New El Paso - Las Cruces Combined Statistical Area defined by U.S. Office of Management and Budget (Alamo: 2013)

[Pink Jazz]

I made a thread in the past here suggesting the idea, and now it has become a reality:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/defa...013/b13-01.pdf

The El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area now form the newly-created El Paso-Las Cruces Combined Statistical Area.

[SW Desert Dweller]

They also combined Albuquerque with Santa Fe and Las Vegas, NM. If they are going to go that distance from Albuquerque, they might as well include Alamogordo, T or C, and Deming (which does not make sense, either) for our CSA. I believe El Paso and Las Cruces are a much more logical CSA than Albuquerque/Santa Fe/Las Vegas. Plus, Ciudad Juarez (1/3 of all retail business) should be considered when companies look at the CSA and consider doing business and relocation to the El Paso/Las Cruces CSA.

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by SW Desert Dweller

They also combined Albuquerque with Santa Fe and Las Vegas, NM. If they are going to go that distance from Albuquerque, they might as well include Alamogordo, T or C, and Deming (which does not make sense, either) for our CSA. I believe El Paso and Las Cruces are a much more logical CSA than Albuquerque/Santa Fe/Las Vegas. Plus, Ciudad Juarez (1/3 of all retail business) should be considered when companies look at the CSA and consider doing business and relocation to the El Paso/Las Cruces CSA.

Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Combined Statistical Areas only include parts that are within the United States.

[mistabinks]

I wonder if this will affect television markets. UTEP would benefit greatly in conference realignment if our DMA was higher.

[katzpaw]

Combined Statistical Areas are not arbitrary but are based on commuter patterns found in the 2010 Census. In addition to actual changes in commuter patterns there were also changes to definitions and thresholds - resulting in an increase in the number of CSA's from 128 to 168. I believe the definition is at least 15% employment interchange between the MSAs (15% work in the other MSA). In El Paso's case this is easy as the Las Cruces MSA includes Sunland Park, Santa Teresa, & Anthony NM.

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by mistabinks

I wonder if this will affect television markets. UTEP would benefit greatly in conference realignment if our DMA was higher.

Las Cruces was always part of the El Paso DMA as far as I know. The same is true with Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

Now, some DMA's don't make much sense. For example, Mohave County, Arizona is in the Phoenix DMA yet has more economic ties to the Las Vegas area than it does to the Phoenix area. In fact, Mohave County was added to the Las Vegas CSA in the new 2013 delineations.

[SW Desert Dweller]

The point I was making is that I am not so sure more people commute from Las Vegas, New Mexico, to Santa Fe (67 miles through Glorieta Pass in often snow covered Sangre de Cristo Mtns.) than from Alamogordo to Las Cruces or Deming to Las Cruces (same distance as Las Vegas to Santa Fe, and much easier drives).

I also realize the US Census does not consider international conurbations in listing its CSAs; my point is that international commerce should somehow be considered (as it is when Costco decides to build a much larger building in Bellingham, Washington, near the Canadian border).

I agree with Mistabinks that a larger television market ranking changes public perception, especially in sports conference realignments.

[SW Desert Dweller]

I also realize that the US Census adheres to certain criteria. That does not mean they always get it right (and no, I am not a government hater ;-)

Check out this related thread:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/gener...atistical.html

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Combined Statistical Areas only include parts that are within the United States.

That doesn't really make much sense when you consider how many people from Juarez come here to go to schools, shop, use the hospitals, work and everything else. There are more Chihuahua license plates than New Mexico on our streets.

[mistabinks]

Originally Posted by malamute

There are more Chihuahua license plates than New Mexico on our streets.

Source?