Good quiz, I got 24/32. I can't believe that I forgot Phoenix.

Level 76

May 20, 2014

I should learn to spell Charleston. I kept trying Charlston. :(

Level 76

Jul 18, 2014

Brooklyn? Isn't this contained in New York?

Level 69

Aug 8, 2014

brooklyn and new york were separate until the late 1800's

Level 74

Oct 19, 2016

I never considered that New York wouldn't include everything now part of it, same for Philly. Only ones I missed. Nice quiz.

Level 22

Jul 26, 2014

need... more... air... 32/32... (death)

Level 59

Aug 8, 2014

I totally missed Philly and Pittsburgh. I was mentally roaming the US map, and apparently erased Pennsylvania completely. My bad, PA.

Level 33

Aug 8, 2014

Please add Washington DC without the comma

Level 81

Aug 10, 2014

punctuation never matters

Level 86

Nov 13, 2015

Despite the fact that punctuation doesn't matter on Jetpunk quizzes, why? The political subdivision is the District of Colombia, created in the early days of the US. Washington was the town built within the federal district to be the capital, and even though it's grown to encompass the whole (now modified) district, the naming convention has remained the same.

Level 69

Oct 14, 2023

RegEx ignores punctuation

Level 21

Apr 9, 2015

Excellent quiz! We need more like this!

Level 67

Jun 21, 2015

It's funny to think of Brooklyn and New York City as separate. I'm guessing that originally only Manhattan was considered to be New York proper.

Level 51

Jul 28, 2015

Very interesting quiz that gets you thinking. Some of those older ones, I've never even heard of before. So it's informative as well.

Level 54

Feb 11, 2016

Good Quiz...Northern Liberties I've never heard of, but it sounds like something one says accusingly from the Confederacy.

Level 81

Sep 11, 2016

Southwark?!? some of these are made up ;) just kidding -> Great Quiz!

Level 89

Oct 19, 2016

Please do this for some other countries using the same format.

Level 75

Mar 5, 2017

No data from 1780???

Level 87

Nov 27, 2017

First census was conducted in 1790.

Level 66

May 30, 2017

I typed in Salem because I play Town of Salem and was surprised to see it there, I guess it way pretty popular for witches to go to.

Level 36

Nov 2, 2020

Abigail Williams has entered the chat

Level 64

Aug 21, 2021

It was also a big city in the revolutionary war

Level 71

May 31, 2017

I have actually missed Washington D.C.

Level 70

Oct 7, 2017

Amazing that Detroit has dwindled so sharply since it's 1.8 million in 1950 to 650,000 of today..... very sad.

Level 34

May 12, 2018

I was a real "Marblehead" at this quiz ;)

Level 45

Oct 24, 2018

ah, man, misspelled san francisco.

Level 47

Jan 29, 2019

Oops, forgot Detroit. and Northern Liberties.

Level 80

Feb 21, 2019

One of my favourite quizzes!

Level 55

Apr 2, 2019

Detroit keeps slipping away...

Level 80

May 17, 2019

Missed St Louis (doh) but still managed to get 5 points

Level 57

Aug 28, 2019

Grenat quizz! You should do one with all North America! Considering Québec City, Montréal, ans other big cities back un old times it would be interesting.

Level 71

Sep 28, 2019

Where is Spring Garden?

Level 90

Oct 10, 2019

You'll find it in Mountain View, California.

Level 57

Oct 27, 2021

It’s inside Philadelphia now.

Level 88

Mar 23, 2020

Ohhhh yeah. remember the days when charleston was the 5th most populous city?

Level 19

Apr 11, 2020

Did terribly - only got 19/32, but I think I have an excuse: I'm an eleven-year-old from Britain.

Level 69

Oct 14, 2023

Not an excuse. Kids have way more time to study than working adults

Level 92

May 27, 2020

I wonder if anyone can enlighten me on what happened to Boston post-1950 to make it go down not just in ranking but in overall population (by more than 50,000)? Did some of the outer suburbs split off into their own population centers or something?

Level 81

Aug 1, 2020

I don't know but if I had to guess I'd imagine it was the same thing that happened to most American cities in the 50s and 60s which was a massive shift of population out of urban centers to the suburbs.

Level 57

Jan 12, 2021

Like Kal said, a huge shift to the suburbs, as well as a pretty stagnant economy as it managed a shift from an old manufacturing city to a center of finance, education, and medical.

Level 72

Aug 16, 2020

Nice quiz - one very small thing is that on my screen (PC) the years go down in columns, (i.e. 2010 is above 2000). I don't know about others, but this seems counter-intuitive, as I'd expect the decades furthest back to be at the bottom. Could this be changed (if anyone else feels the same)?

Level 71

Jun 5, 2021

I was considering guessing boroughs of NYC if they were ever independent but I didn't, could've gotten Brooklyn

Level 46

Aug 11, 2021

Manila? I couldn't find any information between 1901 and 1946 but I expect Manila to be somewhere on there

Level 64

Aug 21, 2021

I doubt this includes territories.

Level 81

Sep 11, 2021

From what I could dig up the population of Manila, under American control, rose rapidly from 1900-1939. In 1900 it was over 200k and 40 years later it was over 600k. I don't think it would have ever made the top 10, actually, though it would have come pretty darn close every year. However, Miecraft is probably also correct.

Level 66

Oct 15, 2021

Quizmaster, do you possibly want to update this for 2020?

Level ∞

Oct 15, 2021

Yes, I'll do it soon.

Level 53

Oct 23, 2021

Oh, Chicago, how you dodge my mind.

Level 73

Oct 23, 2021

As a Canadian, rather surprised none of Atlanta, Savannah, Raleigh nor Richmond were ever in top ten especially in earlier times.

Level 61

Oct 23, 2021

Please accept 'Cincy' as a type-in for Cincinnati. Most other JetPunk quizzes do this.

Level ∞

Oct 24, 2021

Cincy will work now.

Level 57

Oct 23, 2021

Crazy to see how much population has grown. Really liked this quiz, even though I blacked on some of them.

Level 52

Oct 24, 2021

Wow, look at how all these major cities are growing and then watch Detroit stagnate and decline for decades

Level 46

Nov 26, 2021

It’s very rare that I’m ever able to get above average on geography and city quizzes, since this website is filled with geography geniuses. Thankfully, since most people on this website don’t appear to be American, I was finally able to get above-average on a quiz!!! :)

Level 81

Mar 5, 2022

Over a quarter of the site's users are American - which represents a plurality. But the most vocal whiners are non-Americans and make their presence felt whenever they can.

Level 14

Nov 6, 2022

New York, Philly, Chicago,Boston, Detroit, Baltimore, LA, St Louis, Cleveland, Brooklyn?

Detroit was the richest, best growing city in the 40s and 50s. A huge city that ranked for 100 years as the 4, or 5th, 6th, 8th, largest city in usa. Primarily the 5th largest after NY LA CHI Phill...An Iconic city, such a big part of what this country use to be all about....Keep your eyes peeled...maybe a rebirth.

Level 79

Apr 27, 2023

Can't believe I forgot Northern Liberties... the city I have never heard of and will never hear from again.

Level 57

Jul 18, 2023

Is the Charleston in WV or SC?

Level 59

Feb 6, 2024

South Carolina. the WV charleston wasnt really built up until the early 1900s, while charleston SC has long been a prominent port city

Level 59

Feb 6, 2024

the lack of Milwaukee, Louisville, Minneapolis, and Newark is quite surprising.

Level 44

Sep 14, 2024

completely forgot detroit was a city

Level 69

Dec 24, 2024

What did you think Detroit was, a frog?

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