Biggest Cities in New York - 1870 Census Data

Rank	City	1870 Population	Growth Rate (Annual)
1	New York	942,292	1.5%
2	Brooklyn	396,099	4.0%
3	Buffalo	117,714	3.8%
4	Albany	69,422	1.1%
5	Rochester	62,386	2.6%
6	Troy	46,465	1.7%
7	Syracuse	43,051	4.4%
8	Utica	28,804	2.5%
9	Oswego	20,910	2.2%
10	Poughkeepsie	20,080	3.1%
11	Auburn	17,225	4.6%
12	Newburgh	17,014	3.1%
13	Elmira	15,863	–
14	Cohoes	15,357	–

In 1870, the largest city in New York was New York, with a population of 942,292. The second largest city is Brooklyn, with a population of 396,099.