List of cities in Pennsylvania by population

Rank	City	Population (2010 Census)	County	Motto	Image	Description
1	Philadelphia	1,526,006	Philadelphia	"Philadelphia maneto" ("Let brotherly love endure")		The largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia was founded on October 27, 1682 by William Penn.
2	Pittsburgh	305,704	Allegheny	"Benigno Numine" ("With the Benevolent Deity" also translated as "By the favor of heaven")		Known as the steel city, due to the steel factories of the late 19th century, and the beginning of the 20th century. Pittsburgh was a huge contributor of steel during World War II, producing 95 million tons of steel. The city is located at the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers, where they meet to form the Ohio River. While the city is historically known for its steel industry, today it is largely based on healthcare, education, and technology.
3	Allentown	118,032	Lehigh	"Sic Semper Tyrannis"		Located on the Lehigh River, Allentown is the largest of three adjacent cities that make up a region of eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey known as the Lehigh Valley, with the cities of Bethlehem and Easton nearby. Allentown is 60 miles (97 km) north of Philadelphia, the fifth most populous city in the United States, 80 miles (130 km) east of Harrisburg, the state capital, and 90 miles (140 km) west of New York City, the nation's largest city.
4	Erie	101,786	Erie	n/a		Erie is known as the flagship city because of the presence of Oliver Hazard Perry's flagship Niagara. Erie has also been called the Gem City because of the sparkling lake.
5	Reading	88,082	Berks	n/a		The city lent its name to the now-defunct Reading Railroad, which brought anthracite coal from the Pennsylvania Coal Region to cities along the Schuylkill River. The railroad is one of the four railroad properties in the classic English-language version of the Monopoly board game. During the general decline of heavy manufacturing, Reading was one of the first localities where outlet shopping became a tourist industry. It has been known as "The Pretzel City" because of numerous local pretzel bakeries. It is also known as "Baseballtown," after the Reading Phillies trademarked this moniker to market Reading's rich baseball history. Legendary left-handed pitcher Ty Sofflet led Reading to several fast-pitch softball victories in the mid-1970s.
6	Scranton	76,089	Lackawanna	"Embracing Our People, Our Traditions, and Our Future"		Scranton is the geographic and cultural center of the Lackawanna River valley. It is the largest city located in a contiguous quilt-work of former anthracite coal mining communities including the smaller cities of Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, and Carbondale. Scranton was incorporated as a borough on February 14, 1856 and as a city on April 23, 1866.
7	Bethlehem	74,982	Lehigh & Northampton	n/a		Bethlehem lies in the center of the Lehigh Valley, a region of 731 square miles (1,893 km²) that is home to more than 750,000 people. The Valley embraces a trio of cities (Bethlehem, Allentown and Easton) within two counties (Lehigh and Northampton), making it Pennsylvania's third-largest metropolitan area. Smaller than Allentown but larger than Easton, Bethlehem is the Lehigh Valley's second most populous city.
8	Lancaster	59,322	Lancaster	n/a		Originally called Hickory Town, the city was renamed after the English city of Lancaster by native John Wright. Its symbol, the red rose, is from the House of Lancaster. Lancaster was part of the 1681 Penn's Woods Charter of William Penn, and was laid out by James Hamilton in 1734. It was incorporated as a borough in 1742 and incorporated as a city in 1818. During the American Revolution, it was briefly the capital of the colonies on September 27, 1777, when the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia, which had been captured by the British. After meeting one day, they moved still farther away, to York, Pennsylvania. Lancaster was capital of Pennsylvania from 1799 to 1812, after which the capital was moved to Harrisburg.
9	Harrisburg	49,528	Dauphin	n/a		Harrisburg played a notable role in American history during the Westward Migration, the American Civil War, and the Industrial Revolution. During part of the 19th century, the building of the Pennsylvania Canal and later the Pennsylvania Railroad allowed Harrisburg to become one of the most industrialized cities in the Northeastern United States.
10	Altoona	46,320	Blair	n/a		Having grown around the railroad industry, the city is currently working to recover against industrial decline and urban decentralization over the past several decades. The city is home to the Altoona Curve baseball team of the Double A Eastern League, which is the Double A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
11	York	43,718	York	n/a		York was founded in 1741 by settlers from the Philadelphia region, and named for the English city of the same name. By 1777, most of the area residents were of either German or Scotch-Irish descent. York was incorporated as a borough on September 24, 1787, and as a city on January 11, 1887. During the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), York served as the temporary capital of the Continental Congress. The Articles of Confederation were drafted and adopted in York, though they would not be ratified until March 1781.
12	State College	42,034	Centre	n/a		State College is the first town listed that is not a city. The borough is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of the main campus of the Pennsylvania State University, often referred to as Penn State. Happy Valley is an often-used term to refer to the State College area, including the borough and the townships of College, Harris, Patton, and Ferguson. It should also be noted that during most football Saturdays, Beaver Stadium itself qualifies State College as the fourth largest city in Pennsylvania with an official capacity of 106,572, and a highest attendance number all-time of 110,753.