Why are some cities small with huge metros and vice versa?

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by ColdAilment

Dumb question, but what exactly is the difference between the CSA (Combined Statistical Area) and the MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area)?

It's the commuter threshold rate. For MSA,a county has to have 25% of the workforce commuting to an included county for inclusion into the MSA. For a CSA, it's only 15%.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by Howest2008

Nothing " some suburb's and satellite city have a strong economy and the working population don't commute into the dominate urban core city" Los Angeles and San Francisco being a prime example of this......

While on the other hand Dallas is a prime example of the strong dominate core city economy where Fort Worth Texas and all the other satellite cities and suburban area's commute into Dallas TX because theirs economies aren't strong enough to stand alone.

Actually there is a difference between CSA and MSA...

CSA - a grouping of adjacent metropolitan and/or micropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).

MSA -a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area.

[Amercity]

St.Louis is scary in the fact that our central city consitutes 12% of our metropolitan area's population.
Most rust belt cities come to mind when i think of cities that do not demand enough of the metropolitan areas population.

Also if you include San Jose and Oakland's metropolitan area (which for some reason is seperate) to San Francisco's metro then the central city of the metropolitan area is less then 20% of population