Great Lakes megalopolis
Megaregion of the United States and Canada
Major cities of the Great Lakes megaregion (from top to bottom):Chicago,Toronto,Detroit,Columbus
Interactive Map of theGreat Lakes Megaregion Largemetropolitan areas (population 1,000,000+)   Chicago–Naperville, IL–IN–WICSA   Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha, WI CSA   St. Louis–St. Charles–Farmington, MO–IL   Grand Rapids–Wyoming, MI CSA   Detroit–Warren–Ann Arbor, MI CSA   Cleveland–Akron–Canton, OH CSA   Pittsburgh–New Castle–Weirton, PA CSA   Buffalo–Niagara Falls, NY CSA   Rochester–Batavia–Seneca Falls, NY CSA   Indianapolis–Carmel–Muncie, IN CSA   Columbus–Marion–Zanesville, OH CSA   Cincinnati–Wilmington, OH–KY–IN CSA   Dayton–Springfield–Kettering, OH CSA   Louisville/Jefferson County, KY–IN CSA   Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN–WI CSA   Kansas City, MO–KS CSA   Toronto, Ont. CMA   Metro andmicro areas (less than 1,000,000)   Non-metropolitan counties in the megaregion
Countries	United States Canada
States	Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Michigan Minnesota Missouri New York Ohio Pennsylvania West Virginia Wisconsin
Provinces	Ontario Quebec
Largest city	Toronto (2,794,356)[1]
Largest metropolitan area	Chicago metropolitan area (9,812,676)
Population	59,100,000[2]

TheGreat Lakes megalopolis consists of a bi-national group ofmetropolitan areas in North America largely in theGreat Lakes region. It extends from theMidwestern United States, and part of theSouthern United States in the south and west to westernPennsylvania andWestern New York in theNortheastern United States and northward throughSouthern Ontario into southwesternQuebec in Canada. It is the most populated and largestmegalopolis in North America.

At its most inclusive, in the United States the region cuts a wide swath from the Twin Cities ofMinneapolis–Saint Paul inMinnesota in the west, south toSt. Louis andLouisville, Kentucky, and east toRochester, New York; in Canada, it continues northeasterly toQuebec City. This broader region had an estimated population of 59,144,461 as of 2011 and is projected to reach a population of about 65 million by 2025. Within this broad region, there is a core area of more continual urban development that includesChicago,Milwaukee,Grand Rapids,South Bend,Indianapolis,Detroit–Windsor,Cincinnati,Columbus,Cleveland,Toledo,Pittsburgh,Buffalo,Rochester,Toronto,Ottawa,Montreal, and the metropolitan areas between these.^{[citation needed]}

The region was partially outlined as an emergent megalopolis in the 1961 bookMegalopolis: The Urbanized Northeastern Seaboard of the United States byFrenchgeographerJean Gottmann. Gottmann envisaged the development of other megalopolises in the U.S.: fromBoston toWashington, D.C., fromChicago toPittsburgh, and fromSan Francisco toSan Diego.

In 1965, futuristHerman Kahn speculated about the three megalopolises in the year 2000.^[4] In the 1960s and 1970s, urban planner and architectConstantinos Doxiadis wrote books, studies, and reports about the growth potential of the Great Lakes Megalopolis.^[5] Doxiadis envisionedDetroit (on the U.S.–Canada border across fromWindsor) as the central urban area in this megalopolis, which he defined as extending "from Milwaukee and Chicago to Detroit, Pittsburgh and Buffalo and into Canada from Windsor to Montreal and Quebec".^[5][6]

In 2005, theVirginia Tech Metropolitan Institute'sBeyond Megalopolis, an attempt to update Gottmann's work, outlined a similar "Midwest"megapolitan area as one of ten such areas in theUnited States (Canada is discussed tangentially).^[7] Over 200 million tons of cargo are shipped annually through the Great Lakes.^[8][9][10] The America 2050 project identified 11Megaregions of the United States, including the Great Lakes Megalopolis.^[11][A] The Canadian part of the region is also referred to as theQuebec City–Windsor Corridor, and the densest part in SouthernOntario has long been known as theGolden Horseshoe.^{[citation needed]}

There are multiple government jurisdictions throughout the megalopolis. In addition to the federal governments of the United States and Canada, there are multipleU.S. states and twoCanadian province jurisdictions, and many county and local governments. Most of the states have joined the provinces in forming theConference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers to coordinate economic and environmental strategies throughout most of the region.^[12]

The five Great Lakes contain one-fifth of the world's surface fresh water and have a combined shoreline of 10,210 miles (17,017 km). About 200 million tons of cargo are shipped through the Great Lakes each year.^[9][13][14]

The Great Lakes Cruising Coalition supports passenger ship cruises through a joint U.S-Canadian venture to Great Lakes Ports and theSaint Lawrence Seaway.^[15][16]

The Great Lakes Megalopolis is home to many prestigious institutions of higher education. Two founding members of theAssociation of American Universities (AAU), theUniversity of Chicago inChicago, Illinois, and theUniversity of Michigan inAnn Arbor, Michigan, are located in the region. The University of Chicago andNorthwestern University in the Chicago area are two high-ranking world universities. Other major universities include theUniversity of Toronto inToronto, Ontario;McGill University inMontreal, Quebec;McMaster University inHamilton, Ontario;University of Waterloo inWaterloo, Ontario,Ohio State University inColumbus, Ohio;Carnegie Mellon University andUniversity of Pittsburgh inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania;Case Western Reserve University inCleveland, Ohio;University of Rochester inRochester, New York,University of Louisville inLouisville, Kentucky;Washington University in St. Louis inSt. Louis, Missouri; and theUniversity of Notre Dame inNotre Dame, Indiana.^[17]

The region also contains large multi-campus stateuniversity systems such as theUniversity of Illinois System,University of Minnesota System,University of Missouri System,University of Wisconsin System, theUniversity System of Ohio, the State University of New York (SUNY) System, theIndiana University System, and thePurdue University System. It also contains some universities in theUniversité du Québec system, such asUQAM inMontreal.

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The Great Lakes Megalopolis includes the following major inter-urban corridors that are provided with freeway and passenger rail service in both thecore andfringe areas of the mega-region. Major waterways for shipping and cruising are also indicated where applicable. Amtrak in the United States and Via Rail in Canada offer rail passenger service, while mostClass I freight rail services also connect these points. Major rail shipping services in both Canada and the United States is provided on tracks owned byCanadian National Railway andCanadian Pacific Railway.

This corridor occupies the northwestern fringe of the megalopolis. It occupies northernIllinois, southernWisconsin, and parts of easternMinnesota.Interstate 94 andAmtrak'sEmpire Builder andBorealis trains run roughly parallel fromChicago toMinneapolis/St. Paul by way ofMilwaukee andMadison, Wisconsin. The Chicago-Milwaukee segment is served byAmtrak Hiawatha and runs 7 times per day, making it by far the highest volume Amtrak route not on the east or west coast.

Interstate 55, Amtrak via theLincoln Service, and theIllinois Waterway connect Chicago toSt. Louis.

Interstate 65 extends from the Chicago area southeast toIndianapolis, whereInterstate 74 travels through toCincinnati. Amtrak runs regular service along this same route via theCardinal.

Interstate 90 and Amtrak'sLake Shore Limited run approximately parallel through the core area of the megalopolis from Chicago toCleveland viaSouth Bend, Indiana, andToledo, Ohio, then into the eastern fringe area comprisingBuffalo andRochester, New York. Amtrak'sFloridian provides a passenger rail link from Cleveland toPittsburgh which is roughly paralleled byInterstate 76. The main water route deviates well to the north of the land route from Chicago to Detroit. It runs north along Lake Michigan, east through theStraits of Mackinac, then south alongLake Huron, theSt. Clair River, andLake St Clair to theDetroit River. From this point, the water route roughly parallels the land route to Rochester by way ofLake Erie, theWelland Canal, andLake Ontario.

Interstate 94 takes a more northerly route than I-90 through the megalopolis core area east of Chicago. It extends from that city to the west end of theWindsor-Quebec City Corridor by way ofKalamazoo,Ann Arbor,Detroit, andPort Huron, Michigan/Sarnia, Ontario. This interstate freeway also parallels Amtrak'sWolverine andBlue Water. The main water route is the same as for the western part of the Chicago-Rochester water corridor from Lake Michigan to the Detroit River. Amtrak also serves this route with the Wolverine service, between Chicago and Pontiac via Ann Arbor and Detroit.

TheWindsor–Quebec City Corridor lies along the northeastern fringe of the Great Lakes megalopolis. The entire Canadian section of the broader megaregion is sometimes considered a separate megalopolis. Key freeways includeHighway 401 andHighway 417 inOntario which connect withAutoroute 20 andAutoroute 40 respectively inQuebec.Highway 416 andAutoroute 50 link theNational Capital Region with Highway 401 and the Montreal area respectively, but the two freeways do not link directly with each other across the Ontario–Quebec border. Passenger rail service is provided in both provinces by theVia RailCorridor Service. Intermediate points along the corridor includeLondon,Kitchener,Hamilton,St. Catharines, Toronto,Kingston,Ottawa, andMontreal. The main water shipping route is the same as for the eastern part of the Chicago-Rochester corridor, starting at the Detroit River but continuing east beyond Lake Ontario along theSt. Lawrence Seaway toQuebec City and theGulf of St. Lawrence.

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Several corridors have interstate highways but no comprehensive passenger rail service. These highway routes pass through both core and fringe areas of the Great Lakes megalopolis. The upper Great lakes region has a marine corridor that connects Lakes Superior, Huron, and Michigan. However, this route does not include parallel Amtrak passenger rail or interstate highway service.

Interstate 70 follows the southern fringe of the megaregion. It runs fromKansas City to just south ofPittsburgh by way ofSt. Louis,Indianapolis,Dayton, Ohio, andColumbus, Ohio.

Interstate 96 serves traffic between the Detroit andGrand Rapids metro areas. The route passes throughLansing on the way and extends toMuskegon to the northwest of Grand Rapids.

Interstate 69 extends fromEvansville toMartinsville, Indiana. From there, the route is temporarily an arterial highway,Indiana State Road 37, to theInterstate 465 ring road around Indianapolis. From there, I-69 resumes and continues to the west end of the Windsor-Quebec City Corridor, crossing the border into Canada and becomingOntario Highway 402, which eventually leads to Highway 401. Intermediate points includeFort Wayne, Indiana, andLansing,Flint, and Port Huron, Michigan/Sarnia, Ontario.

Interstate 75 runs fromSaginaw, Michigan, toCincinnati by way ofFlint and Detroit in Michigan, and Toledo,Lima, andDayton in Ohio.

The waterway connectingDuluth, Minnesota, and westernLake Superior to points east and south includes theSoo Locks connecting toLake Huron, then south to Port Huron MI/Sarnia ON or through the Straits of Mackinac to the metropolitan areas aroundLake Michigan.

Largest cities (not metropolitan areas or census divisions) in the Great Lakes megalopolis with populations over 100,000

2020 rank	City	Region	2020/21 censuses[a]	2010/11 censuses[b]	Change	Land area	2020 population density
1	Toronto	Ontario	2,794,356	2,615,060	+6.86%	243.3 sq mi (630.1 km2)	11,468/sq mi (4,428/km2)
2	Chicago	Illinois	2,746,388	2,695,598	+1.88%	227.3 sq mi (588.7 km2)	12,059/sq mi (4,656/km2)
3	Montréal	Quebec	1,762,949	1,649,519	+6.88%	166.6 sq mi (431.5 km2)	12,505/sq mi (4,828/km2)
4	Ottawa	Ontario	1,017,449	883,391	+15.18%	1,077.3 sq mi (2,790.2 km2)	950/sq mi (370/km2)
5	Columbus	Ohio	905,748	787,033	+15.08%	226.3 sq mi (586.1 km2)	4,110/sq mi (1,590/km2)
6	Indianapolis	Indiana	887,642	820,445	+8.19%	361.6 sq mi (936.5 km2)	2,455/sq mi (948/km2)
7	Mississauga	Ontario	717,961	713,443	+0.63%	112.9 sq mi (292.4 km2)	6,391/sq mi (2,468/km2)
8	Brampton	Ontario	656,480	523,911	+25.30%	102.3 sq mi (265 km2)	6,390/sq mi (2,470/km2)
9	Detroit	Michigan	639,111	713,777	−10.46%	138.7 sq mi (359.2 km2)	4,067/sq mi (1,570/km2)
10	Louisville	Kentucky	633,045	597,337	+5.98%	325.0 sq mi (841.7 km2)	1,900/sq mi (730/km2)
11	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	577,222	594,833	−2.96%	96.2 sq mi (249.2 km2)	6,001/sq mi (2,317/km2)
12	Hamilton	Ontario	569,353	519,949	+9.50%	431.8 sq mi (1,118.4 km2)	1,319/sq mi (509/km2)
13	Quebec City	Quebec	549,459	516,622	+6.36%	175.1 sq mi (453.5 km2)	3,039/sq mi (1,173/km2)
14	Kansas City	Missouri	508,090	459,787	+10.51%	314.7 sq mi (815 km2)	1,614/sq mi (623/km2)
15	Laval	Quebec	438,366	401,553	+9.17%	95.5 sq mi (247.3 km2)	4,431/sq mi (1,711/km2)
16	Minneapolis	Minnesota	429,954	382,578	+12.38%	54 sq mi (140 km2)	7,692/sq mi (2,970/km2)
17	London	Ontario	422,324	366,151	+15.34%	162.4 sq mi (420.6 km2)	2,365/sq mi (913/km2)
18	Cleveland	Ohio	372,624	396,815	−6.10%	77.7 sq mi (201.2 km2)	4,794/sq mi (1,851/km2)
19	Markham	Ontario	338,503	301,709	+12.20%	81.4 sq mi (211 km2)	4,156/sq mi (1,605/km2)
20	Vaughan	Ontario	323,103	288,301	+12.07%	105.2 sq mi (272.5 km2)	3,071/sq mi (1,186/km2)
21	Saint Paul	Minnesota	311,527	285,068	+9.28%	52 sq mi (135 km2)	5,994/sq mi (2,314/km2)
22	Cincinnati	Ohio	309,317	296,493	+4.33%	77.9 sq mi (201.8 km2)	3,970/sq mi (1,530/km2)
23	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	302,971	305,704	−0.89%	55.4 sq mi (143.5 km2)	5,471/sq mi (2,112/km2)
24	St. Louis	Missouri	301,578	310,294	−2.81%	61.7 sq mi (160 km2)	4,886/sq mi (1,886/km2)
25	Gatineau	Quebec	291,041	265,349	+9.68%	132.4 sq mi (342.9 km2)	2,004/sq mi (774/km2)
26	Buffalo	New York	278,349	261,310	+6.52%	40.4 sq mi (104.6 km2)	6,893/sq mi (2,661/km2)
27	Toledo	Ohio	270,871	287,208	−5.69%	80.5 sq mi (208.5 km2)	3,365/sq mi (1,299/km2)
28	Madison	Wisconsin	269,840	233,309	+15.66%	79.6 sq mi (206 km2)	3,391/sq mi (1,309/km2)
29	Fort Wayne	Indiana	263,886	253,691	+4.02%	110.6 sq mi (286.5 km2)	2,400/sq mi (930/km2)
30	Kitchener	Ontario	256,885	219,153	+17.22%	52.8 sq mi (136.8 km2)	4,900/sq mi (1,900/km2)
31	Longueuil	Quebec	254,483	231,409	+9.97%	44.6 sq mi (115.5 km2)	5,185/sq mi (2,002/km2)
32	Windsor	Ontario	229,660	210,891	+8.90%	56.5 sq mi (146.3 km2)	4,065/sq mi (1,570/km2)
33	Oakville	Ontario	213,759	182,520	+17.12%	53.7 sq mi (139.1 km2)	3,985/sq mi (1,539/km2)
34	Rochester	New York	211,328	210,565	+0.36%	35.8 sq mi (92.7 km2)	5,909/sq mi (2,281/km2)
35	Richmond Hill	Ontario	202,022	185,541	+8.88%	38.9 sq mi (101 km2)	5,191/sq mi (2,004/km2)
36	Grand Rapids	Michigan	198,917	188,040	+5.78%	44.8 sq mi (116.0 km2)	4,442/sq mi (1,715/km2)
37	Overland Park	Kansas	197,238	173,372	+13.77%	75.2 sq mi (194.8 km2)	2,600/sq mi (1,000/km2)
38	Akron	Ohio	190,469	199,110	−4.34%	61.9 sq mi (160 km2)	3,075/sq mi (1,187/km2)
39	Burlington	Ontario	183,314	175,779	+4.29%	71.7 sq mi (185.7 km2)	2,452/sq mi (947/km2)
40	Aurora	Illinois	180,542	197,899	−8.77%	45 sq mi (116.5 km2)	4,015/sq mi (1,550/km2)
41	Oshawa	Ontario	175,383	149,607	+17.23%	56.3 sq mi (145.8 km2)	2,660/sq mi (1,030/km2)
42	Kansas City	Kansas	156,607	145,786	+7.42%	124.7 sq mi (323.0 km2)	1,200/sq mi (460/km2)
43	Joliet	Illinois	150,362	147,433	+1.99%	65.1 sq mi (168.6 km2)	2,310/sq mi (890/km2)
44	Lévis	Quebec	149,683	137,218	+9.08%	173.4 sq mi (449.1 km2)	827/sq mi (319/km2)
45	Naperville	Illinois	149,540	141,853	+5.42%	39.1 sq mi (101.3 km2)	3,824/sq mi (1,476/km2)
46	Rockford	Illinois	148,655	152,871	−2.76%	64.9 sq mi (168.1 km2)	2,290/sq mi (880/km2)
47	Guelph	Ontario	143,740	121,688	+18.12%	33.7 sq mi (87.3 km2)	4,258/sq mi (1,644/km2)
48	Olathe	Kansas	141,290	125,872	+12.25%	61.6 sq mi (159.5 km2)	2,300/sq mi (890/km2)
49	Warren	Michigan	139,387	134,056	+3.98%	34.4 sq mi (89.1 km2)	4,055/sq mi (1,566/km2)
50	Trois-Rivières	Quebec	139,163	129,886	+7.14%	111.7 sq mi (289.3 km2)	1,203/sq mi (464/km2)
51	Whitby	Ontario	138,501	122,022	+13.50%	56.6 sq mi (146.6 km2)	2,445/sq mi (944/km2)
52	Cambridge	Ontario	138,479	126,748	+9.26%	43.6 sq mi (112.9 km2)	3,174/sq mi (1,225/km2)
53	Dayton	Ohio	137,644	141,527	−2.74%	55.8 sq mi (144.5 km2)	2,466/sq mi (952/km2)
54	St. Catharines	Ontario	136,803	131,400	+4.11%	37.1 sq mi (96.1 km2)	3,587/sq mi (1,385/km2)
55	Sterling Heights	Michigan	134,386	129,699	+3.61%	36.5 sq mi (94.5 km2)	3,686/sq mi (1,423/km2)
56	Milton	Ontario	132,979	84,362	+57.63%	140.2 sq mi (363.1 km2)	948/sq mi (366/km2)
57	Kingston	Ontario	132,485	123,363	+7.39%	174.2 sq mi (451.2 km2)	736/sq mi (284/km2)
58	Ajax	Ontario	126,666	109,600	+15.57%	25.7 sq mi (66.6 km2)	4,233/sq mi (1,634/km2)
59	Ann Arbor	Michigan	123,851	113,934	+8.70%	28.2 sq mi (73.0 km2)	4,388/sq mi (1,694/km2)
60	Independence	Missouri	123,011	116,830	+5.29%	78 sq mi (202.0 km2)	1,578/sq mi (609/km2)
61	Waterloo	Ontario	121,436	98,780	+22.94%	24.7 sq mi (64.0 km2)	4,910/sq mi (1,900/km2)
62	Rochester	Minnesota	121,395	106,796	+13.67%	55.6 sq mi (144.0 km2)	2,184/sq mi (843/km2)
63	Evansville	Indiana	118,414	117,429	+0.84%	47.4 sq mi (122.8 km2)	2,477/sq mi (956/km2)
64	Elgin	Illinois	114,797	108,188	+6.11%	38 sq mi (98.4 km2)	3,019/sq mi (1,166/km2)
65	Springfield	Illinois	114,394	116,250	−1.60%	61.2 sq mi (158.5 km2)	1,870/sq mi (720/km2)
66	Peoria	Illinois	113,150	115,007	−1.61%	48 sq mi (124.3 km2)	2,359/sq mi (911/km2)
67	Lansing	Michigan	112,644	114,297	−1.45%	39.1 sq mi (101.3 km2)	2,878/sq mi (1,111/km2)
68	Dearborn	Michigan	109,976	98,153	+12.05%	24.3 sq mi (62.9 km2)	1,751/sq mi (676/km2)
69	Green Bay	Wisconsin	107,395	104,057	+3.21%	45.5 sq mi (117.8 km2)	2,299/sq mi (888/km2)
70	Brantford	Ontario	104,688	93,650	+11.79%	38.1 sq mi (98.7 km2)	2,748/sq mi (1,061/km2)
71	Chatham-Kent	Ontario	103,988	103,671	+0.31%	949 sq mi (2,458 km2)	107/sq mi (41/km2)
72	South Bend	Indiana	103,453	101,168	+2.26%	42 sq mi (108.8 km2)	2,465/sq mi (952/km2)
73	Davenport	Iowa	101,724	99,685	+2.05%	63.8 sq mi (165.2 km2)	1,595/sq mi (616/km2)
74	Lee's Summit	Missouri	101,108	91,364	+10.67%	63.9 sq mi (165.5 km2)	1,582/sq mi (611/km2)
75	Clinton Township	Michigan	100,513	96,796	+3.84%	281 sq mi (727.8 km2)	3,445/sq mi (1,330/km2)

• Megalopolis (city type)
• Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers
• Megaregions of the United States
• Great Lakes
• Quebec City – Windsor Corridor
• Conurbation
• Combined Statistical Area
• Census Metropolitan Area
• Rust Belt

A. ^^a Various sources includeQuebec City,Montreal andOttawa in the Great Lakes Megalopolis, while excludingMinneapolis–Saint Paul,Kansas City,Cincinnati,Indianapolis,Louisville, andColumbus.^[18] All these partial-consensus and non-consensus cities lie at the eastern, western, and southern fringes of the megalopolis.

• 
  Chicago (left) and Milwaukee (center)
• 
  Lakes Erie (right) and Ontario (left)
• 
  Indianapolis (left) to St. Louis (right)
• 
  Cleveland
• 
  Saint Paul
• 
  Fox Cities
• 
  Duluth

41°N85°W / 41°N 85°W /41; -85

• Megapolitan areas of the United States
• Metropolitan areas of Canada
• Midwestern United States
• Great Lakes region
• Geographic regions of Ontario
• Chicago metropolitan area
• Regions of Illinois
• Regions of Ohio
• Transborder agglomerations
• Geography of Quebec

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