Town vs. City

Difference between Town and City

Town and City are places classified on the basis of residences and human settlements. Out of such places- cities are densest and largest than the two- towns and villages. Towns are smaller than cities yet larger than villages. In some countries, both the words town and cities are interchangeable. In different countries, different laws classify the criterion of a city and town. For instance, what is town in UK may be end up being a city in Brazil.


It is an area which as stated is larger than any village but smaller than a city. In English language, town is described as a residential area where, unlike cities, are no fortifications or walls. In India, contrary to any other country, population is a deciding factor to declare a place as a city or town. Any human settlement with over 20,000 inhabitants is declared town in India.


City is bigger than village or town, yet area is not just only a deciding factor to declare a residential place as a city. In ancient times, a place with a cathedral was called a city in Europe. In present days, a Royal Charter is enough to term a place as city in UK. However, a place with better housing schemes, transportation facilities and sanitation can be termed as a city. A residential settlement with well governed administrative and legal departments and well defined industrial, commercial & residential area is sophisticated enough to classify as a city.

Nowadays, cities are booming and exploding fast resulting in merging to other cities. This is called formation of large megalopolis. However, before you classify any place a city or village, dig deeper into the location of place and its history to justify its designation.