Largest Metropolitan Areas

The 30 Largest Metropolitan Areas in the United States

New York Metropolitan Area
The New York metropolitan area is the most populous in the United States, with nearly 22 million people calling it home. Getty Images
Updated March 03, 2017

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released population estimates for Combined Statistical Areas (formerly known as Metropolitan Statistical Areas), Metropolitan Areas (stand-alone or components of CSAs), and Micropolitan Areas. The changes to these terms are discussed in the article Micropolitan and Metropolitan Areas of the U.S.A. from 2003 here on my site.

Most will likely be interested in the total populations for the thirty largest metropolitan areas, those urban and suburban areas containing populations above 1.9 million.

The largest metropolitan areas remain 1) New York, 2) Los Angeles, 3) Chicago, 4) Washington D.C., and 5) Boston. Without further ado, here's the list, from New York City to San Antonio, of the thirty largest metropolitan areas in the United States (based on mid-year 2006 population estimates from the ​U.S. Census Bureau)...

1) New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA - 21,976,224
2) Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA - 17,775,984
3) Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI - 9,725,317
4) Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV - 8,211,213
5) Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-RI-NH - 7,465,634
6) San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA - 7,228,948
7) Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD - 6,382,714
8) Dallas-Fort Worth, TX - 6,359,758
9) Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX - 5,641,077
10) Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL - 5,478,667
11) Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL - 5,463,857
12) Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI - 5,410,014
13) Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ - 4,039,182
14) Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA - 3,876,211
15) Minneapolis-St.

Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI - 3,502,891
16) Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO - 2,927,911
17) San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA - 2,941,454
18) Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH - 2,917,801
19) St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL - 2,858,549
20) Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL - 2,697,731
21) Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA - 2,462,571
22) Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Truckee, CA-NV - 2,211,790
23) Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, NC-SC - 2,191,604
24) Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA - 2,137,565
25) Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN - 2,147,617
26) Orlando-The Villages, FL - 2,053,623
27) Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS - 2,034,796
28) Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN - 1,984,644
29) Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH - 1,953,575
30) San Antonio, TX - 1,942,217

See a listing of State Abbreviations.