Biggest US Cities in 1870 - Historical Population Data

Cities in Bold = State Capitals

Top 100 Biggest US Cities In The Year 1870

Rank	City	1870 Population	Growth Rate (Annual)
1	New York, NY	942,292	1.5%
2	Philadelphia, PA	674,022	1.8%
3	Brooklyn, NY	396,099	4.0%
4	St. Louis, MO	310,864	6.8%
5	Chicago, IL	298,977	10.3%
6	Baltimore, MD	267,354	2.3%
7	Boston, MA	250,526	3.5%
8	Cincinnati, OH	216,239	3.0%
9	New Orleans, LA	191,418	1.3%
10	San Francisco, CA	149,473	10.2%
11	Buffalo, NY	117,714	3.8%
12	Washington, DC	109,199	6.0%
13	Newark, NJ	105,059	3.9%
14	Louisville, KY	100,753	4.0%
15	Cleveland, OH	92,829	7.9%
16	Pittsburgh, PA	86,076	5.7%
17	Jersey City, NJ	82,546	10.9%
18	Detroit, MI	79,577	5.7%
19	Milwaukee, WI	71,440	4.7%
20	Albany, NY	69,422	1.1%
21	Providence, RI	68,904	3.1%
22	Rochester, NY	62,386	2.6%
23	Allegheny, PA	53,180	6.4%
24	Richmond, VA	51,038	3.0%
25	New Haven, CT	50,840	2.6%
26	Charleston, SC	48,956	1.9%
27	Indianapolis, IN	48,244	10.0%
28	Troy, NY	46,465	1.7%
29	Syracuse, NY	43,051	4.4%
30	Worcester, MA	41,105	5.1%
31	Lowell, MA	40,928	1.1%
32	Memphis, TN	40,226	5.9%
33	Cambridge, MA	39,634	4.3%
34	Hartford, CT	37,180	3.3%
35	Scranton, PA	35,092	–
36	Reading, PA	33,930	3.9%
37	Paterson, NJ	33,579	5.5%
38	Kansas City, MO	32,260	–
39	Mobile, AL	32,034	0.9%
40	Toledo, OH	31,584	8.7%
41	Portland, ME	31,413	1.8%
42	Columbus, OH	31,274	5.4%
43	Wilmington, DE	30,841	3.8%
44	Dayton, OH	30,473	4.3%
45	Lawrence, MA	28,921	5.1%
46	Utica, NY	28,804	2.5%
47	Charlestown, MA	28,323	1.2%
48	Savannah, GA	28,235	2.4%
49	Lynn, MA	28,233	4.0%
50	Fall River, MA	26,766	6.7%
51	Springfield, MA	26,703	5.8%
52	Nashville, TN	25,865	4.3%
53	Covington, KY	24,505	4.1%
54	Salem, MA	24,117	0.8%
55	Quincy, IL	24,052	5.8%
56	Manchester, NH	23,536	1.6%
57	Harrisburg, PA	23,104	5.6%
58	Trenton, NJ	22,874	2.9%
59	Peoria, IL	22,849	5.0%
60	Evansville, IN	21,830	6.6%
61	Atlanta, GA	21,789	8.6%
62	New Bedford, MA	21,320	-0.4%
63	Oswego, NY	20,910	2.2%
64	Elizabeth, NJ	20,832	6.1%
65	North Providence, RI	20,495	5.7%
66	Hoboken, NJ	20,297	7.7%
67	Lancaster, PA	20,233	1.4%
68	Poughkeepsie, NY	20,080	3.1%
69	Camden, NJ	20,045	3.4%
70	Davenport, IA	20,038	5.9%
71	St. Paul, MN	20,030	6.8%
72	Erie, PA	19,646	–
73	St. Joseph, MO	19,565	–
74	Wheeling, WV	19,280	–
75	Norfolk, VA	19,229	2.8%
76	Bridgeport, CT	18,969	4.6%
77	Petersburg, VA	18,950	0.4%
78	Taunton, MA	18,629	1.9%
79	Chelsea, MA	18,547	3.3%
80	Dubuque, IA	18,434	3.6%
81	Bangor, ME	18,289	1.1%
82	Leavenworth, KS	17,873	–
83	Fort Wayne, IN	17,718	–
84	Springfield, IL	17,364	–
85	Auburn, NY	17,225	4.6%
86	Newburgh, NY	17,014	3.1%
87	Norwich, CT	16,653	1.7%
88	Grand Rapids, MI	16,507	–
89	Sacramento, CA	16,283	1.7%
90	Terre Haute, IN	16,103	–
91	Omaha, NE	16,083	–
92	Williamsport, PA	16,030	–
93	Elmira, NY	15,863	–
94	New Albany, IN	15,396	2.0%
95	Augusta, GA	15,389	2.1%
96	Gloucester, MA	15,389	3.5%
97	Cohoes, NY	15,357	–
98	Newport, KY	15,087	4.2%
99	New Brunswick, NJ	15,058	3.0%
100	Burlington, IA	14,930	–

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 1870?

In 1870, the largest city in the US was New York, with a population of 942,292. The second largest city was Philadelphia, with a population of 674,022. The third largest US city in 1870 was Brooklyn, with a population of 396,099.

What was the overall population of the United States in 1870?

The total population of the United States in 1870 was 38,558,371. In 1870, the top 10 largest cities held 9.6% of the population of the country. The top 100 cities accounted for 17.5% of the entire country's population.

What was the demographic makeup of the United States in 1870?

The racial demographics of the United States in 1870 were as follows: White population of 33,584,341 (87.1%), Black population of 4,896,913 (12.7%), Asian and Pacific Islander population of 77,116 (0.2%), American Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut population of 38,558 (0.1%).

What was the overall population of the world in 1870?

The overall population of the world in 1870 was around 1,347,000,000. In 1870 the United States population accounted for about 2.9% of the world's total population.