Ranked: These are now the largest US cities, based on new Census data
The Brief
According to new data, many Southern and Western cities led in population gains, but New York City remained the largest U.S. city with over 8.4 million residents.
Princeton, TX was the fastest-growing city, expanding by nearly 31% in just one year.
Seven cities crossed the 100,000 population mark, five of them in the South, highlighting continued regional growth.
WASHINGTON - New data shows that cities across the United States have experienced renewed population growth from 2023 to 2024, with Southern and Western cities driving the largest gains, but the most populus U.S. cities, overall, have remained the same.
The newly released estimates are from the U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 data.
By the numbers
The data showed that 12 of the 15 cities with the largest numeric population gains between 2023 and 2024 were located in the South or the West, but the Northeast's New York, New York still topped the list with an increase of 87,184 residents between 2023 and 2024.
Rounding out the top five most populus cities were: Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona.
See the full report here.
Seven cities crossed the 100,000-population threshold, with five of them in the South: Deltona, Florida (100,513); Plantation, Florida (100,694); Sunrise, Florida (100,128); Georgetown, Texas (101,344); and San Angelo, Texas (100,159). The two others are in the West: Tracy, California (100,136), and Federal Way, Washington (100,252).
Dig deeper
Across the nation, cities with populations fewer than 5,000 grew by 0.3% on average, compared with average growth rates of 1.0% for those with populations of 5,000 to 9,999; 1.1% for those with populations of 10,000 to 49,999; and 1.0% for those with populations of 50,000 or more.
Princeton city, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, was the fastest-growing city in 2024. Princeton increased its population by nearly one-third in just one year and has more than doubled it since 2020, from roughly 17,000 to 37,000.
Washington, D.C. also added almost 15,000 residents in 2024, nearly doubling its population gain in 2023.
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Los Angeles, California, returned to the list of top gainers for the first time since 2016, adding over 31,000 residents in 2024, making it third among the nation's largest-gaining cities.
Two cities crossed the 1 million-population threshold between 2023 and 2024 — Jacksonville, Florida (1,009,833), and Fort Worth, Texas (1,008,106).
The Source
The information for this story was provided by newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 data published on May 15, 2025. This story was reported from Los Angeles.
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