What is the most populous city in the United States?
Answer
New York City
The most populous city in the United States is New York City.
New York City occupies the southern tip of New York State around one of the world's largest natural harbors. It is a consolidated city made up of five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Each borough also corresponds to a county, a structure that can make comparisons with other American cities slightly confusing.
The city was settled by the Dutch in the 17th century and became New York in 1664 after English control began. Its five-borough government was created through consolidation on January 1, 1898, bringing Brooklyn and other surrounding areas into the modern city. That expansion helped establish New York as the country's dominant urban center.
The 2020 U.S. census counted 8,804,190 residents, and more recent estimates still place New York first among U.S. incorporated cities. This answer refers to the city proper, not the larger metropolitan area, which includes many communities across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.