2015 County/Metro Estimate Predictions?

[SteelCityRising]

Wow. Columbus is like a hungry, hungry hippo!

I already knew it surpassed Cleveland in city proper population a long time ago; however, I didn't realize that its home county (Franklin) was just about the same size as Cleveland's home county of Cuyahoga, NOR did I realize that the Columbus MSA is about to pass the Cleveland MSA. Columbus is truly like a Sunbelt boomtown in the middle of Ohio. Hard to believe Cleveland, which was probably once the state's most important city, will soon be the state's third-most important city.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Wow. Columbus is like a hungry, hungry hippo!

I already knew it surpassed Cleveland in city proper population a long time ago; however, I didn't realize that its home county (Franklin) was just about the same size as Cleveland's home county of Cuyahoga, NOR did I realize that the Columbus MSA is about to pass the Cleveland MSA. Columbus is truly like a Sunbelt boomtown in the middle of Ohio. Hard to believe Cleveland, which was probably once the state's most important city, will soon be the state's third-most important city.

Depends on your definition of "important." If you think population means "important" then I guess so. Don't think that's very sound logic though, it just depends on what arbitrary lines you're using. For example, Cleveland's CSA is 3.5 million. Columbus is 2.3 million. Cincinnati is 2.2 million. Does that mean that Northeast Ohio is 35% more important than Central Ohio? The cities are all pretty similarly sized in reality. "Importance" will depend on what you're looking for. Is Dallas more important than San Francisco because it has 3 million more people in its MSA?

[Soonhun]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Depends on your definition of "important." If you think population means "important" then I guess so. Don't think that's very sound logic though, it just depends on what arbitrary lines you're using. For example, Cleveland's CSA is 3.5 million. Columbus is 2.3 million. Cincinnati is 2.2 million. Does that mean that Northeast Ohio is 35% more important than Central Ohio? The cities are all pretty similarly sized in reality. "Importance" will depend on what you're looking for. Is Dallas more important than San Francisco because it has 3 million more people in its MSA?

MSAs? Both San Francisco and Dallas, the MSAs, are important. That said, DFW has a larger population and economy. CSA, it would be a different story, as San Francisco's is much larger in both regards and encompasses San Jose and all of Silicon Valley.

[bjimmy24]

That's my whole point: population doesn't necessarily have anything to do with a sense of "importance" and depending on how you cut it up, you can tell whatever story you want to.

[216facts]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

That's my whole point: population doesn't necessarily have anything to do with a sense of "importance" and depending on how you cut it up, you can tell whatever story you want to.

So true. There is so much available data on population, jobs, etc. and so many ways to parse it. You can tell any kind of story you want. Pick the proper time frame, draw the right geographical boundaries, and you can show practically anything.

[wrightflyer]

Originally Posted by 216facts

So true. There is so much available data on population, jobs, etc. and so many ways to parse it. You can tell any kind of story you want. Pick the proper time frame, draw the right geographical boundaries, and you can show practically anything.

What every marketing student learns in every college's Marketing 101 course.

Or just your general statistics class too.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Wow. Columbus is like a hungry, hungry hippo!

I already knew it surpassed Cleveland in city proper population a long time ago; however, I didn't realize that its home county (Franklin) was just about the same size as Cleveland's home county of Cuyahoga, NOR did I realize that the Columbus MSA is about to pass the Cleveland MSA. Columbus is truly like a Sunbelt boomtown in the middle of Ohio. Hard to believe Cleveland, which was probably once the state's most important city, will soon be the state's third-most important city.

I think importance is based on more than just population. Yes, it is likely that Cleveland will become the smallest metro, but it will still be economically on par with the other 2-Cs (as far as GDP, etc. goes) for
the foreseeable future, and I think economics is more important in terms of showing where a place stands relative to peers.