Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in Pennsylvania

Cities in Pennsylvania by population

Philadelphia, PA had the highest population of 70 cities in 2021, at 1.59 million. Mechanicsburg, PA had the lowest, at 9,471. The median was 17,894 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 13.02 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,590,224Philadelphia, PA
Lowest9,471Mechanicsburg, PA
Median17,89470 cities
Pennsylvania13,016,628History

Top 40 cities, 2021

Philadelphia, PA: 1,590,224 personsPhiladelphia, PA1,590,224Pittsburgh, PA: 305,343 personsPittsburgh, PA305,343Allentown, PA: 125,777 personsAllentown, PA125,777Reading, PA: 94,913 personsReading, PA94,913Erie, PA: 94,267 personsErie, PA94,267Bethlehem, PA: 77,916 personsBethlehem, PA77,916Scranton, PA: 76,171 personsScranton, PA76,171Lancaster, PA: 57,588 personsLancaster, PA57,588Harrisburg, PA: 50,217 personsHarrisburg, PA50,217York, PA: 44,845 personsYork, PA44,845Wilkes-Barre, PA: 44,333 personsWilkes-Barre, PA44,333Altoona, PA: 43,515 personsAltoona, PA43,515State College, PA: 41,252 personsState College, PA41,252Penn Hills, PA: 40,624 personsPenn Hills, PA40,624Norristown, PA: 35,894 personsNorristown, PA35,894Chester, PA: 33,701 personsChester, PA33,701Mount Lebanon, PA: 33,663 personsMount Lebanon, PA33,663Bethel Park, PA: 33,210 personsBethel Park, PA33,210Easton, PA: 30,166 personsEaston, PA30,166Hazleton, PA: 29,991 personsHazleton, PA29,991Monroeville, PA: 28,402 personsMonroeville, PA28,402Williamsport, PA: 27,489 personsWilliamsport, PA27,489Plum, PA: 26,938 personsPlum, PA26,938Lebanon, PA: 26,614 personsLebanon, PA26,614Pottstown, PA: 23,448 personsPottstown, PA23,448Chambersburg, PA: 22,153 personsChambersburg, PA22,153Carlisle, PA: 22,115 personsCarlisle, PA22,115New Castle, PA: 21,741 personsNew Castle, PA21,741Baldwin, PA: 21,266 personsBaldwin, PA21,266Murrysville, PA: 20,888 personsMurrysville, PA20,888West Chester, PA: 19,503 personsWest Chester, PA19,503West Mifflin, PA: 19,387 personsWest Mifflin, PA19,387Phoenixville, PA: 19,069 personsPhoenixville, PA19,069Lansdale, PA: 18,990 personsLansdale, PA18,990Johnstown, PA: 18,230 personsJohnstown, PA18,230McKeesport, PA: 17,558 personsMcKeesport, PA17,558Hermitage, PA: 16,761 personsHermitage, PA16,761Hanover, PA: 16,535 personsHanover, PA16,535Franklin Park, PA: 15,363 personsFranklin Park, PA15,363Whitehall, PA: 14,926 personsWhitehall, PA14,926Philadelphia, PA: 1,590,224 personsPhiladelphia, PA1,590,224Pittsburgh, PA: 305,343 personsPittsburgh, PA305,343Allentown, PA: 125,777 personsAllentown, PA125,777Reading, PA: 94,913 personsReading, PA94,913Erie, PA: 94,267 personsErie, PA94,267Bethlehem, PA: 77,916 personsBethlehem, PA77,916Scranton, PA: 76,171 personsScranton, PA76,171Lancaster, PA: 57,588 personsLancaster, PA57,588Harrisburg, PA: 50,217 personsHarrisburg, PA50,217York, PA: 44,845 personsYork, PA44,845Wilkes-Barre, PA: 44,333 personsWilkes-Barre, PA44,333Altoona, PA: 43,515 personsAltoona, PA43,515State College, PA: 41,252 personsState College, PA41,252Penn Hills, PA: 40,624 personsPenn Hills, PA40,624Norristown, PA: 35,894 personsNorristown, PA35,894Chester, PA: 33,701 personsChester, PA33,701Mount Lebanon, PA: 33,663 personsMount Lebanon, PA33,663Bethel Park, PA: 33,210 personsBethel Park, PA33,210Easton, PA: 30,166 personsEaston, PA30,166Hazleton, PA: 29,991 personsHazleton, PA29,991Monroeville, PA: 28,402 personsMonroeville, PA28,402Williamsport, PA: 27,489 personsWilliamsport, PA27,489Plum, PA: 26,938 personsPlum, PA26,938Lebanon, PA: 26,614 personsLebanon, PA26,614Pottstown, PA: 23,448 personsPottstown, PA23,448Chambersburg, PA: 22,153 personsChambersburg, PA22,153Carlisle, PA: 22,115 personsCarlisle, PA22,115New Castle, PA: 21,741 personsNew Castle, PA21,741Baldwin, PA: 21,266 personsBaldwin, PA21,266Murrysville, PA: 20,888 personsMurrysville, PA20,888West Chester, PA: 19,503 personsWest Chester, PA19,503West Mifflin, PA: 19,387 personsWest Mifflin, PA19,387Phoenixville, PA: 19,069 personsPhoenixville, PA19,069Lansdale, PA: 18,990 personsLansdale, PA18,990Johnstown, PA: 18,230 personsJohnstown, PA18,230McKeesport, PA: 17,558 personsMcKeesport, PA17,558Hermitage, PA: 16,761 personsHermitage, PA16,761Hanover, PA: 16,535 personsHanover, PA16,535Franklin Park, PA: 15,363 personsFranklin Park, PA15,363Whitehall, PA: 14,926 personsWhitehall, PA14,926
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

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Philadelphia, PA1,590,224-0.7%
2Pittsburgh, PA305,343+0.8%
3Allentown, PA125,777+0.1%
4Reading, PA94,913-0%
5Erie, PA94,267-0.6%
6Bethlehem, PA77,916+2.9%
7Scranton, PA76,1710%
8Lancaster, PA57,588-0.5%
9Harrisburg, PA50,217+0.3%
10York, PA44,845+0.1%
11Wilkes-Barre, PA44,333+0.2%
12Altoona, PA43,515-0.8%
13State College, PA41,252+1.2%
14Penn Hills, PA40,624-0.8%
15Norristown, PA35,894+0.4%
16Chester, PA33,701+3.1%
17Mount Lebanon, PA33,663-1%
18Bethel Park, PA33,210-1%
19Easton, PA30,166+7.5%
20Hazleton, PA29,991+0.5%
21Monroeville, PA28,402-0.8%
22Williamsport, PA27,489-0.8%
23Plum, PA26,938-0.7%
24Lebanon, PA26,614-0.5%
25Pottstown, PA23,448+0.1%
26Chambersburg, PA22,153+1.2%
27Carlisle, PA22,115+9.7%
28New Castle, PA21,741-0.7%
29Baldwin, PA21,266-1%
30Murrysville, PA20,888-0.4%
31West Chester, PA19,503+4.5%
32West Mifflin, PA19,387-0.9%
33Phoenixville, PA19,069+2.6%
34Lansdale, PA18,990+0.8%
35Johnstown, PA18,230-0.8%
36McKeesport, PA17,558-0.8%
37Hermitage, PA16,761-0.3%
38Hanover, PA16,535+0.4%
39Franklin Park, PA15,363-0.8%
40Whitehall, PA14,926-0.7%
41Greensburg, PA14,798-0.8%
42Indiana, PA14,209+1.3%
43Dunmore, PA14,182+1.1%
44Wilkinsburg, PA14,126-1.1%
45Ephrata, PA13,804-0.2%
46Washington, PA13,502+2.8%
47Coatesville, PA13,3460%
47Kingston, PA13,346+0.2%
49Butler, PA13,324-1.2%
50Pottsville, PA13,149+0.1%
51Sharon, PA13,064-0.5%
52Bloomsburg, PA12,776+0.6%
53Meadville, PA12,735-1.9%
54St. Marys, PA12,645-0.5%
55Jefferson Hills, PA12,397-0.3%
56New Kensington, PA12,068-0.5%
57Yeadon, PA11,998-0.3%
58Elizabethtown, PA11,915+2.2%
59Lower Burrell, PA11,693-0.5%
60Emmaus, PA11,663+0.2%
61Wyomissing, PA11,132+0.3%
62Lansdowne, PA11,052-0.3%
63Waynesboro, PA11,028+0.1%
64Darby, PA10,654-0.3%
65Munhall, PA10,648-1.1%
66Nanticoke, PA10,623+0.2%
67Northampton, PA10,356-0.1%
68Berwick, PA10,336+0.1%
69Columbia, PA10,182-0.2%
70Mechanicsburg, PA9,471+2%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/pennsylvania-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_pennsylvania_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/pennsylvania-cities?period=2021.
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  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Cities in Pennsylvania by population using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"population","level":"municipality","within":"Pennsylvania","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population&level=municipality&within=Pennsylvania&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Philadelphia, PA, with 1.59 million in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Mechanicsburg, PA, with 9,471 in 2021.

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