Urban population in United States
United States: Urban population was 80.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in United States, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population in United States stood at 80.2%.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in United States peaked at 80.7% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 70.0%, in 1960.
United States ranks 57th of 217 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in United States, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 70.0% | — |
| 1961 | 70.4% | +0.7% |
| 1962 | 70.9% | +0.7% |
| 1963 | 71.4% | +0.7% |
| 1964 | 71.9% | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 72.3% | +0.6% |
| 1966 | 72.7% | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 73.0% | +0.4% |
| 1968 | 73.2% | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 73.4% | +0.2% |
| 1970 | 73.5% | +0.1% |
| 1971 | 73.5% | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 73.6% | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 73.6% | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 73.6% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 73.6% | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 73.6% | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 73.7% | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 73.7% | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 73.7% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 73.8% | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 73.8% | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 73.9% | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 74.0% | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 74.2% | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 74.3% | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 74.5% | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 74.7% | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 74.8% | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 75.1% | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 75.3% | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 75.5% | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 75.9% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 76.3% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 76.7% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 77.2% | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 77.7% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 78.1% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 78.5% | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 78.8% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 79.1% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 79.3% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 79.5% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 79.8% | +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 | 80.6% | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 80.6% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 80.5% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 80.4% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 80.3% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 80.1% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 80.0% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 80.0% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 80.0% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 80.1% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 80.1% | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 80.2% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 71.9% | 70.0% | 73.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 73.6% | 73.5% | 73.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.3% | 73.8% | 75.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 77.0% | 75.3% | 78.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 80.0% | 79.1% | 80.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.5% | 80.1% | 80.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.1% | 80.0% | 80.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 54 Republic of Korea 81.2% compare
- 55 Spain 80.5% compare
- 56 American Samoa 80.5% compare
- 58 Mexico 80.0% compare
- 59 Costa Rica 79.7% compare
- 60 Belarus 79.5% compare
More climate change data for United States
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 4.1% (2100)
- Urban population 274.08 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.6% (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 of global cumulative CO₂ emissions including land-use change 20.4% (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions including land-use change 560.54 billion tonnes (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in United States?
- Urban population in United States was 80.2% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 80.7% in 2010.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 70.0% in 1960.
- How does United States rank for urban population?
- United States ranks 57th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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.