Let's say, if there were 4 cities, A, B, C and D
- 1,000 people live in city A.
- 2,000 people live in city B.
- 3,000 people live in city C.
- 4,000 people live in city D.
- The second largest number of people lives in city C.
The sentence above would be considered fine.
What if there were only 3 cities, A, B, and C, where now we could use the word "intermediate".
- 1,000 people live in city A.
- 2,000 people live in city B.
- 3,000 people live in city C.
1) The second largest number of people lives in city B.
OR
2) The intermediate number of people lives in city B.
So the question is: which one is better?
Or if there's a better way to express the intention, please suggest it.
Thanks :)