How does United States rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?

United States ranks 70th out of 180 countries with data for 2020.

Is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in United States?

Over the last ten years it is up 17.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this United States data come from?

The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in United States

Name: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in United States
Creator: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

United States: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 20.4% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)

20.4%

World rank

70th

of 180 countries

All-time high

20.4%

in 2020

All-time low

11.9%

in 1950

Years of data

1950–2020

Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in United States, 1950–2020

Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2020, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in United States stood at 20.4%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 17.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in United States peaked at 20.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 11.9%, in 1950.

United States ranks 70th of 180 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	12.0%	11.9%	12.1%	2
1960s	13.5%	13.1%	13.8%	2
1970s	13.9%	13.9%	14.0%	2
1980s	14.0%	13.9%	14.0%	2
1990s	14.4%	14.2%	14.5%	2
2000s	15.5%	15.5%	15.6%	2
2010s	18.2%	17.4%	19.1%	2
2020s	20.4%	20.4%	20.4%	1

Countries ranked near United States

67 Cote d'Ivoire 21.0% compare
68 Denmark 20.5% compare
69 Nigeria 20.4% compare
71 Tunisia 20.2% compare
72 Central African Republic 20.2% compare
73 Democratic Republic of Congo 20.0% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for United States

Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 534.53 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Burning - Crop residues 3.28 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure left on Pa 35,363 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 112.69 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 64.85 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 52.14 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 133.45 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 589.96 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 119.42 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied to 17,186 (2050)

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in United States?: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in United States was 20.4% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in United States?: The highest recorded value was 20.4% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in United States?: The lowest recorded value was 11.9% in 1950.
How does United States rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?: United States ranks 70th out of 180 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in United States?: Over the last ten years it is up 17.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States data come from?: The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Unit: %
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 180 places, 2,505 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Percentage of the total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.