A satellite town or satellite city is a concept in urban planning that refers essentially to smaller metropolitan areas which are located somewhat near to, but are mostly independent of, larger metropolitan areas.

Satellite cities are small or medium-sized cities near a large metropolis, that:

In the United States, the easiest way to tell if a community is a satellite city or some other type of development (see below) is to refer to the List of United States urban areas, to see if it has its own independent urbanized area or is considered to be part of the urbanized area of its larger neighbor. This rule has exceptions, but should generally be followed.

Satellite cities are different from and are sometimes confused with the following related patterns of development.

Satellite cities differ from suburbs in that they have distinct employment bases, commutersheds, and cultural offerings from the central metropolis, as well as an independent municipal government. Satellite cities are not bedroom communities.