If you’re curious about how American cities ranked shortly before the post-WWII baby boom, we’ve done the research for you. Here we’ve compiled a list of the 25 biggest US cities in 1940 by population and compared them to their rankings and populations today. We’ve also included the 1940 rankings and populations of the cities that are currently on the top 25 list that weren’t on it back then.
And, if you’d like to compare this list to the 25 biggest US cities in 1950, just follow the link, because we’ve done that too. There weren’t any major shake-ups among the most populous cities in the country in that 10-year time period. Several cities went up or down one place, and a few jumped two or three slots. The only two cities that fell off the top 25 list in that decade were Rochester, NY and Louisville, KY.
So, without further ado, here were the 25 biggest US cities in 1940 by population as compared to today.
Most Populous Cities in America in 1940
1. New York City – 1940 population: 7,454,995 – Rank today: 1; population ~8.4 million
2. Chicago, IL – 1940 population: 3,396,808 – Rank today: 3; population ~2.7 million
3. Philadelphia, PA – 1940 population: 1,931,334 – Rank today: 6; population ~1.6 million
4. Detroit, MI – 1940 population: 1,623,452 – Rank today: 23; population ~670,000
5. Los Angeles, CA – 1940 population: 1,504,277 – Rank today: 2; population ~4 million
6. Cleveland, OH – 1940 population: 878,336 – Rank today: 52; population ~383,000
7. Baltimore, MD – 1940 population: 859,100 – Rank today: 30; population ~602,000
8. St. Louis, MO – 1940 population: 816,048 – Rank today: 64; population ~302,000
9. Boston, MA – 1940 population: 770,816 – Rank today: 21; population ~695,000
10. Pittsburgh, PA – 1940 population: 671,659 – Rank today: 66; population ~300,000
11. Washington, DC – 1940 population: 663,091 – Rank today: 20; population ~703,000
12. San Francisco, CA – 1940 population: 634,536 – Rank today: 15; population ~885,000
13. Milwaukee, WI – 1940 population: 587,472 – Rank today: 31; population ~592,000
14. Buffalo, NY – 1940 population: 575,901 – Rank today: 83; population ~256,000
15. New Orleans, LA – 1940 population: 494,537 – Rank today: 50; population ~392,000
16. Minneapolis, MN – 1940 population: 492,370 – Rank today: 46; population ~426,000
17. Cincinnati, OH – 1940 population: 455,610 – Rank today: 65; population ~303,000
18. Newark, NJ – 1940 population: 429,760 – Rank today: 73; population ~283,000
19. Kansas City, MO – 1940 population: 399,178 – Rank today: 38; population ~493,000
20. Indianapolis, IN – 1940 population: 386,972 – Rank today: 17; population ~868,000
21. Houston, TX – 1940 population: 384,514 – Rank today: 4; population ~2.4 million
22. Seattle, WA – 1940 population: 368,302 – Rank today: 18; population ~746,000
23. Rochester, NY – 1940 population: 324,975 – Rank today: 111; population ~206,000
24. Denver, CO – 1940 population: 322,412 – Rank today: 19; population ~718,000
25. Louisville, KY – 1940 population: 319,077 – Rank today: 29; population ~ 618,000
Top 25 US Cities Today that Didn’t Make the Cut in 1940
A number of US cities in the top 25 most populous today didn’t register on the list back in 1940. These include:
- Phoenix, AZ – Rank today: 5; population ~1.7 million – Rank in 1940: Phoenix didn’t even crack the top 100 in 1940; population: 65,414
- San Diego, CA – Rank today: 8; population ~1.5 million – Rank in 1940: 43; population: 203,341
- San Jose, CA – Rank today: 10; population: ~1.1 million – Rank in 1940: Google doesn’t even turn up population data for San Jose back to 1940.
- Austin, TX – Rank today: 11; population: ~966,000 – Rank in 1940: 101; population: 87,930
- Jacksonville, FL – Rank today: 12; population: ~905,000 – Rank in 1940: 47; population: 173,065
- Fort Worth, TX – Rank today: 13; population: ~896,000 – Rank in 1940: 46; population: 177,662
- Columbus, OH – Rank today: 14; population: ~894,000 – Rank in 1940: 26; population: 306,087
- Charlotte, NC – Rank today: 16; population: ~873,000 – Rank in 1940: 91; population: 100,899
- El Paso, TX – Rank today: 22; population: ~683,000 – Rank in 1940: 98; population: 96,810
- Nashville, TN – Rank today: 24; population: ~670,000 – Rank in 1940: 50; population: 167,402
- Portland, OR – Rank today: 25; population: ~655,000 – Rank in 1940: 27; population: 305,394