The Most Urban Cities

The urbanSCALE rating system is the first ever comprehensive rating system that measures how urban a city is on a scale of 1 to 10.  This system has been in the works for more than 2 years and includes more than 100 different variables from many public and private sources.  urbanSCALE ratings have been developed for the 100 largest U.S. cities (based on most recent population).  For an explanation of the urbanSCALE rating system methodology, see the 10 Traits of Vibrant Cities.

The most urban cities in the United States are…

Top Ten Most Urban Cities (2014)

1. New York, NY
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Boston, MA
4. Jersey City, NJ
5. Washington, DC
6. Miami, FL
7. Chicago, IL
8. Seattle, WA
9. Philadelphia, PA
10. Minneapolis, MN

The full list of urbanSCALE ratings for all 100 cities (10 being the most urban and 1 being the least urban):

Rank	City	State	urbanSCALE Score
1	New York	NY	8.6
2	San Francisco	CA	8.0
3	Boston	MA	7.9
4	Jersey City	NJ	7.3
5	Washington	DC	6.9
6	Miami	FL	6.5
7	Chicago	IL	6.3
8	Seattle	WA	6.3
9	Philadelphia	PA	6.1
10	Minneapolis	MN	5.8
11	Portland	OR	5.6
12	Honolulu	HI	5.6
13	Newark	NJ	5.3
14	Baltimore	MD	5.1
15	Pittsburgh	PA	5.0
16	Atlanta	GA	5.0
17	Oakland	CA	5.0
18	Madison	WI	4.9
19	Denver	CO	4.9
20	Los Angeles	CA	4.9
21	San Jose	CA	4.6
22	Sacramento	CA	4.5
23	Milwaukee	WI	4.5
24	St. Louis	MO	4.5
25	Buffalo	NY	4.4
26	Austin	TX	4.4
27	San Diego	CA	4.4
28	Cleveland	OH	4.3
29	New Orleans	LA	4.2
30	Orlando	FL	4.2
31	St. Paul	MN	4.2
32	Long Beach	CA	4.1
33	Charlotte	NC	4.0
34	Santa Ana	CA	3.9
35	Cincinnati	OH	3.9
36	Tampa	FL	3.9
37	Houston	TX	3.9
38	Dallas	TX	3.9
39	Norfolk	VA	3.8
40	Lincoln	NE	3.7
41	Omaha	NE	3.7
42	Columbus	OH	3.7
43	Anaheim	CA	3.7
44	Boise	ID	3.7
45	Reno	NV	3.7
46	Nashville	TN	3.7
47	Detroit	MI	3.6
48	Irvine	CA	3.6
49	Winston-Salem	NC	3.6
50	Las Vegas	NV	3.5
51	Raleigh	NC	3.5
52	Fresno	CA	3.5
53	Tucson	AZ	3.5
54	Fremont	CA	3.5
55	Kansas City	MO	3.5
56	Indianapolis	IN	3.5
57	Stockton	CA	3.4
58	Durham	NC	3.4
59	Albuquerque	NM	3.4
60	Lexington	KY	3.4
61	Laredo	TX	3.4
62	Fort Worth	TX	3.3
63	Anchorage	AK	3.3
64	Hialeah	FL	3.3
65	San Antonio	TX	3.3
66	Birmingham	AL	3.3
67	Phoenix	AZ	3.3
68	Greensboro	NC	3.3
69	Louisville	KY	3.2
70	Riverside	CA	3.2
71	Lubbock	TX	3.2
72	Bakersfield	CA	3.2
73	Chula Vista	CA	3.2
74	Fort Wayne	IND	3.1
75	Colorado Springs	CO	3.1
76	Plano	TX	3.1
77	El Paso	TX	3.1
78	Jacksonville	FL	3.1
79	Corpus Christi	TX	3.1
80	Memphis	TN	3.0
81	Wichita	KS	3.0
82	St. Petersburg	FL	3.0
83	Oklahoma City	OK	3.0
84	Toledo	OH	3.0
85	Baton Rouge	LA	2.9
86	Irving	TX	2.9
87	Tulsa	OK	2.9
88	Chandler	AZ	2.8
89	Scottsdale	AZ	2.7
90	San Bernardino	CA	2.7
91	Mesa	AZ	2.7
92	Garland	TX	2.7
93	Gilbert	AZ	2.5
94	Henderson	NV	2.5
95	Arlington	TX	2.5
96	Glendale	AZ	2.5
97	Aurora	CO	2.1
98	Virginia Beach	VA	2.1
99	Chesapeake	VA	1.9
100	North Las Vegas	NV	1.8