List of cities in the Americas by year of foundation

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

This is a list of cities in the Americas (South, Central and North) by founding year and present-day country.

Year	City	State, province, dept., etc	Country	Notes
700 BC	Ticul	Yucatán	Mexico
500 BC	Cholula	Puebla	Mexico
300 BC	Teotihuacan	México	Mexico	In the Valley of Mexico, North America's largest Pre-Columbian city. [1]
200	Mitla	Oaxaca	Mexico
524	Ejutla	Oaxaca	Mexico	[2]
500	Cuenca	Azuay	Ecuador
650	Cahokia	Illinois	United States
1000	Acoma Pueblo and Taos Pueblo	New Mexico	United States
1050	Motul	Yucatán	Mexico
1100	Oraibi	Arizona	United States (Hopi Reservation)	[3]
1325	Tenochtitlan	Distrito Federal	Mexico	Later called Mexico City
1450	Zuni Pueblo	New Mexico	United States	[4]
1498	Santo Domingo	Distrito Nacional	Dominican Republic	Capital of the Dominican Republic. Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in the Americas.
1510	Nombre de Dios	Colon	Panama	Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in Panama.
1511	Baracoa	Guantánamo	Cuba	Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in Cuba, former capital of Cuba.
1514	Santiago	Santiago	Cuba
1515	Havana	Havana	Cuba	Current Capital of Cuba
1519	La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, (Veracruz)	Veracruz	Mexico	Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in Mexico.
1519	Panama City		Panama	First European city on the Pacific coast of the Americas
1521	San Juan	Puerto Rico	United States	Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in Puerto Rico, and in the United States.
1524	Granada	Granada	Nicaragua	Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in Nicaragua.
1525	Acapulco	Guerrero	Mexico	[5]
1530	San Blas	Nayarit	Mexico	By Nuño Beltrán [6]
1531	Puebla	Puebla	Mexico	by Fr. Toribio de Benavente ("Motolinía") on 16 April [7]
1532	Oaxaca	Oaxaca	Mexico
1532	São Vicente	São Paulo	Brazil	Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in Brazil, oldest Portuguese established settlement in the New World.
1532	Tepic	Nayarit	Mexico	As capital of Nueva Galicia [8]
1533	Cartagena de Indias	Bolívar	Colombia
1534	Otavalo	Imbabura	Ecuador
1534	Quito	Pichincha	Ecuador
1534	Trujillo	La Libertad	Peru
1535	Lima	Lima	Peru
1535	Olinda	Pernambuco	Brazil	One of the best-preserved colonial cities in Brazil.
1535	Igarassu	Pernambuco	Brazil
1535	Vila Velha	Espírito Santo	Brazil
1536	San Pedro Sula	Cortés	Honduras
1537	Recife	Pernambuco	Brazil	[9]
1538	Bogotá	Cundinamarca	Colombia
1538	Guayaquil	Guayas	Ecuador
1538	Iguape	São Paulo	Brazil
1538	Sucre	Chuquisaca	Bolivia
1540	Arequipa	Arequipa	Peru
1540	Ayacucho	Arequipa	Peru
1540	Campeche	Campeche	Mexico
1541	St. John's	Newfoundland and Labrador	Canada	Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in Canada, oldest English established settlement in the Americas
1542	Guadalajara	Jalisco	Mexico
1546	Potosí	Potosí	Bolivia
1548	La Paz	La Paz	Bolivia
1549	Salvador	Bahia	Brazil
1551	Vitória	Espírito Santo	Brazil
1553	São Bernardo do Campo	São Paulo	Brazil
1554	Embu	São Paulo	Brazil
1554	São Paulo	São Paulo	Brazil
1558	Mérida	Merida	Venezuela
1560	Goiana	Pernambuco	Brazil
1560	Ipojuca	Pernambuco	Brazil
1560	Mendoza	Mendoza	Argentina
1562	San Juan, Argentina	San Juan	Argentina
1565	Rio de Janeiro	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil
1565	Saint Augustine	Florida	United States	Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in the continental United States. Preceded by Puerto Rican colonies, Pensacola, Florida, which was destroyed in 1559, and Fort Caroline, destroyed in 1565.
1565	Tucumán	Tucumán	Argentina
1571	Cochabamba	Cochabamba	Bolivia
1573	Córdoba	Córdoba	Argentina
1573	Santa Fé	Santa Fé	Argentina
1574	Huaraz	Ancash	Peru
1580	Buenos Aires		Argentina
1582	Salta	Salta	Argentina
1585	João Pessoa	Paraíba	Brazil
1590	São Cristóvão	Sergipe	Brazil	First capital of Sergipe. Formerly known as Sergipe d'El Rei
1591	Paudalho	Pernambuco	Brazil
1593	San Salvador de Jujuy	Jujuy	Argentina
1594	San Luis, Argentina	San Luis	Argentina
1596	Monterrey	Nuevo León	Mexico
1597	Portobelo	Colón	Panama
1598	Parras	Coahuila	Mexico
1599	Natal	Rio Grande do Norte	Brazil
1599	Tadoussac	Quebec	Canada	Oldest continuously inhabited French established settlement in the Americas, oldest European established settlement in Quebec.
1604	Port Royal	Nova Scotia	Canada
1606	[[Ibarra (Imbabura)|Ibarra]	Imbabura	Ecuador
1607	Jamestown	Virginia	United States
1608	Quebec City	Quebec	Canada
1610	Kecoughtan	Virginia	United States
1610	Santa Fe	New Mexico	United States	Oldest continuously inhabited state capitol in the US. [[10]]
1610	Harbour Grace	Newfoundland and Labrador	Canada
1611	Marechal Deodoro	Alagoas	Brazil
1612	São Luís	Maranhão	Brazil	Capital of Maranhão.
1612	St. George's		Bermuda	Oldest continuously inhabited European established settlement in Bermuda.
1613	Penedo	Alagoas	Brazil
1614	Sirinhaém	Pernambuco	Brazil
1615	Cabo Frio	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil
1615	Posadas	Misiones	Argentina
1616	Belém	Pará	Brazil	Capital of Pará.
1620	Plymouth	Massachusetts	United States
1623	Portsmouth	New Hampshire	United States
1623	New Castle	New Hampshire	United States
1623	Rye	New Hampshire	United States	[11]
1623	Gloucester	Massachusetts	United States
1625	New Amsterdam	New York	United States	Now New York City.
1626	Salem	Massachusetts	United States
1627	Basseterre		Saint Kitts and Nevis
1628	Bridgetown		Barbados
1630	Boston	Massachusetts	United States
1631	Saint John	New Brunswick	Canada
1632	Williamsburg	Virginia	United States
1632	St. John's		Antigua and Barbuda
1634	Green Bay	Wisconsin	United States
1634	St. Mary's City	Maryland	United States
1634	Trois-Rivières	Quebec	Canada
1634	Willemstad		Netherlands Antilles
1635	Concord	Massachusetts	United States
1636	Providence	Rhode Island	United States
1637	Hartford	Connecticut	United States	[12]
1638	Hampton	New Hampshire	United States
1638	New Haven	Connecticut	United States	[13]
1638	Wilmington	Delaware	United States	Grew from Fort Christina, part of the New Sweden colony.
1638	Cambridge	Massachusetts	United States
1639 (prior to)	St. Marks	Florida	United States	[14]
1639	Bridgeport	Connecticut	United States
1639	Newport	Rhode Island	United States
1642	Montreal	Quebec	Canada
1642	Lexington	Massachusetts	United States	[15]
1643	Basse-Terre		Guadeloupe	Territorial capital.
1646	New London	Connecticut	United States
1648	Paranaguá	Paraná	Brazil
1649	Annapolis	Maryland	United States
1659	Ciudad Juárez		Mexico
1659	Jamestown		Saint Helena
1660	Placentia	Newfoundland	Canada	French Capital unil 1713, originally called Plaisance
1660	Rye	New York	United States
1664	Albany	New York	United States
1665	Port-de-Paix	Nord-Ouest Department	Haiti
1666	Newark	New Jersey	United States
1667	Paraty	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil
1668	Sault Ste. Marie	Michigan	United States	[16], oldest city in Michigan.
1670	Charleston	South Carolina	United States
1673	Kingston	Ontario	Canada	Grew from Fort Frontenac.
1674	Waterbury	Connecticut	United States
1680	South Orange	New Jersey	United States	Grew from Newark (later Orange).
1681	Cockburn Town		Turks and Caicos Islands
1682	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	United States
1682	Norfolk	Virginia	United States
1683	Dover	Delaware	United States
1685	Escada	Pernambuco	Brazil
1687	New Britain	Connecticut	United States
1693	Bom Jesus da Lapa	Bahia	Brazil
1693	Cachoeira	Bahia	Brazil
1693	Curitiba	Paraná	Brazil
1693	Kingston		Jamaica
1696	Rimouski	Quebec	Canada
1698	[[Ambato]	Tungurahua	Ecuador
1698	Pensacola	Florida	United States
1699	Biloxi	Mississippi	United States
1699	Baton Rouge	Louisiana	United States
1701	Detroit	Michigan	United States
1701	São João del Rei	Minas Gerais	Brazil
1702	Mobile	Alabama	United States
1706	Albuquerque	New Mexico	United States
1709	Chihuahua		Mexico
1710	Chatham	New Jersey	United States	On land purchased in 1680.
1711	Ouro Preto	Minas Gerais	Brazil
1714	Natchitoches	Louisiana	United States	Oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase
1714	Antonia	Paraná	Brazil
1714	Laguna	Santa Catarina	Brazil
1714	Serro	Minas Gerais	Brazil
1715 (prior to)	Kekionga	Indiana	United States	Capital of the Miami tribe.
1716	Natchez	Mississippi	United States	Dates to the founding of Fort Rosalie by the French.[17]
1718	New Orleans	Louisiana	United States
1718	San Antonio	Texas	United States
1718	Tiradentes	Minas Gerais	Brazil
1719	Trenton	New Jersey	United States
1725	Concord	New Hampshire	United States
1726	Florianópolis	Santa Catarina	Brazil
1727	Cuiabá	Mato Grosso	Brazil
1727	Goiás	Goiás	Brazil
1727	Pirenópolis	Goiás	Brazil
1728	Fredericksburg	Virginia	United States
1729	Baltimore	Maryland	United States
1733	Morretes	Paraná	Brazil
1733	Richmond	Virginia	United States	[18]
1733	Savannah	Georgia	United States
1737	Rio Grande	Rio Grande do Sul	Brazil
1738	Fort Rouge	Manitoba	Canada	Now Winnipeg, Manitoba.
1741	Viamão	Rio Grande do Sul	Brazil
1749	Alexandria	Virginia	United States
1749	Port-au-Prince	Ouest Department	Haiti
1749	Halifax, Nova Scotia	Nova Scotia	Canada
1749	Windsor	Ontario	Canada	Oldest continually-inhabited settlement in Canada west of Montreal
1754	Augusta	Maine	United States
1755	Charlotte	North Carolina	United States
1758	Pelotas	Rio Grande do Sul	Brazil
1758	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	United States
1758	Macapá	Amapá	Brazil
1761	Charlottesville	Virginia	United States
1762	Shepherdstown	West Virginia	United States	Originally known as Mecklenburg.
1762	Allentown	Pennsylvania	United States	Incorporated as Northamptontown.
1763	St. Louis	Missouri	United States
1763	Burlington	Vermont	United States
1769	San Diego	California	United States	Grew from Presidio of San Diego.
1770	Monterey	California	United States	Grew from Presidio of Monterey. Original capital of California [19]
1770	Araxá	Minas Gerais	Brazil
1772	Porto Alegre	Rio Grande do Sul	Brazil
1775	Lexington	Kentucky	United States
1775	Boonesborough	Kentucky	United States	Grew from Fort Boonesborough, built by pioneer Daniel Boone.
1776	San Francisco	California	United States
1777	San Jose	California	United States	Originally known as El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, the first town in the Spanish colony of Nueva California, which later became Alta California.
1778	Corumbá	Mato Grosso do Sul	Brazil
1778	Louisville	Kentucky	United States	Grew from Fort Nelson, established by explorer George Rogers Clark.
1779	Jonesborough	Tennessee	United States	Later organized as the lost State of Franklin with Jonesborough as capital 1784. [20]
1779	Nashville	Tennessee	United States	Grew from Fort Nashborough
1781	Montpelier	Vermont	United States
1781	Los Angeles	California	United States
1785	Harrisburg	Pennsylvania	United States
1785	Asheville	North Carolina	United States
1786	Columbia	South Carolina	United States
1786	Florissant	Missouri	United States	Originally known as St. Ferdinand.
1786	Tallahassee	Florida	United States
1786	Frankfort	Kentucky	United States
1786	Portland	Maine	United States
1788	Cincinnati	Ohio	United States
1788	Charleston	West Virginia	United States	Grew from Fort Lee. [21]
1789	Buffalo	New York	United States
1790	Washington	District of Columbia	United States
1791	Jacksonville	Florida	United States	Known as "Cowford".
1791	Knoxville	Tennessee	United States
1791	Bangor	Maine	United States
1792	Raleigh	North Carolina	United States
1793	Toronto	Ontario	Canada
1794	Fort Wayne	Indiana	United States
1795	Edmonton	Alberta	Canada	Grew from Fort Edmonton.
1795	Erie	Pennsylvania	United States	Grew from the French Fort Presque Isle.
1796	Cleveland	Ohio	United States
1797	Franklinton	Ohio	United States	Eventually absorbed by Columbus, Ohio.
1798	Shepherdstown	West Virginia	United States	Formerly known as Mecklenburg.
1800	Hull	Quebec	Canada	Formerly known as Wrightville.
1803	Chicago	Illinois	United States	Grew from Fort Dearborn.
1805	Huntsville	Alabama	United States
1810	Manchester	New Hampshire	United States
1812	Columbus	Ohio	United States
1815	Hamilton	Ontario	Canada
1816	Chattanooga	Tennessee	United States	Originally named Ross's Landing.
1816	Saginaw	Michigan	United States
1817	Fort Smith	Arkansas	United States
1819	Montgomery	Alabama	United States	State capital, grew from the 1540 French settlement Fort Toulouse.
1819	Springfield	Illinois	United States
1819	Memphis	Tennessee	United States	Near the site of the earlier French Fort Prudhomme.
1821	Little Rock	Arkansas	United States
1821	Indianapolis	Indiana	United States
1822	Jackson	Mississippi	United States
1823	Tampa	Florida	United States	Grew from earlier military post Fort Brooke.
1825	Vicksburg	Mississippi	United States
1825	Grand Rapids	Michigan	United States
1826	London	Ontario	Canada
1827	St. Andrews	Florida	United States	Now part of Panama City
1828	Key West	Florida	United States
1833	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	United States
1836	Shreveport	Louisiana	United States
1836	Madison	Wisconsin	United States
1837	Lansing	Michigan	United States
1837	Houston	Texas	United States
1841	Dallas	Texas	United States
1843	Atlanta	Georgia	United States	Originally known as Marthasville, Georgia.
1843	Victoria	British Columbia	Canada
1847	Salt Lake City	Utah	United States	Originally known as Great Salt Lake City.
1848	Sacramento	California	United States
1850	Bytown	Ontario	Canada	Now Ottawa, Ontario.
1856	O'Fallon	Missouri	United States
1858	Denver	Colorado	United States
1864	Salinas	California	United States.	[22]
1867	Minneapolis	Minnesota	United States
1868	Phoenix	Arizona	United States
1871	Birmingham	Alabama	United States
1872	Anniston	Alabama	United States
1875	Orlando	Florida	United States
1875	Calgary	Alberta	Canada	Grew from Fort Calgary
1882	Regina	Saskatchewan	Canada
1883	Saskatoon	Saskatchewan	Canada
1886	Vancouver	British Columbia	Canada
1886	Nelson	British Columbia	Canada
1887	Gulfport	Mississippi	United States	[23]
1896	Miami	Florida	United States
1911	Las Vegas	Nevada	United States

See also

• European colonization of the Americas

References

• Gary S. Breschini, Ph.D. "The Founding of Monterey", The Monterey County Historical Society, 1996. Accessed June 15 2007.
• Kent Seavey. "A Short History of Salinas, California", The Monterey County Historical Society, 2006. Accessed June 15 2007.