Largest US Cities by Population (2026)

The largest cities we track by total population, biggest first. Population size says nothing about cost of living on its own -- use the other rankings alongside this one to weigh size against affordability, income, and climate risk.

Source: US Census Bureau, FEMA National Risk Index, and FHFA House Price Index (where applicable).

#	City	Value
1	New York, NY Salary needed →	8,622,467 residents
2	Los Angeles, CA Salary needed →	3,881,041 residents
3	Chicago, IL Salary needed →	2,721,914 residents
4	Houston, TX Salary needed →	2,296,253 residents
5	Phoenix, AZ Salary needed →	1,609,456 residents
6	Philadelphia, PA Salary needed →	1,593,208 residents
7	San Antonio, TX Salary needed →	1,445,662 residents
8	San Diego, CA Salary needed →	1,383,987 residents
9	Dallas, TX Salary needed →	1,300,642 residents
10	San Jose, CA Salary needed →	1,001,176 residents
11	Austin, TX Salary needed →	958,202 residents
12	Jacksonville, FL Salary needed →	950,203 residents
13	Fort Worth, TX Salary needed →	924,663 residents
14	Columbus, OH Salary needed →	902,449 residents
15	Indianapolis city (balance), IN Salary needed →	882,006 residents
16	Charlotte, NC Salary needed →	875,045 residents
17	San Francisco, CA Salary needed →	851,036 residents
18	Seattle, WA Salary needed →	734,603 residents
19	Denver, CO Salary needed →	710,800 residents
20	Nashville-Davidson metropolitan government (balance), TN Salary needed →	684,103 residents
21	Oklahoma City, OK Salary needed →	681,088 residents
22	El Paso, TX Salary needed →	677,181 residents
23	Washington, DC Salary needed →	670,587 residents
24	Boston, MA Salary needed →	665,945 residents
25	Portland, OR Salary needed →	646,101 residents
26	Las Vegas, NV Salary needed →	644,835 residents
27	Detroit, MI Salary needed →	636,787 residents
28	Memphis, TN Salary needed →	630,027 residents
29	Louisville/Jefferson County metro government (balance), KY Salary needed →	629,176 residents
30	Baltimore, MD Salary needed →	584,548 residents
31	Milwaukee, WI Salary needed →	573,299 residents
32	Albuquerque, NM Salary needed →	562,551 residents
33	Fresno, CA Salary needed →	541,528 residents
34	Tucson, AZ Salary needed →	541,033 residents
35	Sacramento, CA Salary needed →	523,600 residents
36	Kansas City, MO Salary needed →	505,958 residents
37	Mesa, AZ Salary needed →	503,390 residents
38	Atlanta, GA Salary needed →	494,838 residents
39	Omaha, NE Salary needed →	489,201 residents
40	Colorado Springs, CO Salary needed →	479,612 residents
41	Raleigh, NC Salary needed →	465,517 residents
42	Long Beach, CA Salary needed →	462,293 residents
43	Virginia Beach, VA Salary needed →	457,900 residents
44	Miami, FL Salary needed →	443,665 residents
45	Oakland, CA Salary needed →	437,825 residents
46	Minneapolis, MN Salary needed →	426,877 residents
47	Tulsa, OK Salary needed →	411,938 residents
48	Bakersfield, CA Salary needed →	404,321 residents
49	Wichita, KS Salary needed →	395,951 residents
50	Arlington, TX Salary needed →	393,469 residents

Largest US Cities by Population (2026)

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