# List of cities in Schleswig-Holstein by population

The following list sorts all cities and communes in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein with a population of more than 15,000. As of December 31, 2017, 35 cities fulfill this criterion and are listed here. This list refers only to the population of individual municipalities within their defined limits, which does not include other municipalities or suburban areas within urban agglomerations.

## List

The following table lists the 35 cities and communes in Schleswig-Holstein with a population of at least 15,000 on December 31, 2017, as estimated by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany. A city is displayed in bold if it is a state or federal capital.
* The city rank by population as of December 31, 2017, as estimated by the Federal Statistical Office of German
* The city name
* The name of the district (Landkreis) in which the city lies (some cities are districts on their own called urban districts)
* The city population as of December 31, 2017, as estimated by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany
* The city population as of May 9, 2011, as enumerated by the 2011 European Union census
* The city land area as of December 31, 2017
* The city population density as of December 31, 2017 (residents per unit of land area)
| 2017 Rank | City | district | 2017 estimate | 2011 Census | 2017 land area | 2017 pop. density |
| 1 | Kiel | urban district | 247,943 | 235,782 | 119 km² | 2,090/km² |
| 2 | Lübeck | urban district | 216,318 | 210,305 | 214 km² | 1,010/km² |
| 3 | Flensburg | urban district | 88,519 | 82,258 | 56.7 km² | 1,560/km² |
| 4 | Neumünster | urban district | 79,335 | 77,249 | 71.6 km² | 1,108/km² |
| 5 | Norderstedt | Segeberg | 78,679 | 73,913 | 58.1 km² | 1,354/km² |
| 6 | Elmshorn | Pinneberg (district) | 49,618 | 47,459 | 21.4 km² | 2,322/km² |
| 7 | Pinneberg | Pinneberg (district) | 43,155 | 41,137 | 21.5 km² | 2,003/km² |
| 8 | Wedel | Pinneberg (district) | 33,347 | 31,248 | 33.8 km² | 986.0/km² |
| 9 | Ahrensburg | Stormarn (district) | 33,305 | 31,380 | 35.3 km² | 943.5/km² |
| 10 | Itzehoe | Steinburg | 31,848 | 30,885 | 28.0 km² | 1,136/km² |
| 11 | Geesthacht | Herzogtum Lauenburg | 30,407 | 28,755 | 33.3 km² | 914.5/km² |
| 12 | Rendsburg | Rendsburg-Eckernförde | 28,789 | 27,594 | 23.7 km² | 1,213/km² |
| 13 | Henstedt-Ulzburg | Segeberg | 28,056 | 26,658 | 39.5 km² | 710.8/km² |
| 14 | Reinbek | Stormarn (district) | 27,409 | 26,169 | 31.2 km² | 877.6/km² |
| 15 | Schleswig | Schleswig-Flensburg | 25,118 | 23,701 | 24.3 km² | 1,034/km² |
| 16 | Bad Oldesloe | Stormarn (district) | 24,964 | 24,263 | 52.6 km² | 474.6/km² |
| 17 | Husum | Nordfriesland (district) | 23,274 | 22,215 | 25.8 km² | 901.7/km² |
| 18 | Eckernförde | Rendsburg-Eckernförde | 21,979 | 21,943 | 21.4 km² | 1,028/km² |
| 19 | Heide | Dithmarschen | 21,699 | 20,768 | 32.0 km² | 678.7/km² |
| 20 | Kaltenkirchen | Segeberg | 21,386 | 19,709 | 23.1 km² | 925.8/km² |
| 21 | Quickborn | Pinneberg (district) | 21,056 | 19,727 | 43.2 km² | 487.7/km² |
| 22 | Bad Schwartau | Ostholstein | 19,997 | 19,436 | 18.4 km² | 1,087/km² |
| 23 | Schenefeld | Pinneberg (district) | 19,141 | 18,197 | 10.0 km² | 1,916/km² |
| 24 | Mölln | Herzogtum Lauenburg | 18,928 | 18,398 | 25.1 km² | 755.6/km² |
| 25 | Uetersen | Pinneberg (district) | 18,429 | 17,456 | 11.4 km² | 1,612/km² |
| 26 | Glinde | Stormarn (district) | 18,365 | 16,640 | 11.2 km² | 1,637/km² |
| 27 | Halstenbek | Pinneberg (district) | 17,700 | 16,376 | 12.6 km² | 1,407/km² |
| 28 | Bad Segeberg | Segeberg | 17,273 | 16,592 | 18.9 km² | 915.4/km² |
| 29 | Stockelsdorf | Ostholstein | 17,071 | 16,517 | 56.7 km² | 301.1/km² |
| 30 | Eutin | Ostholstein | 16,946 | 16,449 | 41.4 km² | 409.3/km² |
| 31 | Schwarzenbek | Herzogtum Lauenburg | 16,374 | 14,974 | 11.6 km² | 1,416/km² |
| 32 | Bargteheide | Stormarn (district) | 16,045 | 15,164 | 15.8 km² | 1,014/km² |
| 33 | Preetz | Plön (district) | 16,041 | 15,471 | 14.4 km² | 1,114/km² |
| 34 | Ratekau | Ostholstein | 15,285 | 15,217 | 59.6 km² | 256.4/km² |
| 35 | Neustadt in Holstein | Ostholstein | 15,187 | 15,024 | 19.7 km² | 769.4/km² |