Demographia

US Urbanized Areas
1950-1990
Urbanized Area Rankings

CONTENTS
Population
Land Area
Density
Change in Population
Change in Land Area
Change in Density
Notes & Caveats

POPULATION          
Rank Urbanized Area 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
1 New York 12,296 14,115 16,207 15,590 16,044
2 Los Angeles 3,997 6,489 8,351 9,479 11,402
3 Chicago 4,921 5,959 6,715 6,780 6,792
4 Philadelphia 2,922 3,635 4,021 4,112 4,222
5 Detroit 2,752 3,738 3,971 3,809 3,697
6 San Francisco-Oakland 2,022 2,431 2,988 3,191 3,630
7 Washington 1,287 1,808 2,481 2,763 3,363
8 Dallas-Fort Worth 855 1,435 2,016 2,451 3,198
9 Houston 701 1,140 1,678 2,412 2,902
10 Boston 2,233 2,413 2,653 2,679 2,775
11 San Diego 433 836 1,198 1,704 2,348
12 Atlanta 507 768 1,172 1,613 2,157
13 Minneapolis-St. Paul 987 1,377 1,701 1,788 2,080
14 Phoenix 216 552 863 1,409 2,006
15 St. Louis 1,401 1,668 1,883 1,849 1,947
16 Miami 459 853 1,220 1,608 1,915
17 Baltimore 1,162 1,419 1,580 1,755 1,890
18 Seattle 622 864 1,238 1,392 1,744
19 Tampa-St. Petersburg 408 627 863 1,353 1,709
20 Pittsburgh 1,533 1,804 1,846 1,810 1,678
21 Cleveland 1,384 1,785 1,960 1,752 1,677
22 Denver 499 804 1,047 1,352 1,518
23 San Jose 176 603 1,025 1,244 1,435
24 Norfolk 385 508 668 770 1,323
25 Kansas City 698 921 1,102 1,098 1,275
26 Fort Lauderdale --- 320 614 1,008 1,238
27 Milwaukee 829 1,150 1,252 1,207 1,226
28 Cincinnati 813 994 1,111 1,123 1,212
29 Portland 513 652 825 1,026 1,172
30 Riverside-San Bernardino 136 378 584 705 1,170
31 San Antonio 450 642 773 945 1,129
32 Sacramento 212 452 641 796 1,097
33 New Orleans 660 845 962 1,078 1,040
34 Buffalo 895 1,054 1,087 1,002 954
LAND AREA          
Rank Urbanized Area 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
1 New York 1,253 1,892 2,425 2,808 2,967
2 Los Angeles 871 1,370 1,572 1,827 1,966
3 Chicago 708 960 1,277 1,498 1,585
4 Dallas-Fort Worth 262 920 1,071 1,280 1,443
5 Houston 270 431 539 1,049 1,177
6 Philadelphia 312 597 752 1,015 1,164
7 Atlanta 106 246 435 905 1,137
8 Detroit 423 732 872 1,044 1,119
9 Minneapolis-St. Paul 231 657 721 980 1,063
10 Washington 178 341 495 807 945
11 Boston 345 516 664 857 891
12 San Francisco-Oakland 287 572 681 796 874
13 Pittsburgh 254 525 596 713 778
14 Kansas City 149 282 475 589 762
15 Phoenix 55 248 388 600 741
16 St. Louis 228 323 461 597 728
17 San Diego 133 276 381 611 690
18 Norfolk 62 109 299 418 664
19 Tampa-St. Petersburg 180 218 291 527 650
20 Cleveland 300 587 646 629 636
21 Baltimore 152 220 310 523 593
22 Seattle 123 238 413 424 588
23 Milwaukee 102 392 457 496 512
24 Cincinnati 146 242 335 420 512
25 Riverside-San Bernardino 61 169 310 359 460
26 Denver 105 167 293 439 459
27 San Antonio 90 192 223 354 438
28 Portland 114 192 267 349 388
29 Miami 117 183 259 340 353
30 San Jose 61 223 277 326 338
31 Sacramento 42 134 254 278 334
32 Fort Lauderdale --- 124 212 289 327
33 Buffalo 123 160 214 266 286
34 New Orleans 109 154 184 230 270
DENSITY          
Rank Urbanized Area 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
1 Los Angeles 4,589 4,736 5,312 5,188 5,800
2 Miami 3,923 4,661 4,710 4,729 5,425
3 New York 9,813 7,460 6,683 5,552 5,407
4 Chicago 6,951 6,207 5,258 4,526 4,285
5 San Jose 2,885 2,704 3,700 3,816 4,246
6 San Francisco-Oakland 7,045 4,250 4,388 4,009 4,153
7 New Orleans 6,055 5,487 5,228 4,687 3,852
8 Fort Lauderdale --- 2,581 2,896 3,488 3,786
9 Philadelphia 9,365 6,089 5,347 4,051 3,627
10 Washington 7,230 5,302 5,012 3,424 3,559
11 San Diego 3,256 3,029 3,144 2,789 3,403
12 Buffalo 7,276 6,588 5,079 3,767 3,336
13 Denver 4,752 4,814 3,573 3,080 3,307
14 Detroit 6,506 5,107 4,554 3,648 3,304
15 Sacramento 5,048 3,373 2,524 2,863 3,284
16 Baltimore 7,645 6,450 5,097 3,356 3,187
17 Boston 6,472 4,676 3,995 3,126 3,114
18 Portland 4,500 3,396 3,090 2,940 3,021
19 Seattle 5,057 3,630 2,998 3,283 2,966
20 Phoenix 3,927 2,226 2,224 2,348 2,707
21 St. Louis 6,145 5,164 4,085 3,097 2,674
22 Cleveland 4,613 3,041 3,034 2,785 2,637
23 Tampa-St. Petersburg 2,267 2,876 2,966 2,567 2,629
24 San Antonio 5,000 3,344 3,466 2,669 2,578
25 Riverside-San Bernardino 2,230 2,237 1,884 1,964 2,543
26 Houston 2,596 2,645 3,113 2,299 2,466
27 Milwaukee 8,127 2,934 2,740 2,433 2,395
28 Cincinnati 5,568 4,107 3,316 2,674 2,367
29 Dallas-Fort Worth 3,263 1,560 1,882 1,915 2,216
30 Pittsburgh 6,035 3,436 3,097 2,539 2,157
31 Norfolk 6,210 4,661 2,234 1,842 1,992
32 Minneapolis-St. Paul 4,273 2,096 2,359 1,824 1,957
33 Atlanta 4,783 3,122 2,694 1,782 1,897
34 Kansas City 4,685 3,266 2,320 1,864 1,673
CHANGE IN POPULATION          
Rank Urbanized Area 1950-1990 1950-1960 1960-1970 1970-1980 1980-1990
1 Phoenix 828.7% 155.6% 56.3% 63.3% 42.4%
2 Riverside-San Bernardino 760.3% 177.9% 54.5% 20.7% 66.0%
3 San Jose 715.3% 242.6% 70.0% 21.4% 15.4%
4 San Diego 442.3% 93.1% 43.3% 42.2% 37.8%
5 Sacramento 417.5% 113.2% 41.8% 24.2% 37.8%
6 Atlanta 325.4% 51.5% 52.6% 37.6% 33.7%
7 Tampa-St. Petersburg 318.9% 53.7% 37.6% 56.8% 26.3%
8 Miami 317.2% 85.8% 43.0% 31.8% 19.1%
9 Houston 314.0% 62.6% 47.2% 43.7% 20.3%
10 Dallas-Fort Worth 274.0% 67.8% 40.5% 21.6% 30.5%
11 Norfolk 243.6% 31.9% 31.5% 15.3% 71.8%
12 Denver 204.2% 61.1% 30.2% 29.1% 12.3%
13 Los Angeles 185.3% 62.3% 28.7% 13.5% 20.3%
14 Seattle 180.4% 38.9% 43.3% 12.4% 25.3%
15 Washington 161.3% 40.5% 37.2% 11.4% 21.7%
16 San Antonio 150.9% 42.7% 20.4% 22.3% 19.5%
17 Portland 128.5% 27.1% 26.5% 24.4% 14.2%
18 Minneapolis-St. Paul 110.7% 39.5% 23.5% 5.1% 16.3%
19 Kansas City 82.7% 31.9% 19.7% -0.4% 16.1%
20 San Francisco-Oakland 79.5% 20.2% 22.9% 6.8% 13.8%
21 Baltimore 62.7% 22.1% 11.3% 11.1% 7.7%
22 New Orleans 57.6% 28.0% 13.8% 12.1% -3.5%
23 Cincinnati 49.1% 22.3% 11.8% 1.1% 7.9%
24 Milwaukee 47.9% 38.7% 8.9% -3.6% 1.6%
25 Philadelphia 44.5% 24.4% 10.6% 2.3% 2.7%
26 St. Louis 39.0% 19.1% 12.9% -1.8% 5.3%
27 Chicago 38.0% 21.1% 12.7% 1.0% 0.2%
28 Detroit 34.3% 35.8% 6.2% -4.1% -2.9%
29 New York 30.5% 14.8% 14.8% -3.8% 2.9%
30 Boston 24.3% 8.1% 9.9% 1.0% 3.6%
31 Cleveland 21.2% 29.0% 9.8% -10.6% -4.3%
32 Pittsburgh 9.5% 17.7% 2.3% -2.0% -7.3%
33 Buffalo 6.6% 17.8% 3.1% -7.8% -4.8%
34 Fort Lauderdale --- --- 91.9% 64.2% 22.8%
CHANGE: LAND AREA          
Rank Urbanized Area 1950-1990 1950-1960 1960-1970 1970-1980 1980-1990
1 Phoenix 1247.3% 350.9% 56.5% 54.6% 23.5%
2 Atlanta 972.6% 132.1% 76.8% 108.0% 25.6%
3 Norfolk 971.0% 75.8% 174.3% 39.8% 58.9%
4 Sacramento 695.2% 219.0% 89.6% 9.4% 20.1%
5 Riverside-San Bernardino 654.1% 177.0% 83.4% 15.8% 28.1%
6 San Jose 454.1% 265.6% 24.2% 17.7% 3.7%
7 Dallas-Fort Worth 450.8% 251.1% 16.4% 19.5% 12.7%
8 Washington 430.9% 91.6% 45.2% 63.0% 17.1%
9 San Diego 418.8% 107.5% 38.0% 60.4% 12.9%
10 Kansas City 411.4% 89.3% 68.4% 24.0% 29.4%
11 Milwaukee 402.0% 284.3% 16.6% 8.5% 3.2%
12 San Antonio 386.7% 113.3% 16.1% 58.7% 23.7%
13 Seattle 378.0% 93.5% 73.5% 2.7% 38.7%
14 Minneapolis-St. Paul 360.2% 184.4% 9.7% 35.9% 8.5%
15 Denver 337.1% 59.0% 75.4% 49.8% 4.6%
16 Houston 335.9% 59.6% 25.1% 94.6% 12.2%
17 Baltimore 290.1% 44.7% 40.9% 68.7% 13.4%
18 Philadelphia 273.1% 91.3% 26.0% 35.0% 14.7%
19 Tampa-St. Petersburg 261.1% 21.1% 33.5% 81.1% 23.3%
20 Cincinnati 250.7% 65.8% 38.4% 25.4% 21.9%
21 Portland 240.4% 68.4% 39.1% 30.7% 11.2%
22 St. Louis 219.3% 41.7% 42.7% 29.5% 21.9%
23 Pittsburgh 206.3% 106.7% 13.5% 19.6% 9.1%
24 San Francisco-Oakland 204.5% 99.3% 19.1% 16.9% 9.8%
25 Miami 201.7% 56.4% 41.5% 31.3% 3.8%
26 Detroit 164.5% 73.0% 19.1% 19.7% 7.2%
27 Boston 158.3% 49.6% 28.7% 29.1% 4.0%
28 New Orleans 147.7% 41.3% 19.5% 25.0% 17.4%
29 New York 136.8% 51.0% 28.2% 15.8% 5.7%
30 Buffalo 132.5% 30.1% 33.8% 24.3% 7.5%
31 Los Angeles 125.7% 57.3% 14.7% 16.2% 7.6%
32 Chicago 123.9% 35.6% 33.0% 17.3% 5.8%
33 Cleveland 112.0% 95.7% 10.1% -2.6% 1.1%
34 Fort Lauderdale --- --- 71.0% 36.3% 13.1%
CHANGE: DENSITY          
Rank Urbanized Area 1950-1990 1950-1960 1960-1970 1970-1980 1980-1990
1 San Jose 47.1% -6.3% 36.8% 3.1% 11.3%
2 Miami 38.3% 18.8% 1.1% 0.4% 14.7%
3 Los Angeles 26.4% 3.2% 12.2% -2.3% 11.8%
4 Tampa-St. Petersburg 16.0% 26.9% 3.1% -13.4% 2.4%
5 Riverside-San Bernardino 14.1% 0.3% -15.8% 4.2% 29.5%
6 San Diego 4.5% -7.0% 3.8% -11.3% 22.0%
7 Houston -5.0% 1.9% 17.7% -26.1% 7.2%
8 Denver -30.4% 1.3% -25.8% -13.8% 7.4%
9 Phoenix -31.1% -43.3% -0.1% 5.6% 15.3%
10 Dallas-Fort Worth -32.1% -52.2% 20.7% 1.7% 15.7%
11 Portland -32.9% -24.5% -9.0% -4.9% 2.7%
12 Sacramento -34.9% -33.2% -25.2% 13.5% 14.7%
13 New Orleans -36.4% -9.4% -4.7% -10.4% -17.8%
14 Chicago -38.3% -10.7% -15.3% -13.9% -5.3%
15 San Francisco-Oakland -41.0% -39.7% 3.2% -8.6% 3.6%
16 Seattle -41.3% -28.2% -17.4% 9.5% -9.7%
17 Cleveland -42.8% -34.1% -0.2% -8.2% -5.3%
18 New York -44.9% -24.0% -10.4% -16.9% -2.6%
19 San Antonio -48.4% -33.1% 3.7% -23.0% -3.4%
20 Detroit -49.2% -21.5% -10.8% -19.9% -9.4%
21 Washington -50.8% -26.7% -5.5% -31.7% 3.9%
22 Boston -51.9% -27.7% -14.6% -21.8% -0.4%
23 Buffalo -54.2% -9.5% -22.9% -25.8% -11.4%
24 Minneapolis-St. Paul -54.2% -50.9% 12.6% -22.7% 7.2%
25 St. Louis -56.5% -16.0% -20.9% -24.2% -13.6%
26 Cincinnati -57.5% -26.2% -19.3% -19.4% -11.5%
27 Baltimore -58.3% -15.6% -21.0% -34.2% -5.0%
28 Atlanta -60.3% -34.7% -13.7% -33.8% 6.4%
29 Philadelphia -61.3% -35.0% -12.2% -24.2% -10.5%
30 Pittsburgh -64.3% -43.1% -9.9% -18.0% -15.0%
31 Kansas City -64.3% -30.3% -29.0% -19.6% -10.2%
32 Norfolk -67.9% -24.9% -52.1% -17.5% 8.2%
33 Milwaukee -70.5% -63.9% -6.6% -11.2% -1.6%
34 Fort Lauderdale --- --- 12.2% 20.4% 8.5%

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