List of cities and towns in Kenya by population

The following is a list of the most populous cities, municipalities and towns of Kenya. In Kenya there are only four incorporated cities including the capital and largest city, Nairobi, the second largest and the coastal city of Mombasa, the third largest and inland port city of Kisumu and the newly elevated City of Nakuru that was upgraded from a Municipality to a city by President Uhuru Kenyatta on December 1, 2021. Two of the four cities, Nairobi and Mombasa are cities whose county borders run the same as their city limits, so in a way they could be thought of as City-Counties. Apart from these four cities, there are numerous municipalities and towns with significant urban populations.

Nairobi Metro Within Kenya
Nairobi County (red)
Kajiado County (green)
Machakos County (yellow)
Kiambu County (purple)

Top 100 list

The list:

	Metro Area
	Capital City of Kenya
	County Capital

The towns of Ruiru, Kikuyu, and Thika which feature on the top 10 list of the most populated towns in Kenya also fall within the Nairobi Metropolitan region. Data for the largest urban centers in Kenya was provided under the Kenya Population Census of 2019.

№	City/ Town	Status	Population	County	Ref
	Nairobi Metro	Metro	6,547,547	Nairobi Kajiado Machakos Kiambu	[1]
1.	Nairobi	City	4,394,073	Nairobi	[2]
2.	Mombasa	City	1,208,333	Mombasa	[3]
3.	Nakuru	City	570,674	Nakuru	[3]
4.	Ruiru	Municipality	490,120	Kiambu	[3]
5.	Eldoret	Municipality	475,716	Uasin Gishu	[3]
6.	Kisumu	City	397,957	Kisumu	[3]
7.	Kikuyu	Municipality	323,881	Kiambu	[3]
8.	Thika	Municipality	251,407	Kiambu	[3]
9.	Naivasha	Municipality	198,444	Nakuru	[3]
10.	Karuri	Municipality	194,342	Kiambu	[3]
11.	Ongata Rongai	Town Council	172,569	Kajiado	[3]
12.	Malindi	Municipality	207,253	Kilifi	[4]
13.	Naivasha	Municipality	181,966	Nakuru	[4]
14.	Kitui	Municipality	155,896	Kitui	[4]
15.	Machakos	Municipality	150,041	Machakos	[4]
16.	Mlolongo	Municipality	139,853	Machakos	[4]
17.	Athi River (Mavoko)	Municipality	139,380	Machakos	[4]
18.	Karuri	Town Council	129,934	Kiambu	[4]
19.	Kilifi	Town Council	122,899	Kilifi	[4]
20.	Garissa	Town Council	119,696	Garissa	[4]
21.	Vihiga	Municipality	118,696	Vihiga	[4]
22.	Wote	Municipality	116,696	Makueni	[4]
23.	Mumias	Municipality	116,358	Kakamega	[4]
24.	Bomet	Municipality	110,963	Bomet	[4]
25.	Molo	Town Council	107,806	Nakuru	[4]
26.	Ngong	Other Centre	107,188	Kajiado	[4]
27.	Kitale	Municipality	106,187	Trans-Nzoia	[4]
28.	Litein	Town Council	104,600	Kericho	[4]
29.	Limuru	Municipality	104,282	Kiambu	[4]
30.	Kericho	Municipality	104,282	Kericho	[4]
31.	Kimilili	Municipality	94,927	Bungoma	[4]
32.	Awasi	Other Centre	93,369	Kisumu	[4]
33.	Kakamega	Municipality	91,768	Kakamega	[4]
34.	Kapsabet	Municipality	91,030	Nandi	[4]
35.	Mariakani	Town Council	89,321	Kilifi	[4]
36.	Kiambu	Municipality	88,869	Kiambu	[4]
37.	Mandera	Town Council	87,692	Mandera	[4]
38.	Nyamira	Town Council	84,239	Nyamira	[4]
39.	Mwingi	Town Council	83,803	Kitui	[4]
40.	Kisii	Municipality	283,000	Kisii	[4]
41.	Wajir	Other Centre	82,800	Wajir	[4]
42.	Rongo	Town Council	82,066	Migori	[4]
43.	Bungoma	Municipality	81,151	Bungoma	[4]
44.	Ahero	Town Council	76,828	Kisumu	[4]
45.	Nandi Hills	Town Council	73,626	Nandi	[4]
46.	Makuyu	Town Council	71,913	Murang’a	[4]
47.	Kapenguria	Town Council	71,477	West Pokot	[4]
48.	Taveta	Town Council	67,505	Taita-Taveta
49.	Narok	Town Council	67,505	Narok	[4]
50.	Ol Kalou	Town Council	66,015	Nyandarua	[4]
51.	Kakuma	Other Centre	65,814	Turkana	[4]
52.	Webuye	Municipality	65,280	Bungoma	[4]
53.	Malaba	Town Council	63,324	Busia	[4]
54.	Mbita Point	Town Council	62,974	Homa Bay	[4]
55.	Ukunda	Other Centre	62,529	Kwale	[4]
56.	Wundanyi	Other Centre	62,404	Taita-Taveta	[4]
57.	Busia	Municipality	61,715	Busia	[4]
58.	Runyenjes	Municipality	61,604	Embu	[4]
59.	Migori	Municipality	100,000	Migori	[4]
60.	Malava	Town Council	60,831	Kakamega	[4]
61.	Suneka	Town Council	60,730	Kisii	[4]
62.	Embu	Municipality	60,673	Embu	[4]
63.	Ogembo	Town Council	60,289	Kisii	[4]
64.	Homa Bay	Municipality	59,844	Homa Bay	[4]
65.	Lodwar	Municipality	58,218	Turkana	[4]
66.	Kitengela	Municipality	58,167	Kajiado	[4]
67.	Ukwala	Town Council	57,081	Siaya	[4]
68.	Keroka	Town Council	54,655	Nyamira	[4]
69.	Matuu	Town Council	53,144	Machakos	[4]
70.	Oyugis	Town Council	52,354	Homabay	[4]
71.	Nyahururu	Municipality	51,434	Laikipia	[4]
72.	Kipkelion	Town Council	49,939	Kericho	[4]
73.	Luanda	Town Council	49,346	Vihiga	[4]
74.	Nanyuki	Municipality	49,233	Laikipia	[4]
75.	Maua	Municipality	49,012	Meru	[4]
76.	Mtwapa	Other Centre	48,625	Kilifi	[4]
77.	Isiolo	Other Centre	46,128	Isiolo	[4]
78.	Eldama Ravine	Town Council	45,799	Baringo	[4]
79.	Voi	Municipality	45,483	Taita-Taveta	[4]
80.	Siaya	Municipality	45,353	Siaya	[4]
81.	Nyansiongo	Town Council	45,313	Nyamira	[4]
82.	Londiani	Town Council	44,953	Kericho	[4]
83.	Iten/Tambach	Town Council	44,448	Elgeyo-Marakwet	[4]
84.	Chuka	Municipality	43,470	Tharaka-Nithi	[4]
85.	Malakisi	Town Council	41,784	Bungoma	[4]
86.	Juja	Other Centre	40,446	Kiambu	[4]
87.	Ongata Rongai	Other Centre	40,178	Kajiado	[4]
88.	Bondo	Town Council	39,224	Siaya	[4]
89.	Moyale	Other Centre	37,387	Marsabit	[4]
90.	Maralal	Town Council	35,472	Samburu	[4]
91.	Gilgil	Other Centre	35,293	Nakuru	[4]
92.	Nambale	Town Council	34,735	Busia	[4]
93.	Tabaka	Town Council	34,724	Kisii	[4]
94.	Muhoroni	Town Council	34,457	Kisumu	[4]
95.	Kerugoya/Kutus	Municipality	34,014	Kirinyaga	[4]
96.	Ugunja	Town Council	33,878	Siaya	[4]
97.	Yala	Town Council	33,646	Siaya	[4]
98.	Rumuruti	Town Council	32,993	Laikipia	[4]
99.	Burnt Forest	Town Council	32,649	Uasin Gishu	[4]
100.	Maragua	Town Council	32,315	Murang’a	[4]
101.	Kendu Bay	Town Council	31,699	Homa Bay	[4]
102.	Ruai	Town Council	32,315	Nairobi	[4]
103.	Kamulu	Town Council	33,200	Nairobi	[4]

Distribution

County	Number of Cities/ Towns (Top 100)
Kiambu	7
Siaya	5
Bungoma, Kericho, Kilifi, Kisumu, Machakos, Nakuru, Kisii	4
Busia, Homa Bay, Kajiado, Kakamega, Laikipia, Migori, Taita-Taveta	3
Embu, Kitui, Meru, Murang'a, Nyamira, Turkana, Trans-Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Vihiga	2
Baringo, Bomet, Elgeyo-Marakwet, Garissa, Isiolo, Kirinyaga, Kwale, Mandera, Marsabit, Mombasa, Nairobi, Nandi, Narok, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Samburu, Tharaka-Nithi, Wajir, West Pokot.	1

References

"Kenya Census 2009 | PDF | Census | Waste Management".
The World Factbook
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (21 February 2020). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume II: Distribution of Population by Administrative Units (Report). Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. p. 241. Retrieved 3 March 2020. Distribution of Population by Urban Centres Nairobi City: 4,397,073; Mombasa: 1,208,333; Nakuru: 570,674; Ruiru: 371,111; Eldoret: 475,716; Kisumu: 397,957
"2009 Census Vol 1 Table 3 Rural and Urban Population | Open Data Portal". Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016. 2009 Census Vol 1 Table 3 Rural and Urban Population Retrieved on 22 January 2014.

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[1] "Kenya Census 2009 | PDF | Census | Waste Management".

[2] The World Factbook

[Kenya_Census_2019-3] Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (21 February 2020). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume II: Distribution of Population by Administrative Units (Report). Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. p. 241. Retrieved 3 March 2020. Distribution of Population by Urban Centres Nairobi City: 4,397,073; Mombasa: 1,208,333; Nakuru: 570,674; Ruiru: 371,111; Eldoret: 475,716; Kisumu: 397,957

[OpenData-4] "2009 Census Vol 1 Table 3 Rural and Urban Population | Open Data Portal". Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016. 2009 Census Vol 1 Table 3 Rural and Urban Population Retrieved on 22 January 2014.