Urban population growth in United States of America
United States of America: Urban population growth was 0.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in United States of America, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
United States of America 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 of America peaked at 2.3% in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2021.
That places United States of America 149th out of 217 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 in United States of America, 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% |
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 of America
More climate change data for United States of America
- Share co2 vs population 4.14 (2100)
- Urban population 80.2% (2025)
- Urban population 274.08 million (2025)
- Population, total 341.79 million (2025)
- Population growth 0.5% (2025)
- Annual Net Emissions/Removals 6,164 (2024)
- Temperature change with respect to a baseline climatology 1.95 (2024)
- Per capita CO₂ emissions vs. per capita energy use 14.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- Share global cumulative co2 including land 20.37 (2024)
- Cumulative co2 including land 560.54 billion (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in United States of America?
- Urban population growth in United States of America was 0.6% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 2.3% in 1961.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2021.
- How does United States of America rank for urban population growth?
- United States of America ranks 149th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in United States of America?
- 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 of America 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.