Biggest Cities in New York - 1850 Census Data

Rank	City	1850 Population	Growth Rate (Annual)
1	New York	515,547	5.1%
2	Brooklyn	96,838	10.3%
3	Albany	50,763	4.2%
4	Buffalo	42,261	8.8%
5	Rochester	36,403	6.1%
6	Williamsburgh	30,780	–
7	Troy	28,785	4.1%
8	Syracuse	22,271	–
9	Utica	17,565	3.2%
10	Oswego	12,205	–
11	Poughkeepsie	11,511	–
12	Auburn	9,548	5.4%
13	Schenectady	8,921	2.8%
14	West Troy town (Watervliet)	7,564	–

In 1850, the largest city in New York was New York, with a population of 515,547. The second largest city is Brooklyn, with a population of 96,838.