United States Main Cities
In 1950 the population classified as urban was estimated at about 96.5 million, that is about 64% of the total. Of the rural population – over 54 million – a little more than 23 million lived on farms, the rest in other forms of residence. There was no notable difference in this distribution, between Whites and Negroes. The Indian population is almost all rural, while the Japanese and Chinese are mostly urban.
Cities with more than 100,000 residents they were 130 in number in 1960; twenty of them did not reach that figure in 1940. Twenty-one cities exceed half a million; we give here the list with the population as of 1960 and (in brackets) that of 1950. New York 7,781,948 (7,891,957), Chicago 3,550,404 (3,620,962): Los Angeles 2,479,015 (1,970,358)); Philadelphia 2,002,512 (2,071,605); Detroit 1,670,144 (1,849,568); Baltimore 949.024 (949.708); Houston 938,219 (596,163); Cleveland 876.050 (914.808); Washington 736.956 (802.178); Saint Louis 750,026 (856,796); San Francisco 742,855 (775,357); Milwaukee 741,324 (637,392); Boston 697,197 (801,444); Dallas 679,684 (434,462); New Orleans 627,525 (570,445); Pittsburgh 604,332 (676,806); San Antonio 587.718 (408.442); San Diego 573,224 (334,387); Seattle 557,087 (467,591); Buffalo 532,759 (580,132);
As can be seen, the increases are generally not very conspicuous for these major cities, indeed some are in demographic stagnation or in decline. Considerable increases show some cities in California and Texas, such as Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, etc.; in these and other cities, population growth continues at a rapid pace. Among the smaller cities, Corpus Christi in Texas has seen the population almost tripled in the last twenty years (from 57,000 to 167,670) and Phoenix has grown from 65,000. to 439.170, etc.
Other cities with population numbers between 100,000 and 500,000 at the 1960 census (besides state capitals): Memphis, Tenn. (497,524); Minneapolis, Minn. (482,872); Kansas City, Mo. (475,539); Newark, NJ (405,220); Louisville, Ky. (390,639); Portland, Ore. (372,676); Oakland, Calif. (367,548); Fort-Worth, Texas (356,268); Long Beach, Calif. (344,168); Birminghan, Ala. (340,887); Rochester, NY (318,611); Toledo, Ohio (318,003); Norfolk, Va. (305,872); Omaha, Nebr. (301,598); Miami, Fla. (291,688); Akron, Ohio (290,351); El Paso, Texas (276,687); Jersey City, NJ (276.101); Tampa, Fla. (274.970); Dayton, Ohio (262,332); Tulsa, Okla. (261,685); Wichita, Kans. (254,698); Syracuse, NY (216,038); Tucson, Ariz. (212,892); San Jose, Calif. (204,196); Mobile, Ala. (202,779), Charlotte, NC (201,564); Albuquerque, NM (201.189); Jacksonville, Fla. (201.030); Flint, Mich. (196,940); Yonkers, NY (190,634); Worcester, Mass. (186,587); Spokane, Wash. (181,608); St. Petersburg, Fla. (181,298); Gary, Ind. (178,320); Grand Rapids, Mich. (177,313); Springfield, Mass. (174,463); Youngstown, Ohio (166,689); Shreveport, La. (164,372); Fort Wayne, Ind. (161,776); Bridgeport, Conn. (156,748); New Haven, Conn. (152,048); Savannah, Ga. (149,245); Tacoma, Wash. (147,979); Paterson, NJ (143,663); Evansville, Ind. (141,543); Erie, Pa. (138,440); Amarillo, Texas (137,969); Fresno, Calif. (133,929); South Bend, Ind. (132,445); Chattanooga, Tenn. (130.009); Lubbock, Texas (128,691); Rockford, Ill. (126,706); Kansas City, Kans. (121,901); Greensboro, NC (119,574); Glendale, Calif. (119,442); Beaumont, Texas (119,175); Camden. NJ (117,159); Columbus, Ga. (116,779); Pasadena, Calif. (116,407); Portsmouth, Va. (114,773); Newport News, Va. (113,662); Canton, Ohio (113,631); Dearborn, Mich. (112.007); Knoxville, Tenn. (111,827); Hammond, Ind. (111,698); Scranton, Pa. (111,443); Berkeley, Calif. (111,268); Winston Salem, NC (111,135); Allentown, Pa. (108,347); Cambridge, Mass. (107,716); Elizabeth, NJ (107,698); Waterbury, Conn. (107.130); Duluth, Minn. (106,884); Anaheim, Calif. (104,184); Poria, Ill. (103,162); New Bedford, Mass. (102,477); Niagara Falls, NY (102,394); Wichita Falls, Texas (101.724).
For many cities with populations over 50,000. it is officially defined as a “metropolitan area”, which can include other large centers around the main one, so as to determine, together with smaller centers and dispersed population, a large population concentration. In 1960, 211 metropolitan areas were defined, named after the main or central city (except the New York area, which includes Jersey City and Newark as well as central cities). The New York metropolitan area in 1960 included 14,650,818 residents (12,911,994 in 1950), of which 75% in the three central cities. Twenty-three other cities had more than one million residents. in the metropolitan area: indicated below with the percentage of residents living in the central city: Atlanta 1,010,577 (47.9%); Baltimore 1,707,462 (54%); Boston 2,566,732 (22.5%); Buffalo 1,301,604 (40.6%); Chicago 6,743,316 (56.8%); Cincinnati 1,067,669 (48%); Cleveland 1,786,740 (48.6%); Dallas 1,071,003 (62.7%); Detroit 3,743,447 (44.1%); Philadelphia 4,301,283 (45.8%); Houston 1,236,704 (75.4%); Kansas City 1,034,150 (45.7%); Los Angeles 6,668,975 (41.7%); Milwaukee 1,184,806 (61.8%); Minneapolis – St. Paul 1,474,149 (53.6%); Newark 1,682,882 (23.9%); Paterson 1,183,514 (23.4%); Pittsburgh 2,392,086 (24.5%); St. Louis 2,046,477 (36.5%); San Diego 1,000,856 (54.4%); Saint Francisco-Oakland 2,725,841 (39.5%); Seattle 1,098,741 (50.1%); Washington 1,967,682 (37.3%).
As can be seen, the rate of population living in the central city is very variable, compared to the total included in the metropolitan area: it rarely exceeds two thirds, except for smaller centers, while it is not at all uncommon that the majority of residents live in the metropolitan area (Boston, Pittsburgh, etc).
Metropolitan areas are delimited – often even with simple geometric lines – and represented in the geographical maps; the concept therefore does not correspond to that, frequently adopted in Europe, of conurbation: conurbations in a geographical sense can extend beyond the borders of the metropolitan area, even in the USA; and the opposite may also occur. The metropolitan area finds application in urban planning programs, which are increasingly frequent in the United States today.