Best U.S. Cities that Have Been in the Top 4 Largest of Any Census Since 1790

1 New York, NY The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States.

2 Brooklyn, NY [1817-1898, before NYC borough]

3 New Orleans, LA

4 St. Louis, MO St. Louis is an independent city and inland port in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is situated along the western bank of the Mississippi River, which marks Missouri's border with Illinois.

5 Houston, TX Houston is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the fourth most populous city in the United States, with a census-estimated population of 2.312 million in 2017. It is the most populous city in the Southern United States and on the Gulf Coast of the United States.

6 Boston, MA

7 Charleston, SC

8 Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often abbreviated as L.A., is the largest city in California. It has an estimated population of nearly 4 million, and is the second-largest city in the United States, after New York City, and the third-largest city in North America, after Mexico City ...read more.

9 Chicago, IL

10 Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the sixth-most populous city in the United States, with an estimated population of 1,567,872 and more than 6 million in the seventh-largest metropolitan statistical area, as of 2016. Philadelphia is the economic and cultural anchor ...read more.

The Contenders

11 Detroit, MI Detroit is the largest and most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located across from Windsor, Ontario, Canada on the Detroit River, Detroit had an estimated population of 672,662 in 2018.