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.

In 2023, the population of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area in the United States was about 8.1 million people. This was a slight increase from the previous year, where the population was about 7.95 million people.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (MSA) (DFWPOP) from 2000 to 2024 about Dallas, residents, TX, population, and USA.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area from 1950 to 2025.

In 2023, the population of the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area in the United States was about 2.7 million people. This was a slight increase from the previous year, when the population was about 2.66 million people.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX (MSA) (SATPOP) from 2000 to 2024 about San Antonio, residents, TX, population, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (MSA) (PCWPOP) from 2000 to 2024 about DE, Philadelphia, MD, NJ, PA, residents, population, and USA.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the San Francisco metro area from 1950 to 2025.

In 2023, the population of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area in the United States was about 1.27 million people. This represented a slight increase when compared to the previous year.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Houston metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Boston metro area from 1950 to 2025.

This statistics shows the top 20 fastest growing large-metropolitan areas in the United States between July 1st, 2022 and July 1st, 2023. The total population in the Wilmington, North Carolina, metropolitan area increased by 0.05 percent from 2022 to 2023.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (MSA) (NYTPOP) from 2000 to 2022 about NJ, New York, PA, NY, residents, population, and USA.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Denver metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Phoenix metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA (MSA) (PORPOP) from 2000 to 2024 about Portland, OR, WA, residents, population, and USA.

Historical dataset of population level and growth rate for the Dayton metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in Tyler, TX (MSA) (TYLPOP) from 2000 to 2024 about Tyler, residents, TX, population, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (MSA) (SFCPOP) from 2000 to 2022 about San Francisco, residents, CA, population, and USA.

In 2024, the population of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area in the United States was about 12.93 million people. This is a slight increase from the 12.88 million people who lived there the previous year.