Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in Pennsylvania

Cities in Pennsylvania by population

Philadelphia, PA had the highest population of 70 cities in 2020, at 1.6 million. Mechanicsburg, PA had the lowest, at 9,284. The median was 18,034 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 13 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,600,737Philadelphia, PA
Lowest9,284Mechanicsburg, PA
Median18,03470 cities
Pennsylvania12,995,576History

Top 40 cities, 2020

Philadelphia, PA: 1,600,737 personsPhiladelphia, PA1,600,737Pittsburgh, PA: 302,859 personsPittsburgh, PA302,859Allentown, PA: 125,714 personsAllentown, PA125,714Reading, PA: 94,960 personsReading, PA94,960Erie, PA: 94,861 personsErie, PA94,861Scranton, PA: 76,169 personsScranton, PA76,169Bethlehem, PA: 75,698 personsBethlehem, PA75,698Lancaster, PA: 57,875 personsLancaster, PA57,875Harrisburg, PA: 50,071 personsHarrisburg, PA50,071York, PA: 44,789 personsYork, PA44,789Wilkes-Barre, PA: 44,266 personsWilkes-Barre, PA44,266Altoona, PA: 43,874 personsAltoona, PA43,874Penn Hills, PA: 40,951 personsPenn Hills, PA40,951State College, PA: 40,749 personsState College, PA40,749Norristown, PA: 35,747 personsNorristown, PA35,747Mount Lebanon, PA: 34,013 personsMount Lebanon, PA34,013Bethel Park, PA: 33,545 personsBethel Park, PA33,545Chester, PA: 32,699 personsChester, PA32,699Hazleton, PA: 29,849 personsHazleton, PA29,849Monroeville, PA: 28,645 personsMonroeville, PA28,645Easton, PA: 28,066 personsEaston, PA28,066Williamsport, PA: 27,719 personsWilliamsport, PA27,719Plum, PA: 27,128 personsPlum, PA27,128Lebanon, PA: 26,756 personsLebanon, PA26,756Pottstown, PA: 23,419 personsPottstown, PA23,419New Castle, PA: 21,891 personsNew Castle, PA21,891Chambersburg, PA: 21,882 personsChambersburg, PA21,882Baldwin, PA: 21,490 personsBaldwin, PA21,490Murrysville, PA: 20,966 personsMurrysville, PA20,966Carlisle, PA: 20,161 personsCarlisle, PA20,161West Mifflin, PA: 19,568 personsWest Mifflin, PA19,568Lansdale, PA: 18,830 personsLansdale, PA18,830West Chester, PA: 18,667 personsWest Chester, PA18,667Phoenixville, PA: 18,589 personsPhoenixville, PA18,589Johnstown, PA: 18,368 personsJohnstown, PA18,368McKeesport, PA: 17,700 personsMcKeesport, PA17,700Hermitage, PA: 16,816 personsHermitage, PA16,816Hanover, PA: 16,468 personsHanover, PA16,468Franklin Park, PA: 15,492 personsFranklin Park, PA15,492Whitehall, PA: 15,034 personsWhitehall, PA15,034Philadelphia, PA: 1,600,737 personsPhiladelphia, PA1,600,737Pittsburgh, PA: 302,859 personsPittsburgh, PA302,859Allentown, PA: 125,714 personsAllentown, PA125,714Reading, PA: 94,960 personsReading, PA94,960Erie, PA: 94,861 personsErie, PA94,861Scranton, PA: 76,169 personsScranton, PA76,169Bethlehem, PA: 75,698 personsBethlehem, PA75,698Lancaster, PA: 57,875 personsLancaster, PA57,875Harrisburg, PA: 50,071 personsHarrisburg, PA50,071York, PA: 44,789 personsYork, PA44,789Wilkes-Barre, PA: 44,266 personsWilkes-Barre, PA44,266Altoona, PA: 43,874 personsAltoona, PA43,874Penn Hills, PA: 40,951 personsPenn Hills, PA40,951State College, PA: 40,749 personsState College, PA40,749Norristown, PA: 35,747 personsNorristown, PA35,747Mount Lebanon, PA: 34,013 personsMount Lebanon, PA34,013Bethel Park, PA: 33,545 personsBethel Park, PA33,545Chester, PA: 32,699 personsChester, PA32,699Hazleton, PA: 29,849 personsHazleton, PA29,849Monroeville, PA: 28,645 personsMonroeville, PA28,645Easton, PA: 28,066 personsEaston, PA28,066Williamsport, PA: 27,719 personsWilliamsport, PA27,719Plum, PA: 27,128 personsPlum, PA27,128Lebanon, PA: 26,756 personsLebanon, PA26,756Pottstown, PA: 23,419 personsPottstown, PA23,419New Castle, PA: 21,891 personsNew Castle, PA21,891Chambersburg, PA: 21,882 personsChambersburg, PA21,882Baldwin, PA: 21,490 personsBaldwin, PA21,490Murrysville, PA: 20,966 personsMurrysville, PA20,966Carlisle, PA: 20,161 personsCarlisle, PA20,161West Mifflin, PA: 19,568 personsWest Mifflin, PA19,568Lansdale, PA: 18,830 personsLansdale, PA18,830West Chester, PA: 18,667 personsWest Chester, PA18,667Phoenixville, PA: 18,589 personsPhoenixville, PA18,589Johnstown, PA: 18,368 personsJohnstown, PA18,368McKeesport, PA: 17,700 personsMcKeesport, PA17,700Hermitage, PA: 16,816 personsHermitage, PA16,816Hanover, PA: 16,468 personsHanover, PA16,468Franklin Park, PA: 15,492 personsFranklin Park, PA15,492Whitehall, PA: 15,034 personsWhitehall, PA15,034
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2020
persons
1Philadelphia, PA1,600,737
2Pittsburgh, PA302,859
3Allentown, PA125,714
4Reading, PA94,960
5Erie, PA94,861
6Scranton, PA76,169
7Bethlehem, PA75,698
8Lancaster, PA57,875
9Harrisburg, PA50,071
10York, PA44,789
11Wilkes-Barre, PA44,266
12Altoona, PA43,874
13Penn Hills, PA40,951
14State College, PA40,749
15Norristown, PA35,747
16Mount Lebanon, PA34,013
17Bethel Park, PA33,545
18Chester, PA32,699
19Hazleton, PA29,849
20Monroeville, PA28,645
21Easton, PA28,066
22Williamsport, PA27,719
23Plum, PA27,128
24Lebanon, PA26,756
25Pottstown, PA23,419
26New Castle, PA21,891
27Chambersburg, PA21,882
28Baldwin, PA21,490
29Murrysville, PA20,966
30Carlisle, PA20,161
31West Mifflin, PA19,568
32Lansdale, PA18,830
33West Chester, PA18,667
34Phoenixville, PA18,589
35Johnstown, PA18,368
36McKeesport, PA17,700
37Hermitage, PA16,816
38Hanover, PA16,468
39Franklin Park, PA15,492
40Whitehall, PA15,034
41Greensburg, PA14,912
42Wilkinsburg, PA14,277
43Dunmore, PA14,022
44Indiana, PA14,021
45Ephrata, PA13,826
46Butler, PA13,484
47Coatesville, PA13,343
48Kingston, PA13,326
49Pottsville, PA13,132
50Washington, PA13,131
51Sharon, PA13,127
52Meadville, PA12,988
53St. Marys, PA12,714
54Bloomsburg, PA12,704
55Jefferson Hills, PA12,429
56New Kensington, PA12,129
57Yeadon, PA12,035
58Lower Burrell, PA11,753
59Elizabethtown, PA11,654
60Emmaus, PA11,634
61Wyomissing, PA11,101
62Lansdowne, PA11,084
63Waynesboro, PA11,016
64Munhall, PA10,761
65Darby, PA10,686
66Nanticoke, PA10,606
67Northampton, PA10,365
68Berwick, PA10,321
69Columbia, PA10,204
70Mechanicsburg, PA9,284

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population.

More on how it is measured
  • Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón).
  • Norway: Statistics Norway, 1 January.
  • Iceland and its municipalities: Statistics Iceland, 1 January.
  • United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July.
  • United Kingdom regions and local authorities: Office for National Statistics estimates for 30 June.
  • Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.
  • UN World Population Prospects estimates for 1 July cover the years before 1960 and the areas the World Bank does not publish, such as Taiwan.

The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals) (Cities in Pennsylvania by population, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/

MLA 9

Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in Pennsylvania by population, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/pennsylvania-cities?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Cities in Pennsylvania by population, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/pennsylvania-cities?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in Pennsylvania by population, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/pennsylvania-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_pennsylvania_by_2020,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in Pennsylvania by population, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/pennsylvania-cities?period=2020. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in Pennsylvania by population, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/pennsylvania-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/pennsylvania-cities?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Cities in Pennsylvania by population using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Philadelphia, PA, with 1.6 million in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Mechanicsburg, PA, with 9,284 in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Population: other rankings

Cities in Pennsylvania: more rankings