Shifts in the nation’s economy are reflected in the 1820 Census, where Missouri and Maine are about to be admitted as states. The major population centers, however, are still seaports.
- New York (123,706), making it the first American city to surpass 100,000 population.
- Philadelphia (63,802). If the two suburbs, below, were included, it would approach that 100k threshold.
- Baltimore (62,738). The port has leapt to third place and is nearly as big as Philadelphia City. While
- Boston (43,298) has fallen way behind.
- New Orleans (27,176). The biggest city west of the Appalachian Mountains, it’s still smaller than today’s Dover, New Hampshire. In other words, most of these cities weren’t really big.
- Charleston, South Carolina (24,780). It’s the center of urban life in the South. But from everything I’ve heard, it was largely of a small-town flavor.
- Northern Liberties, Pennsylvania (19,678). Now a neighborhood of Philadelphia.
- Southwark, Pennsylvania (14,713). Now a neighborhood in South Philadelphia.
- Washington, District of Columbia (13,247). First appearance of the new capital in the Top Ten, where it wouldn’t appear again until 1950.
- Salem, Massachusetts (12,731). New England is losing its edge in the American scene, relatively.
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