| 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 | – |
Cities in Bold = State Capitals
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.
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.
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%).
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.
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