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Yea I'm pretty sure they're not going to ever make a new set of rankings at this point in time.
Side note: The Miami metro is the only metro area to have 3 cities ranked in the top 6 tiers. That's pretty awesome.
1-AAAA Unique rating for New York New York City
1-AAA Unique rating for Chicago and Los Angeles Chicago, Los Angeles
1-AA Major national business centers Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
1-A Other national business centers Baltimore, Cincinnati, Columbus, Denver, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, and Seattle
2-AA Major regional business centers Albany, Albuquerque, Allentown, Austin, Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Buffalo, Charlotte, Columbia, Dayton, Des Moines, El Paso, Grand Rapids, Harrisburg, Hartford, Honolulu, Jackson, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Lexington, Little Rock, Louisville, Madison, Memphis, Nashville, New Haven, Norfolk, Omaha, Orlando, Peoria, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Rochester, NY, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Shreveport, Spokane, Springfield, MA, Syracuse, Tampa, Toledo, Tucson, Tulsa, West Palm Beach, Wichita, and Youngstown
2-BB Secondary major regional business centers Akron, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Worth, Oakland, St. Paul, St. Petersburg, San Jose, Wilmington, DE
That 2AA category is way off. There are three or four tiers of cities all within that one category. What justification is there for having the likes of
Overall, it looks like a pretty good list for business centers. But, maybe a little dated. I would probably move CLE, STL, and PGH down to A.
Then I would move SEA and probably PHX up to AA.
The jump that Seattle and Phoenix have made in the last 10 years is undeniable. Secondary cities like Charlotte, Nashville, and Tampa have also made respectable leaps in economic prowess.
Charlotte probably belongs in the 1-AA tier in 2021. You could argue Vegas as well.
From 2-AA to 1-A, yes, but not 1-AA like Atlanta, which is still clearly head and shoulders above it in terms of importance. 1-AA cities tend to Beta to Alpha-minus level world cities.
The bigger argument for Baltimore is whether it should get the "2-BB" designator since San Jose, Fort Worth, and Wilmington are a similar distance away from a larger, more prominent city. The fact that historically it was a large city in its own right probably is what keeps its 1-A standing, and it feels borderline between regional and national in terms of importance/scale.
And quite honestly, Chicago's relevance is much closer to the AA cities (especially DC/SF/Miami) at this stage than LA, with only Los Angeles having some balance between the AA group and NYC. Its impressive bones and #3 metro ranking do keep it at AAA for now. But with Dallas having more corporate F500 HQs than Chicago, that's another strike against being in its own group.
Yea I'm pretty sure they're not going to ever make a new set of rankings at this point in time.
Side note: The Miami metro is the only metro area to have 3 cities ranked in the top 6 tiers. That's pretty awesome.
1-AAAA Unique rating for New York New York City
1-AAA Unique rating for Chicago and Los Angeles Chicago, Los Angeles
1-AA Major national business centers Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
1-A Other national business centers Baltimore, Cincinnati, Columbus, Denver, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, and Seattle
2-AA Major regional business centers Albany, Albuquerque, Allentown, Austin, Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Buffalo, Charlotte, Columbia, Dayton, Des Moines, El Paso, Grand Rapids, Harrisburg, Hartford, Honolulu, Jackson, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Lexington, Little Rock, Louisville, Madison, Memphis, Nashville, New Haven, Norfolk, Omaha, Orlando, Peoria, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Rochester, NY, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Shreveport, Spokane, Springfield, MA, Syracuse, Tampa, Toledo, Tucson, Tulsa, West Palm Beach, Wichita, and Youngstown
2-BB Secondary major regional business centers Akron, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Worth, Oakland, St. Paul, St. Petersburg, San Jose, Wilmington, DE
How is Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Columbus, and Indy a tier higher than Austin, Charlotte, Honolulu, Nashville, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Tampa? Most of the cities in A and AA are mixed matched. A lot of cities in AA should be in a lower category like Shreveport. Then some of the cities in the BB category should be way higher for example Fort Worth, Oakland, St.Paul, and San jose.
I agree AAAA and AAA, but the other lists are skewed.
From 2-AA to 1-A, yes, but not 1-AA like Atlanta, which is still clearly head and shoulders above it in terms of importance. 1-AA cities tend to Beta to Alpha-minus level world cities.
The bigger argument for Baltimore is whether it should get the "2-BB" designator since San Jose, Fort Worth, and Wilmington are a similar distance away from a larger, more prominent city. The fact that historically it was a large city in its own right probably is what keeps its 1-A standing, and it feels borderline between regional and national in terms of importance/scale.
And quite honestly, Chicago's relevance is much closer to the AA cities (especially DC/SF/Miami) at this stage than LA, with only Los Angeles having some balance between the AA group and NYC. Its impressive bones and #3 metro ranking do keep it at AAA for now. But with Dallas having more corporate F500 HQs than Chicago, that's another strike against being in its own group.
I find no list that puts Dallas Fortune 500's near Chicago. Despite Northern Legacy cities having lost some including NYC over the decade fot the cheap to lure/steal and grow some own. They are not dead and a endless aim at Chicago to try to defeat.
DFW may be ahead in Fortune 1000's? The chart has these harder to tell for me.
The same pattern of Chicago dropping and dying and Covid was not kind for sure. Having the same posters going after this city vs the South especially. It is the SF Whole Bay region that beats it.
How is Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Columbus, and Indy a tier higher than Austin, Charlotte, Honolulu, Nashville, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Tampa? Most of the cities in A and AA are mixed matched. A lot of cities in AA should be in a lower category like Shreveport. Then some of the cities in the BB category should be way higher for example Fort Worth, Oakland, St.Paul, and San jose.
I agree AAAA and AAA, but the other lists are skewed.
Those four cities are classed as "secondary major regional business centers" for the same reason Fort Lauderdale is: they're located close to larger business centers.
Fort Lauderdale is just up the road from Miami.
Arlington separates Fort Worth from Dallas.
Oakland is across the bay from San Francisco, which is also just up the peninsula from San Jose.
And St. Paul and Minneapolis are next-door neighbors.
The cities in question (St. Paul excepted) may function as urban or metropolitan centers in their own right, but they have historically taken a back seat to the bigger city nearby.
Austin, Nashville, and Charlotte are grouped wrong. They are larger business centers, especially Charlotte.
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