Newly released Census Bureau urban areas show that all 10 urban areas, or the densest urban areas, are in California, with 39 of the 50 densest cities and 70 of the 100 most densely located in California. I understand this. This is an unusually large concentration for a single state. A comprehensive overview of US urban areas in 2020 was recently published. 2020 urban areas and data released.
This article focuses on the 15 densest urban areas in the United States, according to the 2020 Census. In 2020, new metropolitan area standards will be adopted, making direct comparisons with previous data from the 1950-2010 Census uncomparable. Angeles (Los Angeles – Long Beach – Anaheim) and San Jose. These three urban areas are the only areas with a population over her 100,000 among the top 15 most densely populated areas.
15 densest urban areas
This comes as a surprise even to those of us who are deeply involved in urban demography. Many of the country’s most densely populated urban areas are located in California’s interior, primarily agricultural areas.
of mecca, california It is the most densely populated urban area. Located just north of the Salton Sea in Riverside County, about 40 miles east of Palm Springs and 140 miles east of Los Angeles, near the intersection of California Highway 86 and He 111. Residents and population density are 10,979, more than 40% denser than San Francisco and Los Angeles. Mecca is 70% denser than San Jose, 90% denser than urban New York, and 170% denser than 89th-place Portland, Oregon. Mecca does not include incorporated municipalities.
of greenfield, california The second densest urban area is in Monterey County, approximately 30 miles south of Salinas and 150 miles south of San Francisco on US-101 (more than a third of the way to Los Angeles). Greenfield has a population of 18,900 people per square mile and a population density of 8,821 people per square mile.
of irvin, california The city’s third densest is in Kern County, approximately 20 miles from Bakersfield, 100 miles from Los Angeles, and west of Interstate 5. Irvine has a population of 19,600 on 2.4 square miles and a population density of 8,266.
of Paglia, California The fourth densest urban area is in Fresno County, about 25 miles south of Fresno and 210 miles north of Los Angeles. Located east of California Highway 99, the main route through the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. The city has a population of 14,500 people on 1.8 square miles and a population density of 8,124 people per square mile.
of Soledad, California The fifth densest urban area is located in Monterey County, about 20 miles south of Salinas and 140 miles south of San Francisco, between Salinas and Greenfield, which ranks second. With a population of 19,800 and a land area of ​​2.4 square miles, Soledad has a population density of 7,832 people per square mile.
2020 san francisco city It is the sixth densest. It has a population of 3.3 million and a land area of ​​429 square miles (he is the 48th largest city area in the nation). The population per square mile is 7,626.
2020 downtown los angeles is the eighth most densely populated city, with 12.3 million residents in 1,637 square miles (8th largest urban area in the nation) and a density of 7,476 per square mile.
Between the urban areas of San Francisco and Los Angeles, Downtown McFarland, Kern County is the seventh most densely populated. McFarland is located on Highway 99, California, 25 miles north of Bakersfield and 135 miles north of Los Angeles. Its density is 7,599 per square mile.
Calexico is the ninth densest urban area and is located in Imperial County. Calexico has 38,000 residents spread over 5.4 square miles and a population density of 7,115. It lies approximately 120 miles east of San Diego, south of the Salton Sea, and 85 miles south of Mecca, the most densely populated urban area. Calexico is also right across the border. Mexicali is an urban area with a population of 958,000capital of Baja California, Mexico.
The tenth densest is city ​​of Guadeloupe Located in Santa Barbara County, about 10 miles from Santa Maria, it has a population of 8,000 and a population density of 7,044.
The 11th and 12th most densely populated urban areas are in Yuma County in Arizona’s southwestern tip.of Somerton city area It has a population of 14,000 and a density of 6,836.of San Luis city area placed virtually so Located in the southwestern tip of the state, it has a population of 25,000 and a density of 6,710. Like Calexico, California (above), 50 miles west of Mexico’s Federal Highway 2, San Luis is far from San Luis Rio, Sonora, Mexico, home to about 200,000 inhabitants. It is directly across the border from a large urban area.
of downtown wasco, california Located in Kern County between Highway 99 and Interstate 5 in California. Wasco has 22,000 inhabitants, or 6,449 people per square mile. Wasco is located 30 miles north of Bakersfield and 140 miles north of Los Angeles.
of downtown san joseis mostly urbanized suburbs and is the 14th densest urban area in the country. San Jose has a population of 1.8 million on 285 square miles and a population density of 6,436 on her. San Jose is about 8% denser than urban New York (5,980 per square mile).
of Orosi city is the 15th densest and is in Tulare County. Like Mecca, this urban area does not contain an incorporated general purpose government. Her 13,000 inhabitants of Orosi live in her 2.0 square miles at a density of 6,422.
City Density: From Los Angeles and New York to Mecca and Irvine
The urban area expected to have the highest density rating is New York (New York – Jersey City – Newark). In fact, New York City was the most densely populated metropolis in the country. (28,000 per square mile). However, the rest of the city has a much lower population density of 3,200 people per square mile. By comparison, the density of urban suburbs in Los Angeles was 6,400, nearly double that of New York. The San Francisco metropolitan area has a population density of 4,900 and the San Jose metropolitan area has a population density of 4,700. The relatively dense suburban sprawl of these three urban areas explains the higher overall density compared to the New York metropolitan area.
Density doesn’t just happen in places like New York or Los Angeles. Often it appears in the smallest urban areas.
Wendell Cox is the principal demography, an international public policy firm located in the St. Louis metropolitan area. He, Urban Reform InstituteHouston, Senior Fellow Frontier Center for Public Policy In Winnipeg, and a member of the Advisory Board of Center for Demographic Policy, Chapman University in Orange, California. He was a visiting professor. Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris. His main interests are economics, poverty alleviation, demography, urban policy and transportation.he is the co-author of the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Study author with Demographics Urban areas of the world.
Mayor Tom Bradley appointed him to the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (1977-1985) for three terms, House Speaker Newt Gingrich appointed him to the Amtrak Reform Council, and New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman (1999-2002).he is the author of War on dreams: how anti-sprawl policies threaten quality of life When Towards a more prosperous city: Framing essays on urban areas, transport, planning and sustainability aspects.
Photo: Bakersfield, California, location of Kern County, home to the three most densely populated urban areas in the United States in 2020 (by author).
