Urban population growth (annual %) in United States
United States: Urban population growth (annual %) was 0.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in United States, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
United States recorded 0.6% for urban population growth in 2025.
The figure is down 40.9% on the previous year and down 17.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in United States peaked at 2.3% in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2021.
That places United States 149th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth (annual %) in United States, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.3% | — |
| 1962 | 2.2% | -4.6% |
| 1963 | 2.1% | -4.9% |
| 1964 | 2.0% | -3.7% |
| 1965 | 1.8% | -9.1% |
| 1966 | 1.7% | -8.6% |
| 1967 | 1.5% | -8.7% |
| 1968 | 1.3% | -12.3% |
| 1969 | 1.2% | -10.1% |
| 1970 | 1.3% | +5.0% |
| 1971 | 1.3% | +3.5% |
| 1972 | 1.1% | -15.6% |
| 1973 | 1.0% | -11.3% |
| 1974 | 0.9% | -4.8% |
| 1975 | 1.0% | +7.4% |
| 1976 | 1.0% | -3.5% |
| 1977 | 1.0% | +6.1% |
| 1978 | 1.1% | +5.9% |
| 1979 | 1.1% | +5.0% |
| 1980 | 1.0% | -11.3% |
| 1981 | 1.1% | +5.0% |
| 1982 | 1.1% | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 1.1% | -0.7% |
| 1984 | 1.0% | -1.9% |
| 1985 | 1.1% | +4.3% |
| 1986 | 1.2% | +5.5% |
| 1987 | 1.1% | -1.1% |
| 1988 | 1.2% | +2.6% |
| 1989 | 1.2% | +4.1% |
| 1990 | 1.4% | +16.7% |
| 1991 | 1.7% | +19.9% |
| 1992 | 1.9% | +8.9% |
| 1993 | 1.9% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1.8% | -2.7% |
| 1995 | 1.8% | -1.0% |
| 1996 | 1.8% | -1.9% |
| 1997 | 1.8% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 1.7% | -5.3% |
| 1999 | 1.6% | -5.7% |
| 2000 | 1.4% | -8.2% |
| 2001 | 1.3% | -11.0% |
| 2002 | 1.2% | -4.6% |
| 2003 | 1.1% | -6.3% |
| 2004 | 1.2% | +4.3% |
| 2005 | 1.2% | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 1.2% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 1.1% | -4.4% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | -4.6% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | -11.4% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | -9.5% |
| 2011 | 0.8% | -8.9% |
| 2012 | 0.8% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | -7.1% |
| 2014 | 0.8% | +3.1% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | -5.0% |
| 2017 | 0.6% | -17.4% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | -24.1% |
| 2019 | 0.3% | -24.6% |
| 2020 | 0.2% | -26.1% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | -29.9% |
| 2022 | 0.6% | +253.6% |
| 2023 | 0.9% | +45.1% |
| 2024 | 1.0% | +17.8% |
| 2025 | 0.6% | -40.9% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 0.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.6%, 95% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth (annual %) in United States changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +253.6% | 0.2% | 0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.8% | 1.2% | 2.3% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.2% | 1.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More climate change data for United States
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 274,482 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 60,922 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 213,560 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 229.89 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 7,627 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 107,381 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 89,068 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 18,313 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 336.11 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 654.05 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in United States?
- Urban population growth in United States was 0.6% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 2.3% in 1961.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2021.
- How does United States rank for urban population growth?
- United States ranks 149th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.