10 Largest US Cities by Decade

Largest US cities are well-established by now, but things haven’t always been exactly the same – this is why we present you with the list of 10 largest US cities by decade. Well, things haven’t exactly been the same in any spot but number 1, which is traditionally owned by New York ever since 1800’s.  If you are unsure which US cities are currently among the largest, take a look at our list of 21 biggest cities in the US by 2014 population as well.

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It is clear why the east was always more populous and why most of largest US cities can be found in that part of the country. After all, modern America was populated from the east towards the west. With New York becoming the hub of the American expansion and taking the most populous city position from Philadelphia (which had taken the spot from Boston), Big Apple’s position was never truly threatened. However, Boston and Philadelphia alike have lost the race to other emerging American industrial cities with former of the two slipping entirely from the top 10 list.

By 1900’s, pattern by which cities will appear on the top 10 list was largely established. Changes were few and far in between since then, but every single decade had brought a few changes of its own, nevertheless. By gathering info from U.S. Census Bureau, we have been able to conjure up a list of 10 largest US cities by decade for the last 100 or so years, or 12 decades if you will. Some of the cities from initial few decades of the 19th century have been erased from the maps and absorbed into larger cities as their boroughs. Such were the fates of Brooklyn, Northern Liberties and Southwark, for instance. Every notable population shift (whether positive or negative) will be explained throughout the article.