When did NYC pass Philly in population

Factual Questions
1

Continuing the discussion from When did the restaurant become a thing?:

So as not to hijack, everything I’ve read and watched said 1820s. Then when I verified before posting, Wikipedia agreed.

http://demographia.com/db-nyuza1800.htm

The numbers from NYC on wiki include Brooklyn which was a separate city still in that time and should not be counted. So there is some confusion that will need to wait for me to be on a computer.

Maybe someone else can find the correct numbers.

2

From 1691 to 1898, New York City meant all of Manhattan, about 23 square miles. Until the Act of Consolidation in 1854, Philadelphia was approximately what is called City Center today, only about 2.3 square miles. So in the period in question, New York had just about ten times the land area of Philadelphia.

The Census page about Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places In The United States: 1790 to 1990 says “The populations and rankings shown in this report are based on the boundaries of cities (and other urban places) at the time of each census (or at a cutoff date shortly before the census to facilitate planning).” The figures there suggest New York was already ahead of Philadelphia in 1790 (New York 33,131 vs. Philadelphia 28,522).

3

Sure, but a lot of Manhattan was rural until surprisingly late.

4

Everything I can find today is showing @RickJay to be correct. It looks like what I was confusing was possibly financial importance. Wall Street pushed NYC pass Philly by 1820.

I built a chart to compare both cities.
POPULATION ( NYC in Thousands)

Year Philly NYC Manhattan Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island
1790 28,522 49 32 2 5 6 4
1800 41,220 79 61 2 6 7 5
1810 53,722 120 96 3 8 7 5
1820 63,802 152 123 3 11 8 6
1830 80,462 242 203 3 21 9 7
1840 93,665 391 313 5 47 14 11
1850 121,376 696 516 8 139 19 15
1860 565,529 1,175 814 24 279 33 25
1870 674,022 1,478 942 37 420 45 33
1880 847,170 1,912 1,165 52 599 57 39
1890 1,046,964 2,507 1,441 89 838 87 52
1900 1,293,697 3,437 1,850 201 1,167 153 67
1910 1,549,008 4,767 2,332 431 1,634 284 85
1920 1,823,779 5,621 2,284 732 2,018 469 117
1930 1,950,961 6,930 1,867 1,265 2,560 1,079 158
1940 1,931,334 7,455 1,890 1,395 2,698 1,297 174
1950 2,071,605 7,892 1,960 1,451 2,738 1,551 192
1960 2,002,512 7,782 1,698 1,425 2,627 1,810 222
1970 1,948,609 7,896 1,539 1,472 2,602 1,987 295
1980 1,688,210 7,072 1,428 1,169 2,231 1,891 352
1990 1,585,577 7,323 1,488 1,204 2,301 1,952 379
2000 1,517,550 8,008 1,537 1,333 2,465 2,229 443
5

We had a great thread about this, complete with link to a cool animation video (the link in the thread doesn’t work for me now, but this one does) and reminiscing about SDMD lore.

6

See List of most populous cities in the United States by decade - Wikipedia

The chart also mentions changes, such as the amalgamation of Philly in 1854 and the incorporation of the outer boroughs of NY in 1898. But it starts in 1790 by which time Manhattan was already larger that what is now Philly city center.