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Philly Slips in UN Population Rankings

By Nora Tooher

Philadelphia has fallen in the latest United Nations population rankings, placing fifth among the largest cities in the United States.

That's one spot down from its No. 4 spot in 1950, according to demographer Wendell Cox, who sifted through the data in the latest UN's World Urbanization Prospects report for NewGeography.

The UN report compares population trends between 1950 and 2010 and makes projections for major urban area population shifts over the next 16 years.

By 2030, the City of Brotherly Love is expected to be only the seventh-largest urban area in the country.

The Big Apple has held the No. 1 spot since 1950, and is projected to retain its top ranking in 2030. Chicago was No. 2 in 1950, but has since lost its ranking to Los Angeles, which is currently the second-largest urban area in the United States, while the Windy City is third.

Population changes have shaken up the rankings among the rest of the 10 largest cities.

Boston, for example, was sixth in 1950, but is now 10th. Detroit, ranked fifth in 1950, was 12th in 2010. Pittsburgh dropped from to 26th from eighth; St. Louis tumbled to 20th from ninth and Cleveland, dropped to 24th in 2010 from 10th in 1950.

Cities new to the top 10 as of 2010 are Miami, fourth; Dallas-Fort Worth, sixth; Houston, seventh; Washington, eighth and Atlanta, ninth.

Looking ahead to 2030, the UN projects that New York, Los Angeles and Chicago will remain first, second and third, respectively. But Houston will jump to fourth from seventh; Dallas-Fort Worth will inch up to fifth from sixth; Miami will drop to sixth from fourth; Atlanta will move up to eighth from ninth; Washington will slip to ninth from eighth and Phoenix, where home values are $164,200 and the median rent price is $1,050, will unseat Boston in the No. 10 spot.

Boomtowns with populations expected to exceed 1 million by 2030 include New Orleans; Bridgeport, Conn.; Tucson, Ariz.; Albuquerque, N.M., and El Paso and McAllen, both in Texas.