U.S. Cities over 500K in Population

[blade2k5 1,523]

I was checking to see if the Census Bureau had updated their population estimates for from 2008 and indeed they did.  These are the estimates for cities with at least 500,000 residents dated July 1, 2009.  It'll be inetersting to see the actual figures when the official count for 2010 is released, but from the results below, there are a few cities that are growing by leaps and bounds.  Out of all the cities on this list, I believe only Detroit and Philadelphia are declining in population.  At one point, I believe it was in the 50's, Detroit had a population of 1,850,000, which means that the city has lost more than 50% in population from it's high in the last 60 years.  San Jose on the other hand will be the next city in the US to cross the million mark, probably by 2012 or 2013.

1	New York	New York	8,391,881
2	Los Angeles	California	3,831,868
3	Chicago	Illinois	2,851,268
4	Houston	Texas	2,257,926
5	Phoenix	Arizona	1,593,659
6	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,547,297
7	San Antonio	Texas	1,373,668
8	San Diego	California	1,306,300
9	Dallas	Texas	1,299,542
10	San Jose	California	964,695
11	Detroit	Michigan	910,921
12	San Francisco	California	815,358
13	Jacksonville	Florida	813,518
14	Indianapolis	Indiana	807,584
15	Austin	Texas	786,386
16	Columbus	Ohio	769,332
17	Fort Worth	Texas	727,577
18	Charlotte	North Carolina	704,422
19	Memphis	Tennessee	676,640
20	Boston	Massachusetts	645,169
21	Baltimore	Maryland	637,418
22	El Paso	Texas	620,456
23	Seattle	Washington	616,627
24	Denver	Colorado	610,345
25	Nashville	Tennessee	605,473
26	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	605,013
27	Washington	DC	599,657
28	Las Vegas	Nevada	567,641
29	Louisville	Kentucky	566,503
30	Portland	Oregon	566,143
31	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	560,333
32	Tucson	Arizona	543,910
33	Atlanta	Georgia	540,922
34	Albuquerque	New Mexico	529,219

Edit - Fixed font issue.

- beebs

[Ocram's Razr 963]

We sure have grown. Seattle's population has been booming.

Why does my text look all small and weird.

[blade2k5 1,523]

Originally posted by: Ilikeseattle

We sure have grown. Seattle's population has been booming.

Why does my text look all small and weird.quote>

Yes we have.  Even cities like Boston, Washington DC, Baltimore and Milwaukee who for decades were declining in population have began to grow again.

Most likely a glitch in the system

[Muck308 55]

I find lists like this to be deceiving. While many of the cities are indeed quite big, some aren't quite as big as the numbers lead on. Let's take Pittsburgh for example. Population is ~300,000. Not too big, but the metro area is over 2 million. The metro is also something like 9 counties, but Allegheny county alone has 1,000,000 residents. San Jose(city proper) is clearly larger (land area) than Pittsburgh, not to mention flatter.

Now is where one would expect me to bring this all together somehow... but I'm just stating observations really.

However, I'm quite eager for the new census stats to be released. Time to buy a new almanac!

[blade2k5 1,523]

Originally posted by: Muck308

I find lists like this to be deceiving. While many of the cities are indeed quite big, some aren't quite as big as the numbers lead on. Let's take Pittsburgh for example. Population is ~300,000. Not too big, but the metro area is over 2 million. The metro is also something like 9 counties, but Allegheny county alone has 1,000,000 residents. San Jose(city proper) is clearly larger (land area) than Pittsburgh, not to mention flatter.

Now is where one would expect me to bring this all together somehow... but I'm just stating observations really.

However, I'm quite eager for the new census stats to be released. Time to buy a new almanac!quote>

There's nothing decieving about these numbers, the real deception is in the metropolitan area numbers which make the city seem larger and more populated than it really is.  I deal with populations within corporate city limits and deal with metro numbers seperately.

[nathanthemayor 1,261]

My cities population is half a million and is not on ht elist above but it #5 in California.

[blade2k5 1,523]

Originally posted by: nathanthemayor

My cities population is half a million and is not on ht elist above but it #5 in California.quote>

What city is that?  Fresno?  If so, it's estimated population was 479,918 as of July 1 2009 from which this data came from [there is no 2010 data as of yet], so as of then, it's not quite there yet.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Go Texas 6 of the top 25.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

People heaps are amazing entities.  Something like an ant hill when you disturb them, eh?  I don't think population is anything to crow about, rather something to worry about.  I'd be willing to bet that the infrastructure in these cities can't really handle the population they have now, and that it is struggle for public works people on a daily basis.

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[blade2k5 1,523]

Originally posted by: A Nonny Moose

People heaps are amazing entities.  Something like an ant hill when you disturb them, eh?  I don't think population is anything to crow about, rather something to worry about.  I'd be willing to bet that the infrastructure in these cities can't really handle the population they have now, and that it is struggle for public works people on a daily basis.

quote>

Who's crowing?

[astronelson 339]

An fascinating list. The combined populations of those cities alone exceeds the entire population of my home country.

I find it rather interesting that the largest city in each state isn't usually the capital. I also find it interesting how New York City is so far ahead of the rest of the country population-wise.

Originally posted by: Barbarossa

... the largest (or second, I don't know my Canadian friends, but you get my point) area of North America...quote>

Second. Canada has you beat by about 150,000 square kilometres, more if you don't count territorial waters. It's just that most of it is quite unpopulated.

[blade2k5 1,523]

Originally posted by: astronelson

An fascinating list. The combined populations of those cities alone exceeds the entire population of my home country.

I find it rather interesting that the largest city in each state isn't usually the capital. I also find it interesting how New York City is so far ahead of the rest of the country population-wise.quote>

The most populated State capital in the U.S. is Phoenix [#5], followed by Indianapolis [#14], Austin [#15] and Columbus [#16], Nashiville [#25], Oklahoma City [#31].  There's no doubt that Austin Texas, with it's population explosion in the last 20 years will fly past Indianapolis before the 2020 census count.

As for NYC being more than twice as big as LA, well, NYC has been around a lot longer than Los Angeles and has been this nations most populated city since the early 1800s when it flew by Philadelphia if memory serves me correctly, but predictions have LA passing NYC sometime during the second half of this century.

Originally posted by: Barbarossa

Anyway, I'm excited about the Census results being published and sighed-off.

Barbarossaquote>

These estimates came from the Census Bureau  Probably not going to see the official 2010 count until April next year.

[hym 358]

Originally posted by: Barbarossa

Personally, I think Census-style practices should be held more often, say every 5 yrs or even less. Technology has changed our ability to handle this stuff. Folks of the Revolutionary times could never have predicted the progression of society and would have choked trying to accomplish a Census for 350 million people covering the largest (or second, I don't know my Canadian friends, but you get my point) area of North America. Territories in far off places. Ex-pats.quote>

It isn't a question of whether we have the technology to conduct a census every few years, but whether such a decision makes sense.  Americans enjoy filling out the Census form about as much as they enjoy filing their taxes.  Frequently asking them to fill out a long form collecting information on stuff that most people would rather keep private is a guaranteed way to anger a lot of people, and angry people don't return Census forms.  This drives up the cost and difficulty of conducting the Census.

The Census Bureau has begun conducting the American Community Survey, which is a continual census process that reaches approximately 1% of the US population per year.  This survey coupled with the Census data gives the Census Bureau the ability to make fairly accurate estimates on US demographics despite the decennial nature of the Census.  Throw in the fact that this method costs less money, angers fewer people, is virtually immune to constitutionality challenges (unlike a 5 year Census), and is easier to manage, and there is little reason to conduct the official Census more frequently.

Plus, it's kind of tough to conduct a Census every 5 years or less when it typically takes the Census Bureau 3-5 years to design a Census.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Barbarossa

I'm just waiting for the official Census results. There have been so many occurrences, like Katrina and foreclosures, that the new national demographic is surely changed. We also have the growth of minority groups, like Hispanics, changes in family structure (like nuclear vs extended), and new findings on education and income.quote>

There is also this new business about counting college students at their dormitory address rather than their home address (which is stupid, but that's another debate). So if you see a sudden spike in the population of say... South Bend, Indiana, don't think too much of it.