Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in Pennsylvania

Cities in Pennsylvania by population

Philadelphia, PA had the highest population of 70 cities in 2023, at 1.57 million. Mechanicsburg, PA had the lowest, at 9,866. The median was 17,551 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 13.01 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,565,822Philadelphia, PA
Lowest9,866Mechanicsburg, PA
Median17,55170 cities
Pennsylvania13,009,406History

Top 40 cities, 2023

Philadelphia, PA: 1,565,822 personsPhiladelphia, PA1,565,822Pittsburgh, PA: 304,508 personsPittsburgh, PA304,508Allentown, PA: 125,586 personsAllentown, PA125,586Reading, PA: 95,205 personsReading, PA95,205Erie, PA: 92,946 personsErie, PA92,946Bethlehem, PA: 78,760 personsBethlehem, PA78,760Scranton, PA: 75,821 personsScranton, PA75,821Lancaster, PA: 57,172 personsLancaster, PA57,172Harrisburg, PA: 50,242 personsHarrisburg, PA50,242York, PA: 44,974 personsYork, PA44,974Wilkes-Barre, PA: 44,363 personsWilkes-Barre, PA44,363Altoona, PA: 42,771 personsAltoona, PA42,771State College, PA: 41,230 personsState College, PA41,230Penn Hills, PA: 39,717 personsPenn Hills, PA39,717Norristown, PA: 35,793 personsNorristown, PA35,793Chester, PA: 33,829 personsChester, PA33,829Mount Lebanon, PA: 33,023 personsMount Lebanon, PA33,023Bethel Park, PA: 32,530 personsBethel Park, PA32,530Easton, PA: 30,328 personsEaston, PA30,328Hazleton, PA: 30,087 personsHazleton, PA30,087Monroeville, PA: 28,056 personsMonroeville, PA28,056Williamsport, PA: 27,598 personsWilliamsport, PA27,598Plum, PA: 26,468 personsPlum, PA26,468Lebanon, PA: 26,398 personsLebanon, PA26,398Pottstown, PA: 23,380 personsPottstown, PA23,380Carlisle, PA: 22,376 personsCarlisle, PA22,376Chambersburg, PA: 22,313 personsChambersburg, PA22,313New Castle, PA: 21,396 personsNew Castle, PA21,396Baldwin, PA: 20,790 personsBaldwin, PA20,790Murrysville, PA: 20,753 personsMurrysville, PA20,753Phoenixville, PA: 19,898 personsPhoenixville, PA19,898West Chester, PA: 19,699 personsWest Chester, PA19,699Lansdale, PA: 19,010 personsLansdale, PA19,010West Mifflin, PA: 18,979 personsWest Mifflin, PA18,979Johnstown, PA: 17,930 personsJohnstown, PA17,930McKeesport, PA: 17,171 personsMcKeesport, PA17,171Hanover, PA: 16,639 personsHanover, PA16,639Hermitage, PA: 16,477 personsHermitage, PA16,477Franklin Park, PA: 15,085 personsFranklin Park, PA15,085Whitehall, PA: 14,645 personsWhitehall, PA14,645Philadelphia, PA: 1,565,822 personsPhiladelphia, PA1,565,822Pittsburgh, PA: 304,508 personsPittsburgh, PA304,508Allentown, PA: 125,586 personsAllentown, PA125,586Reading, PA: 95,205 personsReading, PA95,205Erie, PA: 92,946 personsErie, PA92,946Bethlehem, PA: 78,760 personsBethlehem, PA78,760Scranton, PA: 75,821 personsScranton, PA75,821Lancaster, PA: 57,172 personsLancaster, PA57,172Harrisburg, PA: 50,242 personsHarrisburg, PA50,242York, PA: 44,974 personsYork, PA44,974Wilkes-Barre, PA: 44,363 personsWilkes-Barre, PA44,363Altoona, PA: 42,771 personsAltoona, PA42,771State College, PA: 41,230 personsState College, PA41,230Penn Hills, PA: 39,717 personsPenn Hills, PA39,717Norristown, PA: 35,793 personsNorristown, PA35,793Chester, PA: 33,829 personsChester, PA33,829Mount Lebanon, PA: 33,023 personsMount Lebanon, PA33,023Bethel Park, PA: 32,530 personsBethel Park, PA32,530Easton, PA: 30,328 personsEaston, PA30,328Hazleton, PA: 30,087 personsHazleton, PA30,087Monroeville, PA: 28,056 personsMonroeville, PA28,056Williamsport, PA: 27,598 personsWilliamsport, PA27,598Plum, PA: 26,468 personsPlum, PA26,468Lebanon, PA: 26,398 personsLebanon, PA26,398Pottstown, PA: 23,380 personsPottstown, PA23,380Carlisle, PA: 22,376 personsCarlisle, PA22,376Chambersburg, PA: 22,313 personsChambersburg, PA22,313New Castle, PA: 21,396 personsNew Castle, PA21,396Baldwin, PA: 20,790 personsBaldwin, PA20,790Murrysville, PA: 20,753 personsMurrysville, PA20,753Phoenixville, PA: 19,898 personsPhoenixville, PA19,898West Chester, PA: 19,699 personsWest Chester, PA19,699Lansdale, PA: 19,010 personsLansdale, PA19,010West Mifflin, PA: 18,979 personsWest Mifflin, PA18,979Johnstown, PA: 17,930 personsJohnstown, PA17,930McKeesport, PA: 17,171 personsMcKeesport, PA17,171Hanover, PA: 16,639 personsHanover, PA16,639Hermitage, PA: 16,477 personsHermitage, PA16,477Franklin Park, PA: 15,085 personsFranklin Park, PA15,085Whitehall, PA: 14,645 personsWhitehall, PA14,645
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

RankCities2023
persons		Change on 2022
1Philadelphia, PA1,565,822-0.4%
2Pittsburgh, PA304,508+0.5%
3Allentown, PA125,586+0.3%
4Reading, PA95,205+0.3%
5Erie, PA92,946-0.8%
6Bethlehem, PA78,760+1.3%
7Scranton, PA75,821-0%
8Lancaster, PA57,172-0.1%
9Harrisburg, PA50,242+0.2%
10York, PA44,974+0.3%
11Wilkes-Barre, PA44,363+0.2%
12Altoona, PA42,771-0.6%
13State College, PA41,230+1.1%
14Penn Hills, PA39,717-0.9%
15Norristown, PA35,793-0%
16Chester, PA33,829+0.5%
17Mount Lebanon, PA33,023-0.6%
18Bethel Park, PA32,530-0.8%
19Easton, PA30,328+2.6%
20Hazleton, PA30,087+0.4%
21Monroeville, PA28,056-0.7%
22Williamsport, PA27,598+0.3%
23Plum, PA26,468-0.7%
24Lebanon, PA26,398-0.1%
25Pottstown, PA23,380-0.1%
26Carlisle, PA22,376+1.1%
27Chambersburg, PA22,313+0.6%
28New Castle, PA21,396-0.5%
29Baldwin, PA20,790-0.9%
30Murrysville, PA20,753+0.1%
31Phoenixville, PA19,898+2.7%
32West Chester, PA19,699-0.1%
33Lansdale, PA19,010+0.3%
34West Mifflin, PA18,979-0.9%
35Johnstown, PA17,930-0.8%
36McKeesport, PA17,171-0.9%
37Hanover, PA16,639+0.4%
38Hermitage, PA16,477-0.9%
39Franklin Park, PA15,085-0.6%
40Whitehall, PA14,645-0.9%
41Greensburg, PA14,609-0.4%
42Indiana, PA14,280-0.1%
43Dunmore, PA14,238+0.3%
44Wilkinsburg, PA13,803-0.9%
45Ephrata, PA13,748-0.1%
46Kingston, PA13,380+0.4%
47Washington, PA13,370-0.5%
48Coatesville, PA13,317-0.3%
49Bloomsburg, PA13,269+1%
50Pottsville, PA13,154+0.2%
51Butler, PA13,093-0.6%
52Sharon, PA12,806-1%
53St. Marys, PA12,385-0.9%
54Meadville, PA12,323-0.6%
55Yeadon, PA12,290+1.1%
56Jefferson Hills, PA12,221-0.7%
57Emmaus, PA12,079+3.4%
58Elizabethtown, PA12,004+0.1%
59New Kensington, PA11,886-0.6%
60Lower Burrell, PA11,579-0.1%
61Wyomissing, PA11,192+0.5%
62Lansdowne, PA11,101+0.2%
63Waynesboro, PA11,062+0.4%
64Nanticoke, PA10,647+0.4%
65Darby, PA10,640+0.3%
66Northampton, PA10,419+1%
67Munhall, PA10,404-0.9%
68Columbia, PA10,403+2.6%
69Berwick, PA10,299+0.2%
70Mechanicsburg, PA9,866+3%

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, 2023) [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, 2023. 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=2023. 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, 2023. 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=2023.

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, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/pennsylvania-cities?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_pennsylvania_by_2023,
  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, 2023}},
  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=2023. 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, 2023
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=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/pennsylvania-cities?period=2023.
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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Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Philadelphia, PA, with 1.57 million in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Mechanicsburg, PA, with 9,866 in 2023.

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