Urbanization in the United States

Over the last two centuries, the United States of America has been transformed from a predominantly rural, agricultural nation into an urbanized, industrial one.

[2] This was largely due to the Industrial Revolution in the United States (and parts of Western Europe) in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and the rapid industrialization which the United States experienced as a result.

In 1790, only about one out of every twenty Americans (on average) lived in urban areas (cities), but this ratio had dramatically changed to one out of four by 1870, one out of two by 1920, two out of three in the 1960s, and four out of five in the 2000s.

[2] The urbanization of the United States occurred over a period of many years, with the nation only attaining urban-majority status between 1910 and 1920.

[2] The Western U.S. is the most urbanized part of the country today, followed closely by the Northeastern United States.