Every City in the USA

Ranking · Density

Densest U.S. cities: sort and filter 4,901 cities.

The densest U.S. cities ranking starts with Guttenberg, NJ at 61,710 residents per square mile (U.S. Census Bureau PEP and Gazetteer). The table includes all 4,901 cities with land-area data and at least 5,000 residents. The population floor prevents tiny denominator artifacts from dominating the answer. Water area is excluded.

See city-limit area, density, and the metro distinction for Las Vegas and Sacramento.

Direct answer

The 10 densest qualifying U.S. cities.

Density uses residents per square mile of land. Looking for the other end of the ranking? See the least crowded U.S. cities.

  1. Guttenberg, NJ61,710 per sq mi
  2. West New York, NJ53,567 per sq mi
  3. Union City, NJ51,792 per sq mi
  4. Hoboken, NJ47,222 per sq mi
  5. Kaser, NY35,587 per sq mi
  6. Kiryas Joel, NY32,248 per sq mi
  7. New York, NY28,569 per sq mi
  8. New Square, NY27,831 per sq mi
  9. Cliffside Park, NJ27,760 per sq mi
  10. Great Neck Plaza, NY25,367 per sq mi

Filter this density ranking

4,901 rows

All 4,901 qualifying cities ranked by population density. Requires non-null land area and at least 5,000 residents.
RankCityStateDensity / sq mi2025 PopulationLand area (sq mi)
#1GuttenbergNJ61,71011,9100.2
#2West New YorkNJ53,56753,1921.0
#3Union CityNJ51,79266,6561.3
#4HobokenNJ47,22259,0271.3
#5KaserNY35,5876,1210.2
#6Kiryas JoelNY32,24847,1471.5
#7New YorkNY28,5698,584,629300.5
#8New SquareNY27,83110,2140.4
#9Cliffside ParkNJ27,76026,5391.0
#10Great Neck PlazaNY25,3677,8890.3
#12PassaicNJ22,77071,3373.1
#13Sunny Isles BeachFL22,15122,3951.0
#14North Bay VillageFL21,8898,0990.4
#15Jersey CityNJ20,478302,01314.7
#16SomervilleMA20,44084,2114.1
#17MaywoodCA20,13723,6001.2
#18Central FallsRI19,36723,1241.2
#19PatersonNJ19,231161,7938.4
#20CambridgeMA19,163122,5886.4
#21FairviewNJ18,37615,5090.8
#22East OrangeNJ18,37072,1593.9
#24HarrisonNJ18,25422,1051.2
#25CudahyCA18,23621,4451.2
#26West HollywoodCA18,13134,2311.9
#27ChelseaMA18,08540,1302.2
#28San FranciscoCA17,695826,07946.7
#29Spring ValleyNY17,17234,4822.0
#30Huntington ParkCA17,13651,5443.0
#31Mount VernonNY16,46372,3044.4
#32Palisades ParkNJ16,39820,3171.2
#34HempsteadNY16,20759,8193.7
#35Fort LeeNJ16,02340,3452.5
#36EdgewaterNJ15,96215,4991.0
#37GarfieldNJ15,80033,3532.1
#38Long BeachNY15,74334,9182.2
#39EverettMA15,67853,5723.4
#41ManorhavenNY15,2137,1350.5
#42Bay Harbor IslandsFL15,2056,0210.4
#43Bell GardensCA15,19637,3672.5
#44LawndaleCA15,15829,8922.0
#45AventuraFL15,06039,8802.6
#46Hawaiian GardensCA14,15113,3730.9
#47BerwynIL14,08855,0013.9
#48CiceroIL13,95781,8585.9
#49BostonMA13,921672,97348.3
#51Port ChesterNY13,87632,3032.3
#52Prospect ParkNJ13,8716,4500.5
#53MiamiFL13,607489,81236.0
#54HawthorneCA13,59382,7416.1
#56NewarkNJ13,412323,80824.1
#57Daly CityCA13,237101,2617.7
#58MaldenMA13,15666,3705.0
#60LynwoodCA13,12063,5124.8
#61HamtramckMI13,04427,2612.1
#62Mount RainierMD13,0418,3070.6
#63Hermosa BeachCA12,98218,5131.4
#65BogotaNJ12,9509,8160.8
#66StantonCA12,94340,1613.1
#67LawrenceMA12,88989,3206.9
#68BayonneNJ12,84074,7445.8
#70Roselle ParkNJ12,73715,6031.2
#71DarbyPA12,66710,6660.8
#72BellCA12,61031,6252.5
#73South GateCA12,44690,0717.2
#74Elmwood ParkIL12,40823,6751.9
#75BellflowerCA12,21574,7196.1
#76Perth AmboyNJ12,17156,7394.7
#77WallingtonNJ12,16512,0921.0
#78San PabloCA12,07231,6782.6
#79New Hyde ParkNY12,05910,2260.8
#80TrentonNJ12,03191,5067.6
#81Williston ParkNY12,0197,5240.6
#82ChicagoIL11,9942,731,585227.7
#83Key BiscayneFL11,88114,8151.2
#84YonkersNY11,807212,60318.0
#85PhiladelphiaPA11,7201,574,281134.3
#86TuckahoeNY11,6967,0290.6
#87BerkeleyCA11,686121,91110.4
#88Valley StreamNY11,61040,3793.5
#89MineolaNY11,54821,3761.9
#90Santa AnaCA11,527315,58627.4
#91LodiNJ11,52626,1872.3
#92ElizabethNJ11,501141,67512.3
#94East Palo AltoCA11,42128,8722.5
#95Island ParkNY11,3915,0690.4
#96WashingtonDC11,348693,64561.1
#97Floral ParkNY11,33416,1051.4
#99Oak ParkIL11,23952,8234.7
#100InglewoodCA11,212101,6629.1
#101HackensackNJ11,06746,3804.2
#103El MonteCA10,995105,0759.6
#104Asbury ParkNJ10,93115,6321.4
#105New BrunswickNJ10,91857,1335.2
#106CedarhurstNY10,8657,3340.7
#107Redondo BeachCA10,85567,2816.2
#108Clifton HeightsPA10,8496,8350.6
#109AlexandriaVA10,757160,66214.9
#110ParamountCA10,74050,7554.7
#111AlbanyCA10,72319,1951.8
#112Santa MonicaCA10,71390,0828.4
Showing all 4,901 qualifying cities out of 19,483 included city/place records. Rank column reflects the qualifying universe.

Methodology · how density is computed

How density is computed.

Density is computed as pop_current ÷ land_area_sqmi — land area only, water area excluded. The land area figure comes from the Census Bureau's 2025 Gazetteer file (January 1, 2025 boundaries). Using land area rather than total area is the standard practice for city density comparisons: a coastal city with large offshore water area would appear artificially sparse otherwise.

This ranking is filtered to cities with a 2025 population of at least 5,000 residents. Without that floor, a village of a few dozen people over a fraction of a square mile can occupy the top ranks — numerically correct but not a useful answer to "what are the densest U.S. cities?"

The eight consolidated cities in this dataset (Indianapolis, Nashville, Louisville, Athens-Clarke County, Augusta-Richmond County, Milford CT, Greeley County KS, and Butte-Silver Bow MT) have slightly overstated density. Their gazetteer geometry uses the balance entry for the consolidated city-county, which excludes incorporated enclaves within the boundary. This means land area is modestly under-counted and density correspondingly over-counted. This is a known data limitation, not a calculation error.

Read the full methodology →

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