By Pallavi Rao
Over 80% of the American population lives in an “urban area” according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But where are all of the country’s largest cities, and what patterns can we see from their state locations?
This map shows U.S. states by their number of incorporated areas (i.e. cities or towns) that have more than 250,000 residents. Data for this map comes from 2024 estimates made by World Population Review, which were based on the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures.
Ranked: U.S. States By Number of Cities Over 250K Residents
California and Texas—also the most populous U.S. states—each have more than 10 cities with at least a quarter of a million inhabitants.
Two other warm weather states, Arizona and Florida, also have a number of cities with 250,000 or more residents, at six each.
Eighteen U.S. states in total—including South Carolina, Alabama, and Utah to name a few—have no single incorporated area with 250,000 or more residents.
Cities, Towns, and Metro Areas
Like with all population data, definitions tend to play a big role in what is considered a city. In general parlance, built-up population centers are often thought of cities. However, an urban area can have a relatively big population and be incorporated as a town, as in the case of Gilbert, Arizona, which is included in the above map.
Separately, a collection of incorporated villages can be collectively referred to as a town, such as in the case of Hempstead, New York. Hempstead is an incorporated village with only 60,000 people, however it also lends its name to the wider town (an amalgamation of 22 villages and 38 hamlets) which has nearly 800,000 inhabitants. Three other New York towns listed below thus do not make the map for similar reasons.
| Town | State | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Hempstead | New York | 779,916 |
| Brookhaven | New York | 483,351 |
| Islip | New York | 333,322 |
| Oyster Bay | New York | 293,812 |
Source: World Population Review.
On the other hand, major hubs like Los Angeles often have a central city and surrounding suburbs, which are their own distinct incorporated cities as well. These are often counted as one major metropolitan region, but are still, technically separate cities. This leads to interesting results in the final count.
For example, in Arizona’s case, five of the six cities listed all belong to the greater Phoenix Metropolitan region.
Meanwhile, Nevada has two main population centers: Las Vegas and Reno. However two of Las Vegas’ suburbs, Henderson and North Las Vegas, are separately incorporated, and each have populations that crack the 250,000 mark.
Conversely, in South Carolina, there are no cities listed, despite having a state population of 5.3 million. The state’s urban areas are divided up in such a way that none of them (including the central cities of Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville) end up passing 250,000 in population.
Source: Visual Capitalist
