2012 State & Metro Population Estimates (compare, highest, Chicago, similarities)

[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

If you see a Mack truck on the highway, it was built in Lower Macungie Township, just west of Allentown.

Didn't they move their headquarters out of Allentown in 2009? While they still may be manufacturing there, that move does not seem like it would come from an area that is reinventing itself and creating a more healthy economy as couldntthinkofaclevername said.

[couldntthinkofaclevername]

Gnutella, I get what you're saying. My reasoning behind what I said is really because of the planned Scranton to Hoboken railroad. I think that could put Scranton on the map again and open it up to a lot of places it wouldn't be connected to normally. I'm not saying it'll be huge or be on the same level as other cities in PA but I think it could easily get up to 100-150K in population in Scranton alone before it's all said and done, and it will certainly get more visitors than it currently has.

You're probably right in your rankings. I'm surprised you ranked Erie so low though.

[couldntthinkofaclevername]

Originally Posted by Mike1306

Didn't they move their headquarters out of Allentown in 2009? While they still may be manufacturing there, that move does not seem like it would come from an area that is reinventing itself and creating a more healthy economy as couldntthinkofaclevername said.

They moved the headquarters but everything that Mack produces is made in PA.

And I don't think you understand what "creating a more healthy economy" means. Here's a sentence you will hear to describe just about every single former industrial giant major city in PA. "Today, its economy is based mostly on technology and *insert other things depending on the city*

Much more healthy than relying on either one industry or only industry and nothing else.

They've also attracted numerous companies into their city, and continue to do so with the project going on downtown that is a part of the Phantoms relocating there.

[Gnutella]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

Maybe that truck is carrying Yuengling Beer made just north of Allentown, though believe it is out of the MSA actually

Actually, west of Allentown. Yuengling is headquartered in Pottsville, which is in Schuylkill County.

[Gnutella]

Originally Posted by Mike1306

Didn't they move their headquarters out of Allentown in 2009? While they still may be manufacturing there, that move does not seem like it would come from an area that is reinventing itself and creating a more healthy economy as couldntthinkofaclevername said.

Mack was bought by Volvo, which already had its North American headquarters in Greensboro, NC. Volvo consolidated the Mack HQ in with theirs. It doesn't change the fact that every Mack truck on the road is built in Lower Macungie Township.

[adavi215]

I'm glad to see Charlotte at over 1.8million and NC close to 10million. I think MD decade we'll pass GA in population.

[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Mack was bought by Volvo, which already had its North American headquarters in Greensboro, NC. Volvo consolidated the Mack HQ in with theirs. It doesn't change the fact that every Mack truck on the road is built in Lower Macungie Township.

My original response to couldn't was in regards to his multiple posts about every city in Pennsylvania, that's every city, is reinventing itself and growing and coming back stronger, etc.
Which is all just homerism at it's finest.
I have no doubt that some PA cities that were hit hard are coming back, and some coming back fine. Allentown still has a long way to go and there are some cities that are not coming back strong at all.
I never said anything about where Macks were assembled but losing the headquarters can not be looked at as a positive now can it?

[brent6969]

Originally Posted by adavi215

I'm glad to see Charlotte at over 1.8million and NC close to 10million. I think MD decade we'll pass GA in population.

Don't think so, ATL is too much of a beast.

[adavi215]

Originally Posted by brent6969

Don't think so, ATL is too much of a beast.

To clear up my statement I meant to say NC will pass GA this decade. While Atlanta is definitely a beast, it only gives GA a 100k lead over NC. Besides the Piedmont crescent NC also has fayetteville, asheville, and Wilmington. Additionally Jacksonville and Greenville are growing pretty rapidly. GA still has Columbus, Augusta, Macon, and Savannah I understand but it appears the other metropolitan areas in NC are outpacing the other areas in GA. So it's the other smaller metropolitan areas in NC that give it the advantage over GA and not the major metropolitan areas.

[rnc2mbfl]

Originally Posted by brent6969

Don't think so, ATL is too much of a beast.

While both states are growing fast, North Carolina is growing at a faster rate and added more people than Georgia since the last Census. The two states are separated by about 109,000. Georgia jumped MI in the last year and NC will jump it sometime this year. While I don't think the two states will switch places relative to each other by the "technical" mid decade (2015), it's easy to see that it can happen before the end of the decade. Every long range projection that I have seen through 2030 puts NC above Georgia by then by a couple of hundred thousand. So, given that NC has been growing at a faster rate since 2000 and is currently at approximately +20,000 each year over Georgia's growth numbers, one can easily map out how that can happen.