Philly keeps its big city ranking, but Sun Belt cities are catching up

Philadelphia kept its ranking despite losing 50,000 residents during the pandemic, but population growth in San Antonio could outpace it someday.ByKristen Mosbrucker-GarzaMay 17, 2024 Have a question about Philly’s neighborhoods or the systems that shape them? PlanPhilly reporters want to hear from you! Ask us a question or send us a story idea you think we should cover.Philadelphia may have lost more than 16,000 residents between 2022 and 2023, but it held onto its ranking as the sixth largest U.S. city with 1.55 million residents, U.S. Census data shows.For reference, New York City lost 77,763 people and Chicago lost 8,208 residents during the same time frame.Philly’s population is smaller than Phoenix, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. But it has more residents than Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth, Texas, and San Jose, California. The Texas metropolis of San Antonio added 21,970 people between 2022 and 2023. WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor...