Abandoned Towns

Near a city

Ghost towns near America's biggest cities

The ten largest US cities by the Census Bureau's estimates for July 1, 2025, and the ghost towns within a three-hour drive of each, nearest first. Every town links to its guide or site record.

Two old wooden houses among the trees of the Deserted Village in the Watchung Reservation

New York

#1

New York · 8,584,629 people

6 ghost towns within three hours. Nearest: Feltville, about 42 min.

A restored red barn beside the dirt main street of Mentryville

Los Angeles

#2

California · 3,869,089 people

4 ghost towns within three hours. Nearest: Mentryville, about 47 min.

The replica of Independence Hall, a plain wooden building, at Washington-on-the-Brazos

Houston

#4

Texas · 2,397,315 people

4 ghost towns within three hours. Nearest: Washington-on-the-Brazos, about 1 h 36 min.

Wooden false-front buildings of Goldfield with the cliffs of the Superstition Mountains rising behind

Phoenix

#5

Arizona · 1,665,481 people

9 ghost towns within three hours. Nearest: Goldfield, about 54 min.

The stuccoed Atsion mansion, seen from a walk past an interpretive sign

Philadelphia

#6

Pennsylvania · 1,574,281 people

7 ghost towns within three hours. Nearest: Atsion, about 48 min.

The old Karnes County Courthouse in Helena, a plain two-story building with a hipped roof

San Antonio

#7

Texas · 1,548,422 people

6 ghost towns within three hours. Nearest: Helena, about 1 h 13 min.

Old storefronts along Julian's Main Street

San Diego

#8

California · 1,406,106 people

3 ghost towns within three hours. Nearest: Julian, about 1 h 23 min.

Thurber's tall brick smokestack against the sky

Dallas–Fort Worth

#9 and #10

Texas · 2,357,608 people

5 ghost towns within three hours. Nearest: Thurber, about 1 h 17 min from Fort Worth.

Still being researched: Chicago.

Sources

  1. City ranking and populations: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places of 20,000 or More, Ranked by July 1, 2025 Population: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025 (SUB-IP-EST2025-ANNRNK), U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Vintage 2025, released May 2026.
  2. Drive times: OSRM routing on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), October 2026.

Photo credits

  1. Feltville: Daniel Case, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
  2. Mentryville: PKM, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
  3. Washington-on-the-Brazos: Noconatom, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  4. Goldfield: Marine 69-71, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  5. Atsion: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
  6. Helena: 25or6to4, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  7. Julian: Microsomen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
  8. Thurber: Nicolas Henderson from Coppell, Texas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0