Urban population in North America
North America: Urban population was 80.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in North America, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population in North America stood at 80.5%.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in North America peaked at 80.7% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 69.9%, in 1960.
That places North America 6th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in North America, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 69.9% | — |
| 1961 | 70.4% | +0.7% |
| 1962 | 70.9% | +0.7% |
| 1963 | 71.4% | +0.7% |
| 1964 | 71.9% | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 72.3% | +0.6% |
| 1966 | 72.8% | +0.6% |
| 1967 | 73.1% | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 73.4% | +0.4% |
| 1969 | 73.6% | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 73.7% | +0.1% |
| 1971 | 73.8% | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 73.8% | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 73.8% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 73.8% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 73.8% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 73.8% | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 73.8% | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 73.9% | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 73.9% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 73.9% | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 74.0% | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 74.1% | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 74.2% | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 74.4% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 74.5% | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 74.7% | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 74.8% | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 75.0% | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 75.2% | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 75.4% | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 75.7% | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 76.0% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 76.4% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 76.8% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 77.2% | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 77.7% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 78.1% | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 78.5% | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 78.8% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 79.0% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 79.3% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 79.5% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 79.7% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 80.0% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 80.2% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 80.4% | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 80.5% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 80.6% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 80.7% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 80.7% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 80.7% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 80.7% | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 80.7% | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 80.7% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 80.6% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 80.6% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 80.5% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 80.4% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 80.3% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 80.2% | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 80.2% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 80.3% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 80.3% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 80.4% | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 80.5% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 72.0% | 69.9% | 73.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 73.8% | 73.7% | 73.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.5% | 73.9% | 75.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 77.0% | 75.4% | 78.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 80.0% | 79.0% | 80.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.6% | 80.3% | 80.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.3% | 80.2% | 80.5% | 6 |
More climate change data for North America
- Population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Population, total 383.50 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Urban population 308.67 million (2025)
- Annual Net Emissions/Removals 6,870 (2024)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 46.7% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 480.42 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 8.5% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 12.9% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 13.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in North America?
- Urban population in North America was 80.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 80.7% in 2011.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.9% in 1960.
- How does North America rank for urban population?
- North America ranks 6th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.