Biggest US Cities in 1950 - Historical Population Data

Cities in Bold = State Capitals

Top 100 Biggest US Cities In The Year 1950

Rank	City	1950 Population	Growth Rate (Annual)
1	New York, NY	7,891,957	0.6%
2	Chicago, IL	3,620,962	0.6%
3	Philadelphia, PA	2,071,605	0.7%
4	Los Angeles, CA	1,970,358	2.7%
5	Detroit, MI	1,849,568	1.3%
6	Baltimore, MD	949,708	1.0%
7	Cleveland, OH	914,808	0.4%
8	St. Louis, MO	856,796	0.5%
9	Washington, DC	802,178	1.9%
10	Boston, MA	801,444	0.4%
11	San Francisco, CA	775,357	2.0%
12	Pittsburgh, PA	676,806	0.1%
13	Milwaukee, WI	637,392	0.8%
14	Houston, TX	596,163	4.5%
15	Buffalo, NY	580,132	0.1%
16	New Orleans, LA	570,445	1.4%
17	Minneapolis, MN	521,718	0.6%
18	Cincinnati, OH	503,998	1.0%
19	Seattle, WA	467,591	2.4%
20	Kansas City, MO	456,622	1.4%
21	Newark, NJ	438,776	0.2%
22	Dallas, TX	434,462	4.0%
23	Indianapolis, IN	427,173	1.0%
24	Denver, CO	415,786	2.6%
25	San Antonio, TX	408,442	4.9%
26	Memphis, TN	396,000	3.1%
27	Oakland, CA	384,575	2.4%
28	Columbus, OH	375,901	2.1%
29	Portland, OR	373,628	2.0%
30	Louisville, KY	369,129	1.5%
31	San Diego, CA	334,387	5.1%
32	Rochester, NY	332,488	0.2%
33	Atlanta, GA	331,314	0.9%
34	Birmingham, AL	326,037	2.0%
35	St. Paul, MN	311,349	0.8%
36	Toledo, OH	303,616	0.7%
37	Jersey City, NJ	299,017	-0.1%
38	Fort Worth, TX	278,778	4.6%
39	Akron, OH	274,605	1.2%
40	Omaha, NE	251,117	1.2%
41	Long Beach, CA	250,767	4.3%
42	Miami, FL	249,276	3.8%
43	Providence, RI	248,674	-0.2%
44	Dayton, OH	243,872	1.5%
45	Oklahoma City, OK	243,504	1.8%
46	Richmond, VA	230,310	1.8%
47	Syracuse, NY	220,583	0.7%
48	Norfolk, VA	213,513	4.0%
49	Jacksonville, FL	204,517	1.7%
50	Worcester, MA	203,486	0.5%
51	Tulsa, OK	182,740	2.5%
52	Salt Lake City, UT	182,121	2.0%
53	Des Moines, IA	177,965	1.1%
54	Hartford, CT	177,397	0.7%
55	Grand Rapids, MI	176,515	0.7%
56	Nashville, TN	174,307	0.4%
57	Youngstown, OH	168,330	0.0%
58	Wichita, KS	168,279	3.9%
59	New Haven, CT	164,443	0.2%
60	Flint, MI	163,143	0.7%
61	Springfield, MA	162,399	0.8%
62	Spokane, WA	161,721	2.9%
63	Bridgeport, CT	158,709	0.8%
64	Yonkers, NY	152,798	0.7%
65	Tacoma, WA	143,673	2.8%
66	Paterson, NJ	139,336	-0.0%
67	Sacramento, CA	137,572	2.6%
68	Arlington, VA	135,449	–
69	Albany, NY	134,995	0.3%
70	Charlotte, NC	134,042	2.9%
71	Gary, IN	133,911	1.8%
72	Fort Wayne, IN	133,607	1.2%
73	Austin, TX	132,459	–
74	Chattanooga, TN	131,041	0.2%
75	Erie, PA	130,803	1.1%
76	El Paso, TX	130,485	3.0%
77	Kansas City, KS	129,553	0.6%
78	Mobile, AL	129,009	–
79	Evansville, IN	128,636	2.9%
80	Trenton, NJ	128,009	0.3%
81	Shreveport, LA	127,206	2.6%
82	Baton Rouge, LA	125,629	–
83	Scranton, PA	125,536	-1.1%
84	Knoxville, TN	124,769	1.1%
85	Tampa, FL	124,681	1.4%
86	Camden, NJ	124,555	0.6%
87	Cambridge, MA	120,740	0.9%
88	Savannah, GA	119,638	2.2%
89	Canton, OH	116,912	0.8%
90	South Bend, IN	115,911	1.4%
91	Berkeley, CA	113,805	–
92	Elizabeth, NJ	112,817	0.3%
93	Fall River, MA	111,963	-0.3%
94	Peoria, IL	111,856	0.6%
95	Wilmington, DE	110,356	-0.2%
96	Reading, PA	109,320	-0.1%
97	New Bedford, MA	109,189	-0.1%
98	Corpus Christi, TX	108,287	–
99	Phoenix, AZ	106,818	–
100	Allentown, PA	106,756	1.0%

View Biggest US Cities From Different Years

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1900s	1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
2000s	2000 2010 2020 2022

What was the largest city in the US in 1950?

In 1950, the largest city in the US was New York, with a population of 7,891,957. The second largest city was Chicago, with a population of 3,620,962. The third largest US city in 1950 was Philadelphia, with a population of 2,071,605.

What was the overall population of the United States in 1950?

The total population of the United States in 1950 was 151,325,798. In 1950, the top 10 largest cities held 14.4% of the population of the country. The top 100 cities accounted for 28.9% of the entire country's population.

What was the demographic makeup of the United States in 1950?

The racial demographics of the United States in 1950 were as follows: White population of 135,436,589 (89.5%), Black population of 15,132,579 (10.0%), American Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut population of 302,651 (0.2%), Asian and Pacific Islander population of 302,651 (0.2%).

What was the overall population of the world in 1950?

The overall population of the world in 1950 was around 2,536,000,000. In 1950 the United States population accounted for about 6.0% of the world's total population.