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This list made my head explode. Seattle & Vegas ahead of Boston, Houston, or Dallas? Philadelphia 25th?!?!
They wee ranking by industries and how important that is the the national economy. And yes you could make a strong argument Seattle has more general national importance the Dallas or Houston. Just because they are larger cities don't make then more important. I mean besides oil what else does Dallas have?
They wee ranking by industries and how important that is the the national economy. And yes you could make a strong argument Seattle has more general national importance the Dallas or Houston. Just because they are larger cities don't make then more important. I mean besides oil what else does Dallas have?
Well Dallas and Houston are energy centers. Not just oil and natural gas. But solar, wind, water, and electricity. These are very important to the nation.
They wee ranking by industries and how important that is the the national economy. And yes you could make a strong argument Seattle has more general national importance the Dallas or Houston. Just because they are larger cities don't make then more important. I mean besides oil what else does Dallas have?
The same could be said about Seattle...outside of tech, mainly Microsoft, what does Seattle have?
Since Spade already covered Dallas & Houston, I'll cover Boston. Boston is as big of a tech center as Seattle, the #1 life sciences city in the country, #2 financial services center in the Americas, and is a major innovation center.
The same could be said about Seattle...outside of tech, mainly Microsoft, what does Seattle have?
Since Spade already covered Dallas & Houston, I'll cover Boston. Boston is as big of a tech center as Seattle, the #1 life sciences city in the country, #2 financial services center in the Americas, and is a major innovation center.
I think also that this silly list dramatically understates the influence that Boston has through its institutions of higher education - no metro area comes close to having a similar concentration of stellar universities across so many disciplines. To put it mildly, a sizable portion of the world's great thinkers and elite were very much reared intellectually in Boston - a somewhat smaller amount go to Seattle to eat fried fish in the rain and potentially see whales. I will grant you that millions more visit Las Vegas, but they generally return to middle America minus thousands of dollars and in dire need of antibiotics. Probably a bit less of an "influential" experience.
And putting Rochester in front of Philadelphia was cute. Out of curiosity, was Branson, Missouri #26 on your list?
I think also that this silly list dramatically understates the influence that Boston has through its institutions of higher education - no metro area comes close to having a similar concentration of stellar universities across so many disciplines. To put it mildly, a sizable portion of the world's great thinkers and elite were very much reared intellectually in Boston - a somewhat smaller amount go to Seattle to eat fried fish in the rain and potentially see whales. I will grant you that millions more visit Las Vegas, but they generally return to middle America minus thousands of dollars and in dire need of antibiotics. Probably a bit less of an "influential" experience.
And putting Rochester in front of Philadelphia was cute. Out of curiosity, was Branson, Missouri #26 on your list?
Yeah I totally forgot about Philadelphia's role in the pharmaceutical world. I should've placed Philly higher on my list. But Rochester's influence in American society can't be overlooked. While it has tarnished quite a bit lately, Rochester is where Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch & Lomb were started and developed. Try to imagine American life without those, each of which revolutionalized how Americans live their day-to-day lives. Even if using a Ricoh machine, for example, many people still make "Xerox" into a verb anytime they're photocopying a document. And while Kodak has pretty much zero influence on our society today, for decades that wasn't the case.
And no, Branson has zero influence on American society. It's a popular entertainment destination, almost like a live entertainment museum, but that's about it. Decisions on American entertainment are still made in places like Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, and Nashville, not Branson.
We all know which are the 25 most populous cities, or the 25 most populous metropolitan areas. But which ones would you say loom the largest on the national stage? Some smaller cities have BIG cultural influence (like Las Vegas or New Orleans) and some BIG cities keep a fairly low profile for their size (like Phoenix).
How would you rank the top 25 Most Influential Cities? Of course it's purely subjective. Here's my list:
New York
Washington, D.C.
Los Angeles
Chicago
San Francisco
Boston
Houston
Atlanta
Dallas
Las Vegas
Philadelphia
Seattle
Denver
Miami
Minneapolis
Phoenix
Portland
Detroit
Austin
New Orleans
Nashville
St. Louis
Cleveland
Orlando
Baltimore
By way of commentary:
(1-5) have Significant Global Influence
(6-15) have Significant National Influence
(16-25) have Moderate National Influence
I don't think I'd put Austin in the Top 25. It's a great city, but I would argue that in addition to all of your choices listed, that San Diego, Tampa (maybe), Indianapolis, Kansas City, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus (maybe), Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, and Milwaukee would be more influential.
I'm having a tough time choose 25 out of a top 34.
Since Spade already covered Dallas & Houston, I'll cover Boston. Boston is as big of a tech center as Seattle, the #1 life sciences city in the country, #2 financial services center in the Americas, and is a major innovation center.
Just do a list of the top cities in GDP. That's ultimately what makes a city influential -- money!
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