Largest Cities, Towns and Urban Centers by Population in Kenya

104 cities, towns and urban centers in Kenya with 15,000 or more inhabitants, ranked by population at the census of August 24, 2019 (by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics).

Rank	City, Town or Urban Center	Population
1	Nairobi	4,397,073
2	Mombasa	1,208,333
3	Nakuru	570,674
4	Ruiru	490,120
5	Eldoret	475,716
6	Kisumu	397,957
7	Kikuyu	323,881
8	Thika	251,407
9	Naivasha	198,444
10	Karuri	194,342
11	Ongata Rongai	172,569
12	Garissa	163,399
13	Kitale	162,174
14	Juja	156,041
15	Kitengela	154,436
16	Kiambu	147,870
17	Mlolongo	136,351
18	Malindi	119,859
19	Mandera	114,718
20	Kisii	112,417
21	Kakamega	107,227
22	Ngong	102,323
23	Mtwapa	90,677
24	Wajir	90,116
25	Lodwar	82,970
26	Limuru	81,316
27	Athi RiverMavoko	81,302
28	Meru	80,191
29	Nyeri	80,081
30	Isiolo	78,650
31	Ukunda	77,686
32	Kiserian	76,903
33	Kilifi	74,270
34	Nanyuki	72,813
35	Busia	71,886
36	Migori	71,668
37	Bungoma	68,031
38	Narok	65,430
39	Embu	64,979
40	Machakos	63,767
41	Githunguri	63,319
42	Elwak	60,732
43	Gilgil	60,711
44	Kimilili	56,050
45	Kericho	53,804
46	Voi	53,353
47	Wanguru	51,722
48	Habaswein	49,599
49	MoloTuri	48,356
50	Moyale	47,850
51	Homa Bay	44,949
52	Kenol	44,086
53	Masalani	43,642
54	Murang'a	43,314
55	Webuye	42,642
56	Njoro	42,173
57	Kapsabet	41,997
58	Mumias	41,942
59	Nyahururu	37,650
60	Marsabit	36,289
61	Rhamu	35,644
62	Siaya	33,153
63	Mariakani	31,715
64	Maralal	31,350
65	Mairo Inya	30,527
66	Kerugoya	30,045
67	Kitui	29,062
68	MakutanoKapenguria	28,469
69	Elburgon	28,359
70	Watamu	27,857
71	Lamu	25,385
72	Kajiado	24,678
73	Nyamira	24,483
74	Isebania	23,891
75	Karatina	23,552
76	Kakuma	22,984
77	Lafey	22,882
78	Bondo	22,712
79	Kabarnet	22,474
80	Chuka	22,388
81	Kehancha	22,194
82	Maua	22,121
83	Taveta	22,018
84	Takaba	21,517
85	Eldama Ravine	21,385
86	Hola	20,912
87	Mai Mahiu	20,823
88	Rongo	20,688
89	Oyugis	19,947
90	Wote	19,725
91	Emali	18,325
92	Garbatula	17,443
93	MbaleVihiga	17,404
94	Mwingi	17,025
95	Awendo	16,815
96	Kiminini	16,560
97	Moi's Bridge	16,355
98	Mazeras	16,254
99	Malaba	15,581
100	Makindu	15,038
101	Banissa (Banisa)	14,974
102	Msambweni	14,951
103	Namanga	14,922
104	Mbita Point (Mbita)	14,916

Source: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2019 census), via City Population by Thomas Brinkhoff.

Why don't these match official city populations?Official figures typically count only the population within administrative boundaries. UN urban area figures cover the entire built-up area, which can include multiple cities and towns.Show moreShow less

Tokyo

33,338,852

Urban area

9,953,160

23 wards

Essen

2,709,375

Urban area

573,618

City of Essen

Ankara

3,630,865

Urban area

5,186,002

Metropolitan municipality

What counts as an urban area? The UN uses satellite imagery to map built-up land, and treats each continuous stretch of built-up land as an urban area. This means that urban areas can extend beyond official city boundaries, and may include multiple cities and towns within a single urban area.

Can an urban area be smaller than its city? Yes. While most cities have urban areas larger than their administrative boundaries, some cities have extensive administrative limits that include sparsely populated areas.

50 urban areas in Kenya with 50,000 or more inhabitants, ranked by the UN's population estimates for 2026.

Rank	Urban Area	Population Estimate (2026)	Yearly Change	Land Area (km²)	Density (P/km²)	World Rank	Projections (2030)	Projections (2050)
1	Nairobi	6,244,748	+1.77%	649	9,628	64	6,686,404	8,514,575
2	Mombasa	1,473,280	+1.16%	187	7,879	346	1,541,574	1,808,634
3	Nakuru	589,102	+2.55%	97	6,061	936	649,147	862,724
4	Kisumu	437,190	+1.52%	78	5,605	1,289	463,820	618,843
5	Eldoret	424,570	+1.51%	93	4,565	1,336	450,149	571,608
6	Garissa	339,643	+1.81%	41	8,204	1,708	364,194	458,944
7	Mutuati	261,595	+11.16%	135	1,941	2,258	378,215	746,305
8	El Wak	212,302	+1.60%	16	13,105	2,834	225,866	285,941
9	Kisii	205,244	+2.27%	73	2,827	2,938	223,905	342,503
10	Naivasha	195,377	+4.83%	38	5,169	3,099	233,107	315,375
11	Kitale	184,618	+1.75%	46	4,013	3,305	197,535	250,665
12	Wajir	179,947	+1.66%	29	6,121	3,394	191,907	253,261
13	Embu	171,699	+4.32%	32	5,399	3,574	201,362	310,628
14	Ongata Rongai	169,753	+12.35%	31	5,441	3,608	253,475	368,458
15	Hagadera Refugee Camp	162,089	+1.57%	14	11,578	3,783	172,250	226,061
16	Thika	147,255	+2.63%	38	3,896	4,185	162,759	263,121
17	Dadaab	137,977	+1.88%	7.00	19,711	4,465	148,377	200,833
18	Malindi	130,288	+2.32%	28	4,588	4,744	142,376	203,996
19	Vihiga	124,822	+4.15%	63	1,975	4,978	145,533	445,372
20	Kakamega	121,444	+3.13%	30	4,103	5,125	136,669	236,382
21	Kitengela	118,414	+2.34%	36	3,253	5,259	129,512	212,768
22	Takaba	116,526	+2.35%	13	8,696	5,346	127,471	169,050
23	Meru	116,385	+3.93%	26	4,476	5,352	134,669	230,341
24	Mandera	114,344	+1.96%	22	5,105	5,463	123,294	155,239
25	Machakos	99,620	+3.37%	26	3,832	6,275	113,064	225,152
26	Maseno	96,558	+13.09%	50	1,923	6,479	147,031	292,611
27	Bungoma	94,475	+1.46%	23	4,037	6,624	99,993	146,473
28	Kiambu	89,258	+2.80%	25	3,628	7,046	99,256	401,458
29	Ngong	84,811	+5.22%	21	4,039	7,443	102,529	167,017
30	Jumba la Mtwana	82,771	+1.39%	26	3,184	7,636	87,369	119,323
31	Karingari	77,293	+5.97%	39	1,972	8,181	95,744	253,448
32	Nyeri	74,504	+1.36%	19	3,921	8,464	78,564	113,752
33	Migori	73,524	+2.46%	19	3,911	8,574	80,768	96,990
34	Ukunda	67,413	+6.37%	15	4,494	9,303	84,571	117,764
35	Lodwar	67,056	+0.83%	20	3,353	9,361	69,274	87,894
36	Banissa	66,265	+2.18%	4.20	15,777	9,474	72,042	99,666
37	Ifo Refugee Camp	65,440	+2.07%	11	5,949	9,592	70,866	91,576
38	Dagahaley Refugee Camp	65,371	+1.35%	10	6,537	9,605	68,909	85,897
39	Eymole	63,922	+2.27%	4.00	15,980	9,831	69,736	105,503
40	Busia	63,885	+1.10%	16	3,993	9,840	66,686	90,286
41	Malkamari	63,037	+2.37%	8.00	7,880	9,968	69,017	108,064
42	Wargadud	62,224	+1.95%	5.00	12,445	10,115	67,072	90,682
43	Limuru	57,318	+1.86%	17	3,372	10,883	61,587	132,863
44	Kilifi	57,297	+8.23%	19	3,080	10,889	76,144	98,198
45	Kericho	57,272	+3.23%	15	3,870	10,897	64,677	109,463
46	Lafey	56,957	+2.31%	8.00	7,120	10,966	62,230	90,410
47	Isiolo	55,470	+1.69%	19	2,889	11,235	59,219	77,565
48	Narok	53,759	+1.46%	14	3,840	11,574	56,892	77,134
49	Mado Gashi	52,070	+1.79%	6.00	8,678	11,889	55,803	74,890
50	Molo	51,812	+3.24%	13	4,112	11,931	58,526	80,161

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision, Online Edition.

Data topics

Reference

Tools

Largest Cities, Towns and Urban Centers by Population in Kenya

See also