How to Use This City Directory
PlainCities profiles 25,963 U.S. cities, towns, and census-designated places. Each row links to a city page with population, income, housing, crime (where FBI UCR agencies report), school counts (NCES), climate normals (NOAA), and building-permit history where available. Use the A–Z letter bar to jump to cities starting with a given letter, filter by state, search by name, or switch the sort to surface the largest or highest-income places first.
This browse index is the hub for every city profile on the site. For ranked lists (safest, fastest-growing, most affordable), see the rankings hub. For state-level rollups, open state overview pages. For side-by-side comparisons, use the city compare tool.
Data Fields in Each Row
The table on this page shows five columns drawn from Census ACS 5-Year 2026 estimates unless noted otherwise:
- Population - ACS place total; PEP annual history appears on individual city pages where Census publishes it.
- Median income - household median income in inflation-adjusted dollars; ACS top-codes very high values.
- Home value - owner-occupied median home value; vacant or renter-heavy markets may show sparse coverage.
City profile pages add poverty rate, rent, education share, FBI violent-crime rate (per 100,000, only where agencies report to UCR), NCES public-school counts, and NOAA 30-year temperature normals. See methodology for source vintages and join rules.
Coverage by Data Layer
| Layer | Cities | Share |
|---|---|---|
| City profile | 28,702 | 100% |
| Population | 28,702 | 100% |
| Poverty rate (ACS) | 28,641 | 99.8% |
| Median rent (ACS) | 28,416 | 99% |
| Bachelor share (ACS) | 28,407 | 99% |
| Median income (ACS) | 26,995 | 94.1% |
| Median home value (ACS) | 26,971 | 94% |
| PEP history 2020-2025 | 18,101 | 63.1% |
Download the full city extract cited on this page: plaincities-cities.csv (CC-BY). National headline figures live on US city statistics.
US City Population Tiers
PlainCities tracks incorporated places and census-designated places (CDPs) using Census ACS 5-Year population estimates. The table below counts how many profiles clear common population thresholds, useful when comparing a single city to national size bands rather than only the alphabetical directory.
| Population threshold | Cities at or above |
|---|---|
| 1,000,000+ residents | 9 |
| 500,000+ | 37 |
| 100,000+ | 346 |
| 50,000+ | 876 |
| 10,000+ | 4,203 |
| 5,000+ | 6,775 |
Only 9 places exceed one million residents in the ACS vintage on this page; most tracked cities sit below the 50,000-resident mark. Open any profile for year-over-year PEP history where Census publishes annual estimates.
Population Change 2020–2025
Census Population Estimates Program (PEP) Vintage 2025 tracks annual change for incorporated places with a 2020 baseline of at least 5,000 residents. Among 4,778 PEP-eligible cities in PlainCities, 2,843 grew more than 0.1%, 1,786 declined, and 149 stayed within ±0.1% (rounding and boundary effects).
Incorporated Places and PEP Coverage
ACS profile population on each city page can include CDPs that PEP does not track annually. When a profile shows PEP history, the 2020–2025 percentage uses PEP only; do not blend the two series on the same chart. See methodology for join rules and the 5,000-resident eligibility floor applied on growth and decline rankings.
Largest City in Each State
The table below lists the most populous incorporated place in every state and territory PlainCities tracks, with the runner-up city where Census reports a second place. Open any city name for the full profile or visit biggest city by state rankings for a sortable national view.
| State | Largest city | Population |
|---|---|---|
| NY | New York | 8,516,202 |
| CA | Los Angeles | 3,857,897 |
| IL | Chicago | 2,707,648 |
| TX | Houston | 2,300,419 |
| AZ | Phoenix | 1,624,832 |
| PA | Philadelphia | 1,582,432 |
| FL | Jacksonville | 961,739 |
| OH | Columbus | 906,480 |
| NC | Charlotte | 886,283 |
| IN | Indianapolis | 882,043 |
| WA | Seattle | 741,440 |
| CO | Denver | 713,734 |
| OK | Oklahoma City | 688,693 |
| TN | Nashville-Davidson | 684,298 |
| DC | Washington | 672,079 |
| MA | Boston | 663,972 |
| NV | Las Vegas | 650,873 |
| OR | Portland | 642,715 |
| MI | Detroit | 636,644 |
| KY | Louisville/Jefferson County | 627,210 |
| MD | Baltimore | 577,193 |
| WI | Milwaukee | 569,756 |
| NM | Albuquerque | 562,488 |
| MO | Kansas City | 508,233 |
| GA | Atlanta | 499,287 |
| NE | Omaha | 488,197 |
| VA | Virginia Beach | 457,066 |
| MN | Minneapolis | 426,845 |
| KS | Wichita | 396,488 |
| LA | New Orleans | 376,035 |
| HI | Urban Honolulu | 346,323 |
| PR | San Juan zona urbana | 320,691 |
| NJ | Newark | 307,188 |
| AK | Anchorage | 289,069 |
| ID | Boise City | 235,701 |
| AL | Huntsville | 218,814 |
| IA | Des Moines | 212,464 |
| UT | Salt Lake City | 203,888 |
| AR | Little Rock | 202,739 |
| SD | Sioux Falls | 197,642 |
| RI | Providence | 190,214 |
| SC | Charleston | 152,014 |
| MS | Jackson | 149,827 |
| CT | Bridgeport | 148,012 |
| ND | Fargo | 129,064 |
| MT | Billings | 118,321 |
| NH | Manchester | 115,415 |
| DE | Wilmington | 71,124 |
| ME | Portland | 68,505 |
| WY | Cheyenne | 64,976 |
| WV | Charleston | 47,918 |
| VT | Burlington | 44,649 |
Ranked City Snapshots
These preview tables pull from PlainCities' precomputed ranking tables (Census ACS, FBI UCR, and Census PEP where noted). Open the linked ranking pages for the full top-100 lists and methodology notes.
Highest Median Household Income
| Rank | City | Median income |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alamo, CA | $250,001 |
| 2 | Atherton, CA | $250,001 |
| 3 | Bell Canyon, CA | $250,001 |
| 4 | Belvedere, CA | $250,001 |
| 5 | Camino Tassajara, CA | $250,001 |
| 6 | Castle Hill, CA | $250,001 |
| 7 | Emerald Lake Hills, CA | $250,001 |
| 8 | Fairbanks Ranch, CA | $250,001 |
| 9 | Hidden Hills, CA | $250,001 |
| 10 | Highlands, CA | $250,001 |
| 11 | Hillsborough, CA | $250,001 |
| 12 | Ladera, CA | $250,001 |
| 13 | La Honda, CA | $250,001 |
| 14 | Loma Mar, CA | $250,001 |
| 15 | Los Altos, CA | $250,001 |
Source: Census ACS 5-Year 2026 household median income. Full income ranking.
Lowest Violent-Crime Rates (Large Cities)
| Rank | City | Violent crime / 100k |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worcester, MA | 16.5 |
| 2 | Savannah, GA | 20.3 |
| 3 | Matawan, NJ | 20.5 |
| 4 | Campton Hills, IL | 55.7 |
| 5 | Turtle Creek, PA | 61.6 |
Source: FBI UCR violent-crime rate where agencies report; population floor applied on the full ranking. Full safest-cities ranking.
Fastest-Growing Cities (PEP 2020–2025)
| Rank | City | Growth % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulshear, TX | 276.1% |
| 2 | Celina, TX | 257.3% |
| 3 | Princeton, TX | 148.7% |
| 4 | Iowa Colony, TX | 139.8% |
| 5 | Dripping Springs, TX | 118.0% |
| 6 | Northlake, TX | 117.9% |
| 7 | Hardeeville, SC | 112.0% |
| 8 | Melissa, TX | 109.0% |
| 9 | Royse City, TX | 105.4% |
| 10 | Manvel, TX | 104.2% |
| 11 | Anna, TX | 100.1% |
| 12 | Paradise, CA | 96.9% |
| 13 | Wendell, NC | 96.9% |
| 14 | Davenport, FL | 87.0% |
| 15 | Star, ID | 81.7% |
Source: Census Population Estimates Program year-over-year change among incorporated places with a 5,000-resident 2020 floor. Full growth ranking.
Cities Losing Population (PEP 2020–2025)
1,841 of the PEP-eligible places declined between 2020 and 2025. The preview below lists the steepest percentage losses; every row is a real decline, not slow growth.
| Rank | City | Change % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Susanville, CA | -22.1% |
| 2 | Town of Pecos, TX | -20.1% |
| 3 | Cameron, MO | -19.5% |
| 4 | McRae-Helena, GA | -18.0% |
| 5 | Blythe, CA | -15.6% |
| 6 | Big Spring, TX | -15.2% |
| 7 | California, PA | -14.0% |
| 8 | Helena-West Helena, AR | -13.2% |
| 9 | Tallulah, LA | -11.8% |
| 10 | California City, CA | -11.8% |
| 11 | Forest Hills, TN | -10.8% |
| 12 | Cusseta-Chattahoochee County, GA | -10.6% |
| 13 | Calipatria, CA | -10.6% |
| 14 | Bexley, OH | -10.5% |
| 15 | Greenville, MS | -10.1% |
Source: Census PEP Vintage 2025 year-over-year change among places with a 5,000-resident 2020 floor. Full decline ranking.
Affordability and Cost Snapshots
BEA Regional Price Parities assign each state a cost-of-living index (U.S. average = 100). PlainCities ranks large cities by that state-level index because city-specific COL surveys are not in the public feeds we join.
Most Affordable Large Cities
| Rank | City | COL index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eunola, AL | 9999.0 |
| 2 | Penton, AL | 9999.0 |
| 3 | Spring Garden, AL | 9999.0 |
| 4 | Top-of-the-World, AZ | 9999.0 |
| 5 | Knobel, AR | 9999.0 |
Source: BEA RPP state index applied to incorporated places with at least 5,000 residents. Full affordability ranking.
Related Rankings and Guides
Browse profiles answer “what data exists for this city?” Rankings and guides answer demand-shaped questions with pre-filtered lists:
- Most populated cities - national population leaders.
- Safest cities - lowest FBI UCR violent-crime rates (population floor applied).
- Fastest-growing cities - Census PEP year-over-year change.
- How to read Census city data - ACS margins of error and vintage rules.
- Safest cities guide - interpreting crime rates responsibly.