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The article features a study on carbon storage in soil in urban areas in the United States. Data available from measurements in Baltimore, Maryland are used to assess intercity variability of soil organic carbon (SOC) pools of six cities including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Oakland, and Syracuse. The net effect of urban land use conversion on SOC pools for the cities were calculated. The National Land Cover Database was used to extrapolate total SOC pools for each of the lower 48 US states and a comparison of these totals with aboveground totals of carbon storage by trees was done. The city analysis showed the importance of accounting for soils beneath impervious surfaces and in remnant patches of native vegetation.