Demographia


Density of Development: 1950-1990
US Urbanized Areas

Density of New Development:
US Urbanized Areas with 1990 (or 1980) Population over 1,000,000: 1950-1990
Rank Metropolitan Area Change in Population (000) Change in Land Area (Square Miles) New Population/New Land Area
1 Los Angeles 7,405,000 1,095 6,763
2 Miami 1,456,000 236 6,169
3 San Jose 1,259,000 277 4,545
4 Fort Lauderdale 1,238,000 327 3,786
5 San Diego 1,915,000 557 3,438
6 Sacramento 885,000 292 3,031
7 Denver 1,019,000 354 2,879
8 Tampa-St. Petersburg 1,301,000 470 2,768
9 San Francisco-Oakland 1,608,000 587 2,739
10 Washington 2,076,000 767 2,707
11 Phoenix 1,790,000 686 2,609
12 Riverside-San Bernardino 1,034,000 399 2,591
13 Houston 2,201,000 907 2,427
14 Seattle 1,122,000 465 2,413
15 Portland 659,000 274 2,405
16 New Orleans 380,000 161 2,360
17 New York 3,748,000 1,714 2,187
18 Chicago 1,871,000 877 2,133
19 Dallas-Fort Worth 2,343,000 1,181 1,984
20 San Antonio 679,000 348 1,951
21 Baltimore 728,000 441 1,651
22 Atlanta 1,650,000 1,031 1,600
23 Norfolk 938,000 602 1,558
24 Philadelphia 1,300,000 852 1,526
25 Detroit 945,000 696 1,358
26 Minneapolis-St. Paul 1,093,000 832 1,314
27 St. Louis 546,000 500 1,092
28 Cincinnati 399,000 366 1,090
29 Boston 542,000 546 993
30 Milwaukee 397,000 410 968
31 Kansas City 577,000 613 941
32 Cleveland 293,000 336 872
33 Buffalo 59,000 163 362
34 Pittsburgh 145,000 524 277
  Total 24,331,000 10,953 2,221
Source: Calculated from US Census Bureau data.
1950 New Orleans data adjusted to eliminate non-urban portions of the city
Calculation is change population divided by change in urbanized area (square miles).

(c) 2000 www.demographia.com --- Wendell Cox Consultancy --- Permission granted to use with attribution.
Demographia is "pro-choice" with respect to urban development.
People should have the freedom to live and work where and how they like.

DEMOGRAPHIA
is an undertaking of
WENDELL COX CONSULTANCY
P. O. Box 841 - Belleville, IL 62222 USA
Telephone: +1.618.632.8507 - Facsimile: +1.618.632.8538

E-Mail: enquiries@demographia.com

Demographic Briefs | New Items | Book Store | Subscribe (Free)

Corrections Policy, Rights & Permissions

Related Web Site:
The Public Purpose
THE PUBLIC PURPOSE
Internet Public Policy Resource