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List of largest cities of U.S. states and territories by population facts for kids

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This article lists the five largest cities by population in each of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the 5 inhabited territories of the United States. It also includes the capital city for each state or territory, even if it's not among the top five largest cities. This helps us see where most people live in different parts of the U.S.

Most Populous Cities and Capitals in the U.S.

This table shows the biggest cities and the capital for each U.S. state, federal district, and territory. The capital city is highlighted in a different color. Sometimes, the capital city is also one of the top five most populated cities.

State, federal
district, or territory		 State, federal district,
or territory population		 Most populous 2nd most populous 3rd most populous 4th most populous 5th most populous Capital (if not
otherwise listed)
Name Population Name Population Name Population Name Population Name Population Name Population
 Alabama 4,887,871 Huntsville 215,006 Montgomery 200,603 Birmingham 197,575 Mobile 187,041 Tuscaloosa 99,600
 Alaska 737,438 Anchorage 291,538 Juneau 32,197 Fairbanks 31,516 Wasilla 10,529 Sitka 8,647
 American Samoa 55,519 Tafuna 7,945 Nuʻuuli 3,955 Pago Pago 3,656 'Ili'ili 3,195 Pava'ia'i 2,450
 Arizona 7,171,646 Phoenix 1,660,272 Tucson 545,975 Mesa 508,958 Chandler 257,165 Scottsdale 255,310
 Arkansas 3,013,852 Little Rock 202,591 Fayetteville 93,949 Fort Smith 89,142 Springdale 84,161 Jonesboro 78,576
 California 39,557,045 Los Angeles 3,997,984 San Diego 1,425,976 San Jose 1,030,119 San Francisco 884,198 Fresno 530,093 Sacramento (6) 508,529
 Colorado 5,695,564 Denver 719,238 Colorado Springs 483,829 Aurora 374,114 Fort Collins 167,830 Lakewood 156,798
 Connecticut 3,605,944 Bridgeport 148,654 Stamford 135,470 New Haven 134,023 Hartford 121,054 Waterbury 114,403
 Delaware 967,171 Wilmington 70,635 Dover 38,079 Newark 33,673 Middletown 22,582 Smyrna 11,580
 District of Columbia 702,455 Washington, D.C. 702,455
 Florida 21,538,187 Jacksonville 949,611 Miami 467,963 Tampa 384,959 Orlando 307,573 St. Petersburg 258,308 Tallahassee (8) 196,169
 Georgia 10,711,908 Atlanta 498,715 Columbus 206,922 Augusta 202,081 Macon 157,346 Savannah 147,780
 Guam 159,358 Dededo 44,943 Yigo 20,539 Tamuning 19,685 Mangilao 15,191 Barrigada 8,875 Hagåtña (18) 1,051
 Hawaii 1,420,491 Honolulu 347,397 East Honolulu 49,914 Pearl City 47,698 Hilo 43,263 Kailua 38,635
 Idaho 1,754,208 Boise 228,790 Meridian 106,894 Nampa 96,252 Idaho Falls 63,398 Caldwell 56,541
 Illinois 12,741,080 Chicago 2,705,994 Aurora 198,187 Naperville 148,304 Joliet 148,099 Rockford 146,526 Springfield (6) 114,694
 Indiana 6,691,878 Indianapolis 867,125 Fort Wayne 267,633 Evansville 117,963 South Bend 103,290 Carmel 99,329
 Iowa 3,156,145 Des Moines 216,853 Cedar Rapids 133,174 Davenport 102,085 Sioux City 82,396 Iowa City 76,290
 Kansas 2,911,505 Wichita 389,225 Overland Park 197,219 Kansas City 156,607 Olathe 139,605 Topeka 125,904
 Kentucky 4,468,402 Louisville 620,578 Lexington 323,780 Bowling Green 68,401 Owensboro 59,809 Covington 40,366 Frankfort (15) 27,679
 Louisiana 4,659,978 New Orleans 399,187 Baton Rouge 221,599 Shreveport 185,902 Lafayette 126,143 Lake Charles 78,001
 Maine 1,338,404 Portland 66,417 Lewiston 35,944 Bangor 31,997 South Portland 25,606 Auburn 23,196 Augusta (10) 18,681
 Maryland 6,042,718 Baltimore 594,282 Columbia 104,156 Germantown 91,347 Silver Spring 83,267 Waldorf 78,904 Annapolis (7) 39,174
 Massachusetts 6,902,149 Boston 699,927 Worcester 185,877 Springfield 155,032 Cambridge 118,977 Lowell 111,670
 Michigan 9,995,915 Detroit 672,662 Grand Rapids 200,217 Warren 134,587 Sterling Heights 132,964 Ann Arbor 121,890 Lansing (6) 118,427
 Minnesota 5,611,179 Minneapolis 427,728 Saint Paul 312,818 Rochester 117,902 Duluth 85,884 Bloomington 85,578
 Mississippi 2,986,530 Jackson 164,422 Gulfport 71,870 Southaven 54,944 Biloxi 45,968 Hattiesburg 45,951
 Missouri 6,126,452 Kansas City 508,090 Saint Louis 302,838 Springfield 168,122 Columbia 123,180 Independence 116,925 Jefferson City (15) 42,838
 Montana 1,062,305 Billings 116,827 Missoula 74,428 Great Falls 58,701 Bozeman 48,532 Butte 34,284 Helena (6) 32,315
 Nebraska 1,929,268 Omaha 468,262 Lincoln 287,401 Bellevue 53,627 Grand Island 51,478 Kearney 33,761
 Nevada 3,034,392 Las Vegas 649,876 Henderson 317,189 Reno 259,746 North Las Vegas 246,133 Paradise 219,178 Carson City (10) 55,414
 New Hampshire 1,356,458 Manchester 112,525 Nashua 89,246 Concord 43,412 Dover 31,771 Rochester 31,366
 New Jersey 8,908,520 Newark 282,090 Jersey City 265,549 Paterson 145,627 Elizabeth 128,885 Edison 100,008 Trenton (10) 83,974
 New Mexico 2,095,428 Albuquerque 560,218 Las Cruces 102,926 Rio Rancho 98,023 Santa Fe 94,528 Roswell 47,635
 New York 19,542,209 New York City 8,879,928 Buffalo 278,349 Yonkers 211,569 Rochester 211,328 Syracuse 148,620 Albany (6) 97,279
 North Carolina 10,383,620 Charlotte 882,367 Raleigh 478,956 Greensboro 298,329 Durham 278,547 Winston-Salem 248,232
 North Dakota 760,077 Fargo 124,844 Bismarck 73,112 Grand Forks 56,948 Minot 47,340 West Fargo 36,566
 Northern Mariana Islands 53,883 Saipan 48,220 Tinian 3,136 Rota 2,527 Northern Islands 0
 Ohio 11,689,442 Columbus 895,477 Cleveland 382,817 Cincinnati 302,605 Toledo 273,782 Akron 198,006
 Oklahoma 3,943,079 Oklahoma City 649,021 Tulsa 400,669 Norman 123,471 Broken Arrow 109,471 Edmond 93,127
 Oregon 4,190,713 Portland 661,189 Salem 173,442 Eugene 171,245 Gresham 110,158 Hillsboro 108,389
 Pennsylvania 12,807,060 Philadelphia 1,587,828 Pittsburgh 301,048 Allentown 126,238 Erie 96,471 Reading 88,495 Harrisburg (9) 50,183
 Puerto Rico 3,195,153 San Juan 320,967 Bayamón 170,480 Carolina 147,661 Ponce 133,191 Caguas 124,434
 Rhode Island 1,057,315 Providence 179,335 Cranston 81,274 Warwick 80,847 Pawtucket 71,847 East Providence 47,476
 South Carolina 5,124,712 Charleston 150,277 Columbia 136,632 North Charleston 114,852 Mount Pleasant 90,801 Rock Hill 74,372
 South Dakota 882,235 Sioux Falls 181,883 Rapid City 75,443 Aberdeen 28,562 Brookings 24,509 Watertown 22,655 Pierre (8) 13,980
 Tennessee 6,770,010 Nashville 681,928 Memphis 650,618 Knoxville 187,500 Chattanooga 180,557 Clarksville 163,648
 Texas 28,701,845 Houston 2,325,502 San Antonio 1,532,233 Dallas 1,356,785 Austin 993,649 Fort Worth 902,938
 Utah 3,161,105 Salt Lake City 200,591 West Valley City 136,401 Provo 118,178 West Jordan 116,046 Orem 97,521
 Vermont 626,299 Burlington 44,743 South Burlington 20,292 Colchester 17,524 Rutland 15,807 Bennington 15,333 Montpelier (16) 8,074
United States Virgin Islands Virgin Islands (U.S.) 106,405 Charlotte Amalie 18,481 Sion Farm 13,003 Northside 10,049 East End 5,128 Southcentral 3,277
 Virginia 8,517,685 Virginia Beach 450,189 Norfolk 244,076 Chesapeake 242,634 Richmond 228,783 Arlington 224,906
 Washington 7,535,591 Seattle 754,567 Spokane 219,190 Tacoma 216,279 Vancouver 183,012 Bellevue 147,599 Olympia (23) 52,555
 West Virginia 1,805,832 Charleston 47,215 Huntington 46,048 Morgantown 30,955 Parkersburg 29,675 Wheeling 26,771
 Wisconsin 5,813,568 Milwaukee 592,025 Madison 258,054 Green Bay 108,827 Kenosha 100,164 Racine 77,432
 Wyoming 577,737 Cheyenne 63,957 Casper 57,461 Laramie 32,473 Gillette 31,903 Rock Springs 23,082

Understanding City Populations

Sometimes, how a "city" is counted can be a bit tricky. Here are some special cases:

Hawaii's Unique City Structure

In Hawaii, the only official "city" is the City & County of Honolulu. This means the city and the county are the same. For population numbers, people often look at the Honolulu District. This area is sometimes called the "city" for statistics, even though it doesn't have its own separate government. The U.S. Census Bureau uses something called a "census-designated place" (CDP) for Honolulu. This helps count people in areas that act like cities but aren't officially separate.

Northern Mariana Islands Municipalities

The Northern Mariana Islands are divided into four main areas called municipalities. These are like big districts. Each municipality has smaller villages inside it. Even though there are smaller villages, the municipalities are usually considered the main divisions. For example, Saipan is often listed as the capital, not its smaller village of Capitol Hill.

U.S. Virgin Islands Sub-Districts

For the U.S. Virgin Islands, the population numbers are often given for "sub-districts." These are areas defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. The three biggest towns in the U.S. Virgin Islands are Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted, and Frederiksted.

Maryland's Population Centers

Maryland has many official cities and towns. However, some of its biggest population centers are actually "census-designated places" (CDPs). These are often large suburbs in the Baltimore-Washington corridor. If you only count officially incorporated cities, Annapolis, which is Maryland's capital, is the seventh-largest city in the state.

Learn More About the United States

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