What is the largest city in the United States?
New York City is the largest US city with a population of 8,516,202, per Census ACS 5-Year estimates. Los Angeles is second (3,857,897) and Chicago is third (2,707,648).
Context
New York City's population exceeds that of 39 individual US states. Definitions of "largest" matter, metro area populations look very different from city-proper boundaries.
Top 10
| #1 New York city, NY | 8,516,202 |
| #2 Los Angeles city, CA | 3,857,897 |
| #3 Chicago city, IL | 2,707,648 |
| #4 Houston city, TX | 2,300,419 |
| #5 Phoenix city, AZ | 1,624,832 |
| #6 Philadelphia city, PA | 1,582,432 |
| #7 San Antonio city, TX | 1,458,954 |
| #8 San Diego city, CA | 1,385,061 |
| #9 Dallas city, TX | 1,299,553 |
| #10 San Jose city, CA | 990,054 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
New York City is the largest US city with a population of 8,516,202, per Census ACS 5-Year estimates. Los Angeles is second (3,857,897) and Chicago is third (2,707,648).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS, 2026.