Top Most 50 Cities in the U.S. by Population and Rank

The table below lists the largest 50 cities in the United States based on population and rank for the years 1990–2014. While some cities kept their ranking fairly stable, others showed large leaps. For example, Phoenix, Arizona, has grown from a city of 983,403 residents in 1990 to one of 1.5 million residents as of 2014. Austin, Texas, nearly doubled its population in 24 years--going from 465,622 residents to 912,791. Some cities, such as Detroit, have decreased in population. The Motor City, which once had 1.8 million residents in the 1950s, went down to a population of 1,027,974 in 1990 and further fell to 680,250 in 2014.

SIZE RANK 2014	CITY	7/1/2014 POPULATION ESTIMATE	7/1/2013 POPULATION ESTIMATE	4/1/2010 CENSUS POPULATION	7/1/2005 POPULATION ESTIMATE	4/1/2000 CENSUS POPULATION	4/1/1990 CENSUS POPULATION
1	New York, N.Y.	8,491,079	8,405,837	8,175,133	8,143,197	8,008,278	7,322,564
2	Los Angeles, Calif.	3,928,864	3,884,307	3,792,621	3,844,829	3,694,820	3,485,398
3	Chicago, Ill.	2,722,389	2,718,782	2,695,598	2,842,518	2,896,016	2,783,726
4	Houston, Tex.	2,239,558	2,195,914	2,100,263	2,016,582	1,953,631	1,630,553
5	Philadelphia, Pa.	1,560,297	1,553,165	1,526,006	1,463,281	1,517,550	1,585,577
6	Phoenix, Ariz.	1,537,058	1,513,367	1,445,632	1,461,575	1,321,045	983,403
7	San Antonio, Tex.	1,436,697	1,409,019	1,327,407	1,256,509	1,144,646	935,933
8	San Diego, Calif.	1,381,069	1,355,896	1,307,402	1,255,540	1,223,400	1,110,549
9	Dallas, Tex.	1,281,047	1,257,676	1,197,816	1,213,825	1,188,580	1,006,877
10	San Jose, Calif.	1,015,785	998,537	945,942	912,332	894,943	782,248
11	Austin, Tex.	912,791	885,400	790,390	690,252	656,562	465,622
12	Jacksonville,Fla.	853,382	842,583	821,784	782,623	735,617	635,230
13	San Francisco, Calif.	852,469	837,442	805,235	739,426	776,733	723,959
14	Indianapolis, Ind.	848,788	843,393	820,445	784,118	781,870	741,952
15	Columbus, Ohio	835,957	822,553	787,033	730,657	711,470	632,910
16	Fort Worth, Tex.	812,238	792,727	741,206	624,067	534,694	447,619
17	Charlotte, N.C.	809,958	792,862	731,424	610,949	540,828	395,934
18	Detroit, Mich.	680,250	688,701	713,777	886,671	951,270	1,027,974
19	El Paso, Tex.	679,036	674,443	649,121	598,590	563,662	515,342
20	Seattle, Wash.	668,342	652,405	608,660	573,911	563,374	516,259
21	Denver, Colo.	663,862	649,495	600,158	557,917	554,636	467,610
22	Washington, DC	658,893	646,449	601,723	550,521	572,059	606,900
23	Memphis, Tenn.	656,86	653,450	646,889	672,277	650,100	610,337
24	Boston, Mass.	655,884	645,966	617,594	559,034	589,141	574,283
25	Nashville-Davidson, Tenn.1	644,014	634,464	601,222	549,110	545,524	510,784
26	Baltimore, Md.	622,793	622,104	620,961	635,815	651,154	736,014
27	Oklahoma City, Okla.	620,602	610,613	579,999	531,324	506,132	444,719
28	Portland, Ore.	619,360	609,456	583,776	533,427	529,121	437,319
29	Las Vegas, Nev.	613,599	603,488	583,756	545,147	478,434	258,295
30	Louisville-Jefferson County, Ky.2	612,780	609,893	597,337	556,429	256,231	269,063
31	Milwaukee, Wis.	599,642	599,164	594,833	578,887	596,974	628,088
32	Albuquerque, N.M.	557,169	556,495	545,852	494,236	448,607	384,736
33	Tucson, Ariz.	527,972	526,116	520,116	515,526	486,699	405,390
34	Fresno, Calif.	515,986	509,924	494,665	461,116	427,652	354,202
35	Sacramento, Calif.	485,199	479,686	466,488	456,441	407,018	369,365
36	Long Beach, Calif.	473,577	469,428	462,257	474,014	461,522	429,433
37	Kansas City, Mo.	470,800	467,007	459,787	444,965	441,545	435,146
38	Mesa, Ariz.	464,704	457,587	439,041	442,780	396,375	288,091
39	Atlanta, Ga.	456,002	447,841	420,003	470,688	416,474	394,017
40	Virginia Beach, Va.	450,980	448,479	437,994	438,415	425,257	393,069
41	Omaha, Nebr.	446,599	434,353	408,958	414,521	390,007	335,795
42	Colorado Springs, Colo.	445,830	439,886	416,427	369,815	360,890	281,140
43	Raleigh, N.C.	439,896	431,746	403,892	–	–	–
44	Miami, Fla.	430,332	417,650	399,457	386,417	362,470	358,548
45	Oakland, Calif.	413,775	406,253	390,724	395,274	399,484	372,242
46	Minneapolis, Minn.	407,207	400,070	382,578	372,811	382,618	368,383
47	Tulsa, Okla.	399,682	398,121	391,906	382,457	393,049	367,302
48	Cleveland, Ohio	389,521	390,113	396,815	452,208	478,403	505,616
49	Wichita, Kans.	388,413	386,552	382,368	353,823	344,284	–
50	New Orleans, La.	384,320	378,715	343,829	455,188	484,674	495,080
51	Arlington, Tex.	383,204	379,577	365,438	362,805	332,969	261,721