In 2023, the population of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metropolitan area in the United States was about 9.26 million people. This was a slight decrease from the previous year, which was about 9.27 million.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Chicago metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Employed Persons in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (MSA) (LAUMT171698000000005) from Jan 1990 to Apr 2025 about Chicago, IL, IN, WI, household survey, employment, persons, and USA.

In 2023, the metropolitan area of New York-Newark-Jersey City had the biggest population in the United States. Based on annual estimates from the census, the metropolitan area had around 19.5 million inhabitants, which was a slight decrease from the previous year. The Los Angeles and Chicago metro areas rounded out the top three. What is a metropolitan statistical area? In general, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a core urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000 inhabitants – the smallest MSA is Carson City, with an estimated population of nearly 56,000. The urban area is made bigger by adjacent communities that are socially and economically linked to the center. MSAs are particularly helpful in tracking demographic change over time in large communities and allow officials to see where the largest pockets of inhabitants are in the country. How many MSAs are in the United States? There were 421 metropolitan statistical areas across the U.S. as of July 2021. The largest city in each MSA is designated the principal city and will be the first name in the title. An additional two cities can be added to the title, and these will be listed in population order based on the most recent census. So, in the example of New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York has the highest population, while Jersey City has the lowest. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts an official population count every ten years, and the new count is expected to be announced by the end of 2030.

Graph and download economic data for Civilian Labor Force in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (MSA) (LAUMT171698000000006A) from 1990 to 2024 about Chicago, IL, IN, civilian, WI, labor force, labor, household survey, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (MSA) (LAUMT171698000000003A) from 1990 to 2024 about Chicago, IL, IN, WI, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

In 2023, the GDP of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metropolitan area amounted to 725.75 billion chained 2017 U.S. dollars. The GDP of the United States since 1990 can be accessed here. Economic growth and unemployment in Chicago Economic growth in Chicago, measured by the growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was significant in the years between 2001 and 2022. This growth occurred in a period of growth for cities nationally as seen by growth of other major American cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. In contrast to Chicago’s growth, San Francisco’s growth rate demonstrated the effect of a new and booming industry. The influence of technology and internet companies saw San Francisco grow nearly 68 percent in comparison to the 47 percent growth in GDP achieved by Chicago. As a result, Chicago-Naperville-Elgin ranked third in Gross Metropolitan Product of the United States, by metropolitan area in 2022. The drop in GDP output in 2020 can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployed Persons in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (MSA) (LAUMT171698000000004) from Jan 1990 to Apr 2025 about Chicago, IL, IN, WI, household survey, unemployment, persons, and USA.

This EnviroAtlas dataset demonstrates the effect of changes in pollution concentration on local populations in 6409 block groups in the Chicago Metro Region. The US EPA's Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program (BenMAP) was used to estimate the incidence of adverse health effects (i.e., mortality and morbidity) and associated monetary value that result from changes in pollution concentrations for Will, DuPage, McHenry, Kendall, Cook, Lake, and Kane counties, Illinois and LaPorte, Lake, and Porter counties Indiana. Incidence and value estimates for the block groups are calculated using i-Tree models (www.itreetools.org), local weather data, pollution data, and U.S. Census derived population data. This dataset was produced by the USDA Forest Service with support from The Davey Tree Expert Company to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas/enviroatlas-fact-sheets).

In 2023, the real GDP of the Los Angeles metro area amount to around 1.08 trillion U.S. dollars, and increase after 2021. The overall quarterly GDP growth in the United States can be found here. Gross domestic product of Los AngelesWith a population of over 12.8 million inhabitants in 2023, Los Angeles is the second-largest city in America, following only New York. The Los Angeles metro area also ranked second among U.S. metro areas in terms of gross metropolitan product, second again only to New York City metro area, which came in with a GMP of 1.99 trillion U.S. dollars to Los Angeles’ 1.13 trillion U.S. dollars in the fiscal year of 2021. Chicago metro area ranked third with GMP of 757.2 billion U.S. dollars. Additional detailed statistics about GDP in the United States is available here. Despite Los Angeles’ high GDP, L.A. did not do as well as some cities in terms of median household income. Los Angeles ranked 9th with a median household income of 76,135 U.S. dollars annually in 2022. This was slightly higher than the median household income of the United States in 2022, which came in at 74,580 U.S. dollars annually. Located in Southern California, Los Angeles is home to Hollywood, the famous epicenter of the U.S. film and television industries. The United States is one of the leading film markets worldwide, producing 449 films in 2022, many of them produced by Hollywood-based studios. In 2018, movie ticket sales in North America generated over 11.89 billion U.S. dollars in box office revenue. Famous Hollywood actresses earn millions annually, with the best paid, Sofia Vergara, earning 43 million U.S. dollars in 2020. Second on the list was Angelina Jolie with earnings of 35.5 million U.S. dollars.

How many incorporated places are registered in the U.S.?

There were 19,502 incorporated places registered in the United States as of July 31, 2019. 16,410 had a population under 10,000 while, in contrast, only 10 cities had a population of one million or more.

Small-town America

Suffice it to say, almost nothing is more idealized in the American imagination than small-town America. When asked where they would prefer to live, 30 percent of Americans reported that they would prefer to live in a small town. Americans tend to prefer small-town living due to a perceived slower pace of life, close-knit communities, and a more affordable cost of living when compared to large cities.

An increasing population

Despite a preference for small-town life, metropolitan areas in the U.S. still see high population figures, with the New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago metro areas being the most populous in the country. Metro and state populations are projected to increase by 2040, so while some may move to small towns to escape city living, those small towns may become more crowded in the upcoming decades.

In terms of population size, the sex ratio in the United States favors females, although the gender gap is remaining stable. In 2010, there were around 5.17 million more women, with the difference projected to decrease to around 3 million by 2027.

Gender ratios by U.S. state In the United States, the resident population was estimated to be around 331.89 million in 2021. The gender distribution of the nation has remained steady for several years, with women accounting for approximately 51.1 percent of the population since 2013. Females outnumbered males in the majority of states across the country in 2020, and there were eleven states where the gender ratio favored men.

Metro areas by population National differences between male and female populations can also be analyzed by metropolitan areas. In general, a metropolitan area is a region with a main city at its center and adjacent communities that are all connected by social and economic factors. The largest metro areas in the U.S. are New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. In 2019, there were more women than men in all three of those areas, but Jackson, Missouri was the metro area with the highest share of female population.

In 2022, the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro area recorded the highest homicide rate of U.S. cities with a population over 250,000, at 27.1 homicides per 100,000 residents, followed by the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area. However, homicide data was not recorded in all U.S. metro areas, meaning that there may be some cities with a higher homicide rate.

St. Louis

St. Louis, which had a murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate of 11.6 in 2022, is the second-largest city by population in Missouri. It is home to many famous treasures such as the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, Washington University in St. Louis, the Saint Louis Zoo, and the renowned Gateway Arch. It is home to many corporations such as Monsanto, Arch Coal, and Emerson Electric. The economy of St. Louis is centered around business and healthcare, and in addition is home to ten Fortune 500 companies.

Crime in St. Louis

Despite all of this, St. Louis suffers from high levels of crime and violence. As of 2023, it was listed as the seventh most dangerous city in the world as a result of their extremely high murder rate. Not only does St. Louis have one of the highest homicide rates in the United States, it also reports one of the highest numbers of violent crimes. In spite of high crime levels, the GDP of the St. Louis metropolitan area has been increasing since 2001.

This statistic shows the population of the top twenty largest urban agglomerations in the United States from 2018 to 2035. By 2035, the population of the New York-Newark agglomeration is projected to be roughly 20.8 million people.

This graph shows the GDP of the Los Angeles metro area in 2022, by industry. In 2022, its GDP amounted to about 1.06 trillion U.S. dollars. About 99.2 billion U.S. dollars were generated by the manufacturing industry. The overall quarterly GDP growth in the United States can be found here.

Gross domestic product of Los Angeles

With a population of over 3.9 million inhabitants in 2011, Los Angeles is the second largest city in America, following only New York. The Los Angeles metro area also ranked second among U.S. metro areas in terms of gross metropolitan product, second again only to New York City metro area, which came in with a GMP of USD 1.287 trillion to Los Angeles’ 755 billion USD in 2011. Chicago metro area ranked third with GMP of 547 billion U.S. dollars. Washington metro area ranked fourth with 434 billion U.S. dollars in 2011. Additional detailed statistics about GDP and GMP in the United States is available here.

Despite Los Angeles’ high GDP, L.A. did not do as well as some cities in terms of median household income. Los Angeles ranked 11th with a median household income of 48,466 U.S. dollars annually in 2013. This was lower than the median household income of the United States in 2013, which came in at 51,939 U.S. dollars annually.

Located in Southern California, Los Angeles is home to Hollywood, the famous epicenter of the U.S. film and television industries. The United States is one of the leading film markets worldwide, producing 817 films in 2011, many of them produced by Hollywood-based studios. In 2012, movie ticket sales in North America generated over 10.8 billion U.S. dollars in box office revenue. Famous Hollywood actresses earn millions annually, with the best paid, Angelina Jolie, earning 33 million U.S. dollars between June 2012 and June 2013. Second on the list was Jennifer Lawrence with earnings of 26 million U.S. dollars.

The two countries with the greatest shares of the world's Jewish population are the United States and Israel. The United States had been a hub of Jewish immigration since the nineteenth century, as Jewish people sought to escape persecution in Europe by emigrating across the Atlantic. The Jewish population in the U.S. is largely congregated in major urban areas, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, with the New York metropolitan area being the city with the second largest Jewish population worldwide, after Tel Aviv, Israel. Israel is the world's only officially Jewish state, having been founded in 1948 following the first Arab-Israeli War. While Jews had been emigrating to the holy lands since the nineteenth century, when they were controlled by the Ottoman Empire, immigration increased rapidly following the establishment of the state of Israel. Jewish communities in Eastern Europe who had survived the Holocaust saw Israel as a haven from persecution, while the state encouraged immigration from Jewish communities in other regions, notably the Middle East & North Africa. Smaller Jewish communities remain in Europe in countries such as France, the UK, and Germany, and in other countries which were hotspots for Jewish migration in the twentieth century, such as Canada and Argentina.