1870
A list of the hundred largest cities is available from the Census Bureau. This was the ninth United States Census.
| Rank | City | State | Population | Notes |
| 1 | New York | New York | 942,292 | |
| 2 | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 674,022 | |
| 3 | Brooklyn | New York | 396,099 | |
| 4 | St. Louis | Missouri | 310,864 | |
| 5 | Chicago | Illinois | 298,977 | Census was taken one year before the Great Chicago Fire, which burned down a large portion of the city. |
| 6 | Baltimore | Maryland | 267,354 | |
| 7 | Boston | Massachusetts | 250,526 | |
| 8 | Cincinnati | Ohio | 216,239 | |
| 9 | New Orleans | Louisiana | 191,418 | |
| 10 | San Francisco | California | 149,473 | First west coast city in the Top 10. Its population boom began after 1848 with the Gold Rush and continuing with silver discoveries such as the Comstock Lode in 1859. |
Read more about this topic: Largest Cities In The United States By Population By Decade