Biggest US Cities in 1850 - Historical Population Data

Cities in Bold = State Capitals

Top 100 Biggest US Cities In The Year 1850

Rank	City	1850 Population	Growth Rate (Annual)
1	New York, NY	515,547	5.1%
2	Baltimore, MD	169,054	5.2%
3	Boston, MA	136,881	3.9%
4	Philadelphia, PA	121,376	2.6%
5	New Orleans, LA	116,375	1.3%
6	Cincinnati, OH	115,435	9.6%
7	Brooklyn, NY	96,838	10.3%
8	St. Louis, MO	77,860	16.8%
9	Spring Garden district, PA	58,894	7.8%
10	Albany, NY	50,763	4.2%
11	Northern Liberties district, PA	47,223	3.2%
12	Kensington district, PA	46,774	7.7%
13	Pittsburgh, PA	46,601	8.2%
14	Louisville, KY	43,194	7.4%
15	Charleston, SC	42,985	3.9%
16	Buffalo, NY	42,261	8.8%
17	Providence, RI	41,513	6.0%
18	Washington, DC	40,001	5.5%
19	Newark, NJ	38,894	8.4%
20	Southwark district, PA	38,799	3.5%
21	Rochester, NY	36,403	6.1%
22	Lowell, MA	33,383	4.8%
23	Williamsburgh, NY	30,780	–
24	Chicago, IL	29,963	21.0%
25	Troy, NY	28,785	4.1%
26	Richmond, VA	27,570	3.2%
27	Moyamensing district, PA	26,979	–
28	Syracuse, NY	22,271	–
29	Allegheny, PA	21,262	7.7%
30	Detroit, MI	21,019	8.7%
31	Portland, ME	20,815	3.2%
32	Mobile, AL	20,515	4.9%
33	New Haven, CT	20,345	4.6%
34	Salem, MA	20,264	3.0%
35	Milwaukee, WI	20,061	–
36	Roxbury, MA	18,364	7.3%
37	Columbus, OH	17,882	11.5%
38	Utica, NY	17,565	3.2%
39	Charlestown, MA	17,216	4.1%
40	Worcester, MA	17,049	8.6%
41	Cleveland, OH	17,034	10.9%
42	New Bedford, MA	16,443	3.1%
43	Reading, PA	15,743	6.5%
44	Savannah, GA	15,312	3.2%
45	Cambridge, MA	15,215	6.1%
46	Bangor, ME	14,432	5.3%
47	Norfolk, VA	14,326	2.8%
48	Lynn, MA	14,257	4.3%
49	Lafayette city (old), LA	14,190	–
50	Petersburg, VA	14,010	2.3%
51	Wilmington, DE	13,979	5.3%
52	Manchester, NH	13,932	–
53	Hartford, CT	13,555	3.7%
54	Lancaster, PA	12,369	3.9%
55	Oswego, NY	12,205	–
56	Springfield, MA	11,766	0.7%
57	Fall River, MA	11,524	5.5%
58	Poughkeepsie, NY	11,511	–
59	Wheeling, VA	11,435	3.8%
60	Paterson township, NJ	11,334	4.1%
61	Dayton, OH	10,977	6.1%
62	Taunton, MA	10,441	3.2%
63	Nashville, TN	10,165	3.9%
64	Portsmouth, NH	9,738	2.1%
65	Newburyport, MA	9,572	2.9%
66	Newport, RI	9,563	1.4%
67	Auburn, NY	9,548	5.4%
68	Camden, NJ	9,479	–
69	Augusta, GA	9,448	4.0%
70	Covington, KY	9,408	–
71	New London, CT	8,991	5.0%
72	Schenectady, NY	8,921	2.8%
73	Memphis, TN	8,841	–
74	Alexandria, VA	8,734	–
75	Montgomery, AL	8,728	–
76	Portsmouth, VA	8,626	2.9%
77	Concord, NH	8,576	5.8%
78	Nantucket, MA	8,452	-0.6%
79	Georgetown, DC	8,366	1.4%
80	Chicopee, MA	8,291	–
81	Lawrence, MA	8,282	–
82	Augusta, ME	8,225	4.5%
83	Dover, NH	8,196	2.4%
84	New Albany, IN	8,181	6.8%
85	Lexington, KY	8,159	1.5%
86	Danvers, MA	8,109	4.9%
87	Indianapolis, IN	8,091	–
88	Lynchburg, VA	8,071	2.4%
89	Bath, ME	8,020	4.5%
90	Madison, IN	8,012	–
91	Dorchester, MA	7,969	5.0%
92	Zanesville, OH	7,929	5.2%
93	Harrisburg, PA	7,834	2.7%
94	Gloucester, MA	7,786	2.1%
95	Warwick, RI	7,740	1.4%
96	North Providence, RI	7,680	–
97	West Troy town (Watervliet), NY	7,564	–
98	Pottsville, PA	7,515	5.6%
99	Wilmington, NC	7,264	3.1%
100	Easton, PA	7,250	4.1%

View Biggest US Cities From Different Years

1800s	1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890
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 1850?

In 1850, the largest city in the US was New York, with a population of 515,547. The second largest city was Baltimore, with a population of 169,054. The third largest US city in 1850 was Boston, with a population of 136,881.

What was the overall population of the United States in 1850?

The total population of the United States in 1850 was 23,191,876. In 1850, the top 10 largest cities held 6.3% of the population of the country. The top 100 cities accounted for 12.8% of the entire country's population.

What was the demographic makeup of the United States in 1850?

The racial demographics of the United States in 1850 were as follows: White population of 19,550,751 (84.3%), Black population of 3,641,124 (15.7%).

What was the overall population of the world in 1850?

The overall population of the world in 1850 was around 1,278,000,000. In 1850 the United States population accounted for about 1.8% of the world's total population.