Most important states

Leading population centers (see complete list)					view talk edit
Rank	Core city (cities)	Metro area population	Metropolitan Statistical Area	Region[181]	New York City Los Angeles Chicago
1	New York City	19,015,900	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA MSA	Northeast
2	Los Angeles	12,944,801	Los Angeles–Long Beach–Santa Ana, CA MSA	West
3	Chicago	9,504,753	Chicago–Joliet–Naperville, IL–IN–WI MSA	Midwest
4	Dallas–Fort Worth	6,526,548	Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington, TX MSA	South
5	Houston	6,086,538	Houston–The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA	South
6	Philadelphia	5,992,414	Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington, PA–NJ–DE–MD MSA	Northeast
7	Washington, D.C.	5,703,948	Washington, DC–VA–MD–WV MSA	Northeast
8	Miami	5,670,125	Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach, FL MSA	South
9	Atlanta	5,359,205	Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Marietta, GA MSA	South
10	Boston	4,591,112	Boston–Cambridge–Quincy, MA–NH MSA	Northeast
11	San Francisco	4,391,037	San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont, CA MSA	West
12	San Bernardino-Riverside	4,304,997	San Bernandino–Riverside–Ontario, CA MSA	West
13	Detroit	4,285,832	Detroit–Warren–Livonia, MI MSA	Midwest
14	Phoenix	4,263,236	Phoenix–Mesa–Glendale, AZ MSA	West
15	Seattle	3,500,026	Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, WA MSA	West
16	Minneapolis–St. Paul	3,318,486	Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington, MN–WI MSA	Midwest
17	San Diego	3,140,069	San Diego–Carlsbad–San Marcos, CA MSA	West
18	Tampa–St. Petersburg	2,824,724	Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater, FL MSA	South
19	St. Louis	2,817,355	St. Louis–St. Charles–Farmington, MO–IL MSA	Midwest
20	Baltimore	2,729,110	Baltimore–Towson, MD MSA	Northeast
based upon 2011 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau[182]