Sir, to start with the top 5 states by 'Annual Value of Products' in 1860 are;
North
1. NY
2. PA
3. Mass
4. OH
5. Conn
South
1. VA
2. Tenn
3. GA
4. NC
5. LA
Of those states, their top cities were;
North
Rank /
City /
State /
Population
01 / New York / New York / 813,669
02 / Philadelphia / Pennsylvania / 565,529
03 / Brooklyn / New York / 266,661
05 / Boston / Massachusetts / 177,840
07 / Cincinnati / Ohio / 161,044
10 / Buffalo / New York / 81,129
11 / Newark / New Jersey / 71,941
13 / Albany / New York / 62,367
17 / Pittsburgh / Pennsylvania / 49,221
18 / Rochester / New York / 48,204
21 / Cleveland / Ohio / 43,417
23 / New Haven / Connecticut / 39,267
24 / Troy / New York / 39,235
26 / Lowell / Massachusetts / 36,827
28 / Jersey City / New Jersey / 29,226
29 / Allegheny / Pennsylvania / 28,702
30 / Syracuse / New York / 28,119
31 / Hartford / Connecticut / 26,917
33 / Cambridge / Massachusetts / 26,060
34 / Roxbury / Massachusetts / 25,137
35 / Charlestown / Massachusetts / 25,065
36 / Worcester / Massachusetts / 24,960
37 / Reading / Pennsylvania / 23,162
39 / Utica / New York / 22,529
40 / New Bedford / Massachusetts / 22,300
42 / Salem / Massachusetts / 22,252
45 / Dayton / Ohio / 20,081
46 / Paterson / New Jersey / 19,586
47 / Lynn / Massachusetts / 19,083
49 / Columbus / Ohio / 18,554
51 / Lawrence / Massachusetts / 17,639
52 / Lancaster / Pennsylvania / 17,603
53 / Trenton / New Jersey / 17,228
55 / Oswego / New York / 16,816
58 / Taunton / Massachusetts / 15,376
59 / Springfield / Massachusetts / 15,199
60 / Poughkeepsie / New York / 14,726
62 / Camden / New Jersey / 14,358
64 / Norwich / Connecticut / 14,048
66 / Fall River / Massachusetts / 14,026
70 / Harrisburg / Pennsylvania / 13,405
71 / Newburyport / Massachusetts / 13,401
72 / Chelsea / Massachusetts / 13,395
76 / Newburgh / New York / 12,578
78 / Bridgeport / Connecticut / 12,106
80 / Elizabeth / New Jersey / 11,567
83 / New Brunswick / New Jersey / 11,256
84 / Auburn / New York / 10,986
85 / Gloucester / Massachusetts / 10,904
87 / Lockport / New York / 10,871
90 / New London / Connecticut / 10,115
93 / Waterbury / Connecticut / 10,004
94 / Haverhill / Massachusetts / 9,995
95 / Dorchester / Massachusetts / 9,769
96 / Hoboken / New Jersey / 9,662
98 / Schenectady / New York / 9,579
South
Rank /
City /
State /
Population
06 / New Orleans / Louisiana / 168,675
25 / Richmond / Virginia / 37,910
38 / Memphis / Tennessee / 22,623
41 / Savannah / Georgia / 22,292
50 / Petersburg / Virginia / 18,266
54 / Nashville / Tennessee / 16,988
61 / Norfolk / Virginia / 14,620
63 / Wheeling / Virginia / 14,083
74 / Alexandria / Virginia / 12,652
77 / Augusta / Georgia / 12,493
97 / Columbus / Georgia / 9,621
99 / Atlanta / Georgia / 9,554
100 / Wilmington / North Carolina / 9,552
While this provides a starting point, it misses cities like;
North
Rank /
City /
State /
Population
04 / Baltimore / Maryland / 212,418
08 / St. Louis / Missouri / 160,773
09 / Chicago / Illinois / 112,172
12 / Louisville / Kentucky / 68,033
16 / Providence / Rhode Island / 50,666
19 / Detroit / Michigan / 45,619
20 / Milwaukee / Wisconsin / 45,246
32 / Portland / Maine / 26,341
43 / Wilmington / Delaware / 21,258
44 / Manchester / New Hampshire / 20,107
48 / Indianapolis / Indiana / 18,611
56 / Covington / Kentucky / 16,471
57 / Bangor / Maine / 16,407
65 / Peoria / Illinois / 14,045
69 / Quincy / Illinois / 13,718
73 / Dubuque / Iowa / 13,000
75 / New Albany / Indiana / 12,647
79 / North Providence / Rhode Island / 11,818
81 / Evansville / Indiana / 11,484
82 / Davenport / Iowa / 11,267
86 / Concord / New Hampshire / 10,896
88 / Newport / Rhode Island / 10,508
89 / Saint Paul / Minnesota / 10,401
91 / Nashua / New Hampshire / 10,065
92 / Newport / Kentucky / 10,046
South
Rank /
City /
State /
Population
22 / Charleston / South Carolina / 40,522
27 / Mobile / Alabama / 29,258
Interestingly, NC is 4th on the 'South' state list but only has 1 city in the top 100 - and that one at 100.
From a manufacturing and industrial point of view, what were the 5 most important cities to the Union, and the 5 most important cities to the Confederacy?
To answer your question, some clarification please sir. You ask for 'most important'. Do you mean to the war effort directly? And what year are we looking at?
19
Cheers,
USS ALASKA
Bringing the