How Many Cities Sit on the Shores of the Great Lakes?
Count the cities perched on the Great Lakes and you sail past 150 before running out. More than 150 incorporated cities sit directly on the five lakes' shores. Those shores cross eight American states and the Canadian province of Ontario. Roughly 30 million people live beside this freshwater system. Chicago and Toronto rank as the two largest on the water. Duluth ships iron ore from the western tip of Lake Superior.
Cities on Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is the smallest of the Great Lakes and drains to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence River. It borders New York and the Canadian province of Ontario, which along with the other lake jurisdictions sends about 425 members to the Cities Initiative, a coalition of municipal and indigenous governments across the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region. About 9 million people live in the cities along Lake Ontario's shores in the US and Canada.
Rochester, New York
Sitting on the southern shore of Lake Ontario and along the Genesee River, Rochester is populated by over 207,000 people, per the US Census Bureau. It is famous for the 96-foot-tall High Falls, in the center of the city, which provided hydropower to fuel the city's industry in its early years. Once the largest manufacturer of baking flour worldwide, today Rochester is known for the George Eastman Museum, the world's oldest photography museum. It is also the site of the Strong National Museum of Play, the world's only museum devoted entirely to play, its highlight being the world's largest Donkey Kong arcade game.
Toronto, Ontario
The most populated city in Canada, at about 2.8 million per the 2021 census, Toronto is also one of the most multicultural urban centers in the world. Its metropolitan area is a leading manufacturing center in Canada, with companies like Nestle, PepsiCo, and Procter & Gamble operating facilities in the region. One of Toronto's most celebrated landmarks is the CN Tower, rising over the skyline at 553 meters tall. The Royal Ontario Museum, Canada's largest museum of world culture and natural history, is also in Toronto. Another draw is the Casa Loma mansion near the middle of the city. This Gothic Revival mansion, open to the public, was built in the style of a castle in the early 1900s as a home for financier Sir Henry Pellatt.
Cities on Lake Erie
The shallowest, warmest, and most biologically productive of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie averages 62 feet deep and hosts the largest freshwater commercial fishery in the Great Lakes. The Center for Great Lakes Literacy estimates that approximately 12.4 million people live in the Lake Erie watershed, including 10.5 million on the US side (Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York) and 1.9 million on the Canadian side, in Ontario.
Buffalo, New York
The second-most-populous city in New York, Buffalo stands on the eastern shore of Lake Erie at the head of the Niagara River, with about 278,000 residents as of the 2020 census. In the early 1900s, it was the world's leading grain port and a national flour-milling hub, and its mills were among the first to run on hydroelectricity generated at Niagara Falls. Joseph Dart and Robert Dunbar invented the steam-powered grain elevator here in 1843, which transformed how Great Lakes ports handled cargo. Buffalo built one of the first coordinated municipal park systems in the country, designed in 1868 by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Today, visitors gather at Canalside, the redeveloped waterfront at the old terminus of the Erie Canal, and at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum.
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is the largest city on Lake Erie, and the third-largest metropolitan area in the Great Lakes. A major port city, it is home to over 365,000 residents. Cleveland is split down the middle by the Cuyahoga River. Once a Rust Belt manufacturing city, Cleveland is now well-known for its top-notch healthcare facilities, like the Cleveland Clinic, as well as manufacturing giant Sherwin-Williams and the headquarters of the Fourth District of the US Federal Reserve Bank. Sites of interest in Cleveland are the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland's Money Museum, and Edgewater Park, featuring 9,000 feet of shoreline and beaches.
Erie, Pennsylvania
The only Great Lakes port city in Pennsylvania, Erie is the state's fifth-largest city, where more than 92,000 people reside. It is historically recognized as the city where Commodore Perry built the fleet that won the Battle of Lake Erie against the British in the War of 1812. Once a shipbuilding giant, Erie now hosts headquarters like Erie Insurance, a Fortune 500 company. Erie's most famous attraction may be Presque Isle State Park, the most visited state park in Pennsylvania. Erie is proud of its robust refugee and immigrant population, as well as its status as a Certified Welcoming City. Kids of all ages enjoy Waldameer Park & Water World, which dates to 1896 and ranks among the oldest amusement parks in the US.
Cities on Lake Huron
The second-largest of the Great Lakes, Lake Huron contains the largest island in any freshwater lake in the world, Manitoulin Island. It is bordered by Michigan and Ontario. The Center for Great Lakes Literacy notes that about 3 million people live within the Lake Huron watershed basin, split evenly between the US and Canada. Lake Huron has the longest shoreline of the Great Lakes, at 3,827 miles, yet only smaller cities sit along it.
Bay City, Michigan
Near the base of Saginaw Bay, Bay City is one of the largest US cities on the shores of Lake Huron, housing over 32,000 people. Bay City also hugs both sides of the Saginaw River. In the late 1800s, Bay City was a lumber giant, serving as a hub where lumber was milled and shipped. Industries in Bay City today include McLaren Bay Region, the city's hospital and largest employer, and GM Powertrain of General Motors. Wenonah Park on the Saginaw River is a popular spot in the city, with an amphitheater hosting summer concerts. Downtown Bay City is a common gathering place, with shopping in stores like Urban East and eateries such as MI Table, a farm-to-table restaurant.
Sarnia, Ontario
The largest city situated directly on Lake Huron's shores, Sarnia is noted for its petrochemical industry. With a population over 96,000, Sarnia borders Port Huron, Michigan, and is home to the Blue Water Bridge, a twin-span international bridge connecting Sarnia to Michigan. Sarnia's chemistry cluster contains companies like Woodland Biofuels, LCY Biosciences, and Origin Materials. Canatara Beach & Park on the city's north side is a certified Blue Flag beach known for strict water quality and environmental standards. The Oil Museum of Canada is also housed in the Sarnia area and honors the region's history as the location of the first oil boom in North America.
Cities on Lake Michigan
The only Great Lake found entirely within the US, Lake Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline of any US lake, at 1,600 miles. Lake Michigan is the third-largest of the Great Lakes, and is bordered by Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Its shores hold major US urban centers, home to about 12 million people.
Chicago, Illinois
The third-largest city in the US, Chicago is on Lake Michigan's southwest shore, where about 2.7 million people live. Chicago is known as the birthplace of mail-order retailing, with Sears; the first car radio, from Motorola; and the world's first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building, built in 1885 and demolished in 1931 to make way for the Field Building. Global finance companies like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange are based in Chicago. Important landmarks include the Art Institute of Chicago, which holds the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings outside Paris, and Millennium Park, whose Jay Pritzker Pavilion hosts free outdoor concerts in the summertime.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The largest city in Wisconsin and the second-largest on Lake Michigan, Milwaukee holds about 577,000 residents on the lake's western shore. The city grew up where three rivers, the Milwaukee, the Menomonee, and the Kinnickinnic, meet before flowing into the lake. German immigrants gave Milwaukee its brewing heritage, and the tradition survives in the name of the MLB's Milwaukee Brewers. The lakefront carries the Santiago Calatrava-designed wing of the Milwaukee Art Museum, which opens and closes over the building each day. Every summer, Henry Maier Festival Park on the shore hosts Summerfest, one of the largest music festivals in the country. The Milwaukee Riverwalk threads through downtown, linking the Historic Third Ward to cafes and restaurants along the water.
Green Bay, Wisconsin
The oldest city in Wisconsin, Green Bay was founded in 1634 as a French fur-trading post and incorporated as a city in 1854. Green Bay's population of about 107,000 lives on the southern tip of the Bay of Green Bay, a 120-mile-long inlet of Lake Michigan. Its industry leans on healthcare, with Humana and UnitedHealthcare maintaining offices there. Georgia-Pacific and American Foods Group also make their homes here. Landmarks include Lambeau Field, home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers; CityDeck, a redeveloped waterfront boardwalk in downtown Green Bay with shops and restaurants; and the NEW Zoo & Adventure Park.
Cities on Lake Superior
The largest of the Great Lakes, and the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, Lake Superior lies between Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario. Just over 607,000 people live on Lake Superior's shores, with 444,000 in the US and 229,000 in Canada. Less than five percent of the lake's 2,726 miles of shoreline is urbanized.
Duluth, Minnesota
Home to just under 88,000 people, Duluth is a major port city at the westernmost tip of Lake Superior. Along with Superior, Wisconsin, Duluth forms the largest freshwater port in the world, and it moves coal from Montana and Wyoming to plants in the lower Great Lakes. Tons of grain, iron ore, and coal are shipped annually via the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway. In addition to shipping, healthcare is a big industry in Duluth, as Essentia Health is a major employer. Cirrus Aircraft, another large company, is headquartered at Duluth International Airport. Sites to see in Duluth include Canal Park, a waterfront district with restaurants and shops; the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center; and Glensheen Mansion, the most visited historic home in Minnesota.
Thunder Bay, Ontario
The largest city on Lake Superior, Thunder Bay is the economic, medical, and cultural hub for Northwestern Ontario. It was created in 1970 when two cities, Port Arthur and Fort William, were merged. Today, over 108,000 people live in Thunder Bay, where major employers are the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute, Alstom Manufacturing, and the Port of Thunder Bay, a gateway for western agricultural exports. Fort William Historical Park, one of North America's largest living-history attractions, sits in Thunder Bay. Prince Arthur's Landing on the waterfront is filled with shops, bars, and restaurants. Visitors can also tour a local brewery, such as Dawson Trail Craft Brewery.
A Freshwater Network of Cities
The cities, towns, and municipalities on the shores of the Great Lakes serve as ports, industrial centers, and gateways to the water. The basin holds dozens of distinct communities, ranging in size from Bay City and Duluth to Chicago and Toronto. Together, these lakeside cities form an interconnected freshwater network that is vital to the culture, economy, and ecology of North America.
