On Nov. 4, voters in Miami, Florida, approved Referendum 4, which amended the city charter and established lifetime term limits for the mayor and city commissioners. The vote was 79.1% to 20.9%.

Before the measure, Miami mayors and city commissioners could serve two consecutive four-year terms and could run again after a four-year break. As a result of the measure, individuals can serve no more than two terms over their lifetime, excluding instances when an individual is elected to fill a vacancy. 

As of 2025, 59 of the top 100 most populous U.S. cities have some kind of mayoral term limit. Of these:

• In 30 cities, mayors can serve two consecutive four-year terms and then may run again after a four-year break. 
• In eight cities, including Miami, mayors can serve two four-year terms.
• In seven cities, mayors can serve three consecutive four-year terms and can run again after a four-year break.
• In four cities, mayors can serve four-year terms with a 12-year lifetime limit. 
• Ten cities have other term limits for mayors.

Seventeen cities have lifetime limits, and 42 cities allow mayors to run again after a specific amount of time. Of the cities with lifetime term limits for mayor:

• Mayors in eight cities can serve two four-year terms
• Mayors in five cities can serve three four-year terms
• Four cities have some other lifetime term limit

As of 2025, nine of the ten largest cities in the United States impose term limits on elected municipal officials, according to U.S. Term Limits, which, according to its website, "advocates for term limits at all levels of government. The one city that doesn't is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

To learn more about term limits in the U.S., click here. Plus, click here and here to see our lists of statewide and local ballot measures related to term limits.