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Business Environment Profiles - United States

Urban population

Published: 22 May 2025

Key Metrics

Urban population

Total (2025)

280 Million people

Annualized Growth 2020-25

0.4 %

Definition of Urban population

This driver measures the number of individuals within the United States living in urban municipalities. The United States Census Bureau identifies two different types of urban areas: areas with at least 50,000 or more residents or clustered areas containing at least 2,500 people but less than 50,000. Data for the total US urban population is sourced from the World Bank, World Development Indicators.

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Recent Trends – Urban population

The share of the overall US population living in urban municipalities has grown consistently over the years, though this expansion has occurred slowly in recent decades. In the early 1990s, the US urban population expanded rapidly, with annual growth rates hovering just under 2.0%. This trend was the result of various factors, including the increased concentration of high-paying jobs and the burgeoning drop of violent crime rates in major US cities. More recently, growth of urban populations has slowed as urban living has begun to reach a saturation point in several major municipalities. Consequently, the total urban population has increased modestly in 2024, reaching an estimated 286.9 million people. During this period, the proportional dominance of the urban population over the rural population prevented any population movement from significantly impacting the nation's demographic makeup.

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5-Year Outlook – Urban population

Throughthe end of 2030, the US urban population is expected to continue to expand. Growth will tr...

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