Biggest Cities in New York - 1860 Census Data

Rank	City	1860 Population	Growth Rate (Annual)
1	New York	813,669	4.7%
2	Brooklyn	266,661	10.7%
3	Buffalo	81,129	6.7%
4	Albany	62,367	2.1%
5	Rochester	48,204	2.8%
6	Troy	39,235	3.1%
7	Syracuse	28,119	2.4%
8	Utica	22,529	2.5%
9	Oswego	16,816	3.3%
10	Poughkeepsie	14,726	2.5%
11	Newburgh	12,578	–
12	Auburn	10,986	1.4%
13	Lockport	10,871	–
14	Schenectady	9,579	0.7%

In 1860, the largest city in New York was New York, with a population of 813,669. The second largest city is Brooklyn, with a population of 266,661.