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I wonder which county in the metro will be the first to surpass the 500k mark? I do believe that in 30 years, that the metro will exceed 5 million! I agree with everything urbancharlotte said, upgrading the infrastructure is definately a must and that will be a more determining factor in attracting more newcomers to the Charlotte area, considering people are still moving here right now in spite of the higher unemployment!
Actually, Wake has never had more people than Mecklenburg, but almost all projections show that it will surpass Mecklenburg within the next four years because of its higher growth rate.
Raleigh is growing at 5.14% while Charlotte is growing at 3.59%; Charlotte's advantage is that it's already larger.
Raleigh's disadvantage is that it shares growth with Durham, or else I would definitely agree Wake will surpass Mecklenburg in population.
If Wake does surpass Mecklenburg, I don't think it would be a significant amount, nor do I believe it would stay that way. They would fluctuate more than anything.
Raleigh is growing at 5.14% while Charlotte is growing at 3.59%; Charlotte's advantage is that it's already larger.
Raleigh's disadvantage is that it shares growth with Durham, or else I would definitely agree Wake will surpass Mecklenburg in population.
If Wake does surpass Mecklenburg, I don't think it would be a significant amount, nor do I believe it would stay that way. They would fluctuate more than anything.
Durham's growth, which is healthy but not nearly as rapid, isn't at Wake's expense. If that were the case, you'd expect to see Wake County growing more slowly than Mecklenburg but it's not; clearly Wake is really at no disadvantage. Whether you're looking at decennial or annual growth rates, it's clear that Wake County is getting ready to surpass Mecklenburg in population. It will probably stay that way for the foreseeable future also since it's a good bit larger in size.
Raleigh is growing at 5.14% while Charlotte is growing at 3.59%; Charlotte's advantage is that it's already larger.
Raleigh's disadvantage is that it shares growth with Durham, or else I would definitely agree Wake will surpass Mecklenburg in population.
If Wake does surpass Mecklenburg, I don't think it would be a significant amount, nor do I believe it would stay that way. They would fluctuate more than anything.
As Mutiny said, couldn't you say Wake's advantage is that Wake is larger than Mecklenburg (by almost 300 square miles)?
And wouldn't you say Mecklenburg "shares" growth with Cabarrus, Union, York, Gaston etc. moreso than Wak does with Durham, Orange, etc? Union, York and Gaston all have populations of 200K+ in the Charlotte metro. Only Durham has a population of 200K+ in the RDU metro.
Durham's growth, which is healthy but not nearly as rapid, isn't at Wake's expense. If that were the case, you'd expect to see Wake County growing more slowly than Mecklenburg but it's not; clearly Wake is really at no disadvantage. Whether you're looking at decennial or annual growth rates, it's clear that Wake County is getting ready to surpass Mecklenburg in population. It will probably stay that way for the foreseeable future also since it's a good bit larger in size.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoPhils
As Mutiny said, couldn't you say Wake's advantage is that Wake is larger than Mecklenburg (by almost 300 square miles)?
And wouldn't you say Mecklenburg "shares" growth with Cabarrus, Union, York, Gaston etc. moreso than Wak does with Durham, Orange, etc? Union, York and Gaston all have populations of 200K+ in the Charlotte metro. Only Durham has a population of 200K+ in the RDU metro.
I'm saying that while Wake is growing the fastest, a growth of 5.00%+ isn't going to continue forever. It will eventually slow, as will Mecklenburg. This is when the two will fluctuate with which is larger. Mecklenburg being a smaller county by area hasn't/wont' stop people from moving there.
Raleigh and Durham being two different metropolitan areas is still going to cause it to be one step behind Charlotte's metropolitan area. Cabarrus, Union, York, and Gaston counties aren't in it's own metro.
Wake can continue to add people, however it's only creating a larger gap between what a city/county of it's size should offer to it's people. This is where Raleigh needs to look at Austin's growth and the developments it's spawn.
Wake will eventually surpass and remain higher than Mecklenburg in population due to the large gap in land area. With the growth rates being similar (Wake slightly higher), it's just inevitable.
As stated, Wake will surpass Mecklenburg in population within a few years, and likely remain the largest NC county for the rest of our earthly lives. Yes, Mecklenburg will remain more urban than Wake because of its higher density for a long time, but Wake has more land within its borders to fit all the newcomers in. Mecklenburg still has a good amount of undeveloped land to place its newcomers, but Wake has far more.
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