Such an approach is not, of course, a uniformly gridded approach to understanding population density but it is quite good fun! We'll still end up with the same answers in relation to where is 'most densely populated' but we'll get different numbers. If we just want to find a single cell with a higher population then we can of course do this without too much trouble. Possibly my favourite approach to this is by the WorldPop project, although there are many other sources (see below). The approach of using a continuous grid over a whole country - or indeed the whole world - is pretty common these days and helps us compare areas on a like-for-like basis. This is a more conservative approach than if I'd use an intersect approach but I wanted to remain on the cautious side. Just remember a few things as you read through this piece: a) moving the grid around will of course get you different results, but this is the same with all gridded population data - though mostly the results only change a bit - even so, grids are still useful b) the populations are calculated using groups of census blocks, which don't align perfectly with the squares - that's why it says 'approximate population' on the images, and that's also why I used a blurred focal area around the squares, a nod to the fuzziness of things c) this is US Census data from 2020, so it's about the best and most recent data there is and d) my numbers are likely an underestimate because I chose to assign only those census blocks to each 1km square where the centroid falls within the square. Yes, there appears to be an 'odd one out' here This is what it looks like when you put them on a map. The top 65 most dense 1km squares are all in New York. This is basically population density central for the US The most densely populated area in the United States You can find high resolution versions of the maps below in this web folder. The highest density in the UK is about 25,000 in a single square km (in east London). Bear in mind that the highest value I found in Europe was just under 53,000 in the Barcelona metropolitan area (L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, to be more precise). Based on my US-wide 1km x 1km grid, here is the maximum 1km cell population in the US, followed by maps for every state. If you want to know whether anywhere in the United States is as densely populated as in Europe then read on, but the answer is: yes, New York City has higher densities than Europe, and a few other spots have European-level densities - but not very many. If you're looking for more on methodology and data sources, scroll to the bottom of the page. I also attempt to find the most densely populated square kilometre in each state.
This is not a surprise, so in this long and slightly messy post I'll say a bit more about my attempts to calculate exactly where it is and how many people live there, using US Census 2020 data and a similar method to my previous post on the most densely populated square km of the United Kingdom. We prioritized indicators that were available by county and for the major US racial and ethnic groups, as meeting the goals everywhere and for everyone demands particular attention to tracking the progress of historically disadvantaged groups and regions.The most densely populated square kilometre in the United States is on the Upper East Side in New York City. This Global Goals Dashboard was created by picking from among the goals and targets those that are most meaningful in the US context and selecting reliable, robust, and readily available indicators for them. Doing so in the US requires adapting the global goals in terms of relevant geographic units of analysis (states, metro areas, or counties), population groups (major racial and ethnic groups, women and men, foreign- and US-born residents), and indicators. The true aim is meeting the goals everywhere and for everyone, not just in aggregate at the national level. The spirit behind the global goals is not just to meet the goals as measured by global or national averages, but rather to spur meaningful action in states and cities, counties and communities.
The United States played a leading role in negotiating these goals as a result, they reflect American values and priorities. The SDGs offer a way to understand and address critical barriers to well-being, economic growth and prosperity, and environmental sustainability in the United States and to put American challenges and opportunities within a global context. The United Nations coordinated the inputs of 193 countries, including the United States, and thousands of civil society organizations to arrive at a set of seventeen goals and 169 targets to be achieved in all countries by 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the global blueprint for a just and sustainable future.