Of the 30 factors within these categories, the qualitative ones are assigned as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable, or intolerable by a team of expert analysts. The ranking attempts to assess which cities across the globe provide the best living conditions, by assigning a score on 30 quantitative and qualitative measures across the five categories with the following weightings: This map uses annual rankings from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to show the world’s most livable cities, measuring different categories including: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. But as cities worldwide return to the status quo, many of these urban centers have become desirable places to live yet again. Pandemic restrictions changed the livability of many urban centers worldwide as cultural sites were shuttered, restaurant dining was restricted, and local economies faced the consequences. Ranked: The Most and Least Livable Cities in 2022 metro areas contribute to economic growth. See the electrifying pulse of a Manhattan workday or view a 3d map that shows how much U.S. Interested in learning more about the country’s largest cities? Here’s how the population distribution of New York City’s five boroughs has changed over time: This rapid urbanization is mainly thanks to Industrial Revolution, which triggered a massive migration to cities, allowing New York to grow 26,000% in total population. In contrast to the NYC of today, the 1790 population looks more like a Long Island suburb. Other major cities saw similar merges happen over the years, with Philadelphia absorbing Northern Liberties Township, for example. It helped that NYC was able to absorb Brooklyn – one of the country’s other largest cities – into its boundaries in 1898.
Jump forward over 200 years, and New York City has not lost its top spot. It also may be a surprise to many that Rhode Island – a state that ranks 50th in size and 44th in population today – held two of the largest towns in the nation at the time: Newport and Providence. It’s pretty surreal to think that some of the biggest cities in the late 18th century hosted no more than 6,000 residents. To start, let’s take a look at what the list looked just after the first U.S. Today’s infographic comes to us from Liberty Cruise, and it ranks the 10 most populous cities in the United States for every decade since 1790. Census in 1790, New York City had surpassed Philadelphia by a few thousand residents – and the Big Apple has stayed the largest in the country ever since.
The first city to hold the title was Philadelphia, as the City of Brotherly Love was estimated to be the biggest city in the country at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. There are only two cities that have had the distinction of being named the most populous city in the United States. View the high resolution version of today’s infographic by clicking here