Belo Horizonte is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, with a population of 6 million. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropolis is anchor to the Belo Horizonte metropolitan area, ranked as the third most populous metropolitan area in Brazil and the 17th most populous in the Americas. Belo Horizonte is the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil's second-most populous state. It is the first planned modern city in Brazil.

This is a list of the 50 largest cities in the Americas by population residing within city limits as of 2015, the most recent year for which official population census results, estimates, or short-term projections are available for most of these cities. These figures do not reflect the population of the urban agglomeration or metropolitan area which typically do not coincide with the administrative boundaries of the city. For a list of the latter, see List of metropolitan areas in the Americas by population. These figures refer to mid-2015 populations with the following exceptions:Mexican cities, whose figures derive from the 2015 Intercensal Survey conducted by INEGI with a reference date of 15 March 2015; Calgary, whose 2015 municipal census had a reference date of April 1. Brazilian cities, whose figures originate from the 2021 estimate given by the IBGE, with a reference date of July 1, 2021.