The 10 Most and 10 Least Densely Populated Major Cities in America These are the most and least crowded cities in the U.S. This story originally appeared on Filterbuy. Today, the split of urban and rural Americans looks almost inverted compared with the population distribution of more than two centuries ago. In 2010, the share of Americans living in urban areas surpassed 80 percent for the first time. With increasingly divergent economic prospects in urban and rural America, there is good reason to believe that the trend toward city living could continue. While many rural areas stagnate or decline, urban areas continue to attract jobs and capital investment.