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Colorado - Technically Boulder is a separate metro from Denver and I would say it "outshines" Denver.
Florida - If you want to talk city proper, then Jacksonville is the largest city and I don't think any would say it "outshines" the other cities in Florida
Alabama - Birmingham is the largest metro, but Huntsville definitely "outshines" it
North Carolina - Charlotte is the largest metro and I would say Raleigh "outshines" it
Sometimes the mentality with metro areas is bigger is better but I don't think that is always the case. What are some states you can think of where the second largest metro outshines or is more desirable than the largest? Here are ones I can think of.
California: San Francisco > Los Angeles
Oklahoma: Tulsa > Oklahoma City
Ohio: Columbus > Cleveland
South Carolina: Charleston > Columbia
Texas: Austin > San Antonio (Not 1st and 2nd but a case of a smaller metro within a state overshadowing a larger one)
The most obvious one (and I'm surprised it hasn't been listed yet) is Wisconsin. Milwaukee is the largest city/metro in the state, but the state looks to its capital, Madison, as its gem. It definitely is more in line with the rest of the state than Milwaukee, which is more or less the northern terminus of greater Chicago-land.
A couple of others:
North Dakota - This one is sort of a Johnny-come-lately, but the Williston-Minot-western ND general area is outshining Bismarck and Fargo due to the burgeoning oil industry there. Bismarck itself arguably outshines Fargo.
Arkansas - Little Rock is the capital and largest city, but Northwest Arkansas (Fayetteville, Bentonville) is the hot spot of the state and the reason why the growth rate of AR has picked up recently. It's home to the Wally World HQ and the University of Arkansas.
Iowa - This might be the strangest state of all when it comes to cities and their "pull". Des Moines is the largest city of the state, but only about 20% of the state lives in the metro area (one of the smallest proportions of largest city/rest of the state of any state). Once you get about an hour away, people look to other metros as their hub. Sioux City is the hub of the northwestern part of the state, Council Bluffs/Omaha is the hub of the southwestern portion, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City anchors the east-central part of the state, and the Quad Cities for the far eastern part. Not one city seems to outshine the others.
Historically Columbus does not outshine Cleveland or Cincinnati by any stretch but in 2013, look at who is moving to what city in Ohio and it is quite clear Cbus is outshining them both.
Rapid City might outshine Sioux Falls in South Dakota with the nearby outdoor recreational attractions in the Black Hills and its tourism, but probably not for business.
I have heard that Lawrence has a better reputation as a place to both live and visit and also educationally (Univ of Kansas) than Wichita or Topeka in Kansas. It is also much closer to the Kansas City region than Wichita or Topeka.
In my opinion, Rapid City outshines Sioux Falls in almost every area (salaries and cost of living are probably the only advantages Sioux Falls has). I've spent time in Sioux Falls and have lived in Rapid City for two and a half years. Obviously, Rapid blows Sioux Falls out of the water for scenery and outdoor recreation, but I think it also has a better and more lively downtown area, better restaurants (in general, there are a couple places I enjoy in SF that Rapid doesn't have), friendlier people, and better weather.
I've heard the same about Lawrence, Kansas. It's a college town so I guess it would make sense.
The most obvious one (and I'm surprised it hasn't been listed yet) is Wisconsin. Milwaukee is the largest city/metro in the state, but the state looks to its capital, Madison, as its gem. It definitely is more in line with the rest of the state than Milwaukee, which is more or less the northern terminus of greater Chicago-land.
A couple of others:
North Dakota - This one is sort of a Johnny-come-lately, but the Williston-Minot-western ND general area is outshining Bismarck and Fargo due to the burgeoning oil industry there. Bismarck itself arguably outshines Fargo.
Arkansas - Little Rock is the capital and largest city, but Northwest Arkansas (Fayetteville, Bentonville) is the hot spot of the state and the reason why the growth rate of AR has picked up recently. It's home to the Wally World HQ and the University of Arkansas.
Iowa - This might be the strangest state of all when it comes to cities and their "pull". Des Moines is the largest city of the state, but only about 20% of the state lives in the metro area (one of the smallest proportions of largest city/rest of the state of any state). Once you get about an hour away, people look to other metros as their hub. Sioux City is the hub of the northwestern part of the state, Council Bluffs/Omaha is the hub of the southwestern portion, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City anchors the east-central part of the state, and the Quad Cities for the far eastern part. Not one city seems to outshine the others.
Have you actually been there? Yes there's an oil boom, but that doesn't necessarily make it a good place to live.
Good points. I have never lived in either, but lived most of my life until recently up north in Nebraska. It has always been a known fact that the St. Louis metro area is quite a bit bigger than the Kansas City metro area (nearly 1 million people different just as you noted). Not sure why anyone would try to discount that, census facts are truly the facts. That's not to say anything bad about KC, and people can have their opinions on which is "better", but there is no discounting that St. Louis metro is bigger.
Kansas City is larger, and to be honest with you, it does not have even close to 1 million less than St. Louis. Geez, have some dignity at least before you just go ahead and sit on St. Louis face like that.
The Bay Area does not "outshine" the Southland in most regards.
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