San Diego Passes Dallas to Become 7th-Largest City

Look out, Detroit. Here we come.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced Thursday that San Diego has passed Dallas in total population, easing into seventh place among U.S. cities with 1,015,190 residents as of July 1, 1986.

The figure puts San Diego just 71,030 people behind Detroit, which has steadily fallen from fourth place in 1930 to its current position ahead of the two rapidly growing Sun Belt cities. Detroit lost an additional 40,000 people from its July, 1984, population estimate, leaving the city with 1,086,220 residents.

In surpassing the 1-million mark for the first time, San Diego and Dallas (pop. 1,003,520) raised the number of U.S. cities with 1 million inhabitants to eight for the first time. They also became the first cities to reach the 1 million mark since Houston was added to the list in 1970, the Census Bureau said.

With the federal revenue-sharing program ended, the population growth means little to San Diego “other than prestige,” said Don Starsinic, chief of the Census Bureau’s population estimates branch.

“The city now finds itself in a select group and will probably get more recognition,” Starsinic said. “Someone commented the other day that they didn’t realize San Diego was anywhere near that size.”

San Diego has known since early 1986 that it had passed the 1 million mark and has even changed freeway signs to reflect that.

Based on housing stock, San Diego estimates its population as of Jan. 1 at 1,022,395, said Mary Slupe, public access coordinator for the Regional Urban Information System. The figure is an increase of about 20,000 people over last year’s figure, she said.

As for catching Detroit, which keeps no current population estimates, Starsinic would hazard no guesses. “Detroit is stabilizing now,” he said. “There’s been some upturn in the city. I wouldn’t expect it to continue losing” population.

New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Philadelphia were the five largest U.S. cities. San Antonio and Phoenix placed ninth and tenth.