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I started to add Baldwin County in addition to Mobile but since the census bureau doesn't count Baldwin County as part of Mobile's metro (although that never made sense to me), I won't use it here (although you can if you want in your comments)
So.... How do these two medium-sized Deep South metros stack up against each other? I have always viewed them as peers. Which metro wins based on;
Culture:
Nightlife:
History:
Education:
Housing/Neighborhoods/Suburbs:
Economy:
Shopping/Retail:
Dining:
Infrastructure:
Proximity to major (1+ million) metro areas:
Future Outlook:
I think I'll wait for a few comments on this before I post what I think.
Their CSAs are closer to each other in population, both having 650-700K people. I find it interesting that all the growth in the Mobile area is in Baldwin County, which is part of the larger CSA and gives it a growth rate of 6.5%; the MSA actually registers slightly negative growth. Jackson's MSA growth may be sluggish at 1.5% but at least it registers a small gain. Jackson's CSA growth is basically a trickle at less than 1%.
Culture: Depends on what culture you prefer; if you prefer delta culture, Jackson. Mobile is great though; I think overall I'd slightly move the needle towards Mobile but honestly toss up.
Nightlife: Mobile
History: Not familiar enough with the history of either city- I'll say historical importance may swing towards Mobile
Education: Jackson
Housing/Neighborhoods/Suburbs:I'm more familiar with Jackson- the only area I know outside Mobile is Fairhope, which I love- but gonna just randomly say Jackson, have no clue really on either.
Economy: Toss up, but I think Mobile's future may be brighter
Shopping/Retail: Jackson, but haven't really done much shopping in Mobile
Dining:Jackson
Infrastructure: Toss up
Proximity to major (1+ million) metro areas: Jackson is my halfway point between Memphis and NOLA; I think Mobile is the same distance from NOLA as Jackson is?
Future Outlook: Mobile, but Jackson could certainly reinvent itself.
I'm not super familiar with Mobile (only been a handful of times); I know Jackson a lot better, I actually like Jackson (it gets a lot of smack). I'd personally be happy to live in either city, but I think I'd prefer Mobile just cause of the coast.
I’ll go with Mobile. Nothing but positive things to say. Has its own Mardi Gras. Fun town. Great food. On the water, and close to fantastic beaches. Easy drive to Biloxi, New Orleans and Pensacola. Solid colleges. Great hotels. A cool tunnel and battleship. Most of what I would say about Jackson would inadvertently come off as less than polite, bless my heart.
Culture: If you are talking museums here, I'd say they are evenly matched, but I'd give the slight edge to Jackson because of the new Civil Rights museum. For architecture, Mobile. For general local culture, I'd go Mobile because of the influences of the rich, unique Gulf coast culture which is its own subset of the South.
Nightlife: Mobile with Dauphin St. (mini-Bourbon...or very mini-Bourbon)
History: Mobile. Really appreciate the French and Spanish influences going back to the days of exploration. Plus its role in the history of the first Mardi Gras.
Education: Not sure about K-12, but for higher ed: I'd give the edge to Mobile because of the presence of a research institution, Univ. of South AL. I'd say Millsaps and Spring Hill are about on par with each other.
Housing/Neighborhoods/Suburbs: For suburbs - Jackson. Areas around the Reservoir are really desirable areas to live (Ridgeland and Madison), plus you also have Brandon and Flowood. (I'm leaving out the Eastern Shore, otherwise it would be a closer call to me).
Economy: I believe Mobile has more foreign investment and then you have a recent marquee economic development with Airbus opening its assembly line. But then Jackson is the principal city for an entire state vs. Mobile which is overshadowed economically in some ways from Birmingham, New Orleans, and Huntsville. This needs some more thought...
Shopping/Retail: Jackson - Northpark and Renaissance at Colony Park beat Bel Air and Legacy Village to me.
Dining: I've eaten at some great places in Jackson but I'm giving the overall edge to Mobile because of the Gulf coastal and Cajun/creole influences that are decently highlighted
Infrastructure: A wash as it relates to interstate travel and access
Proximity to major (1+ million) metro areas: I guess if looking at 1M+ then it would have to go to Jackson, being about 3 hours from New Orleans and Memphis each
Future Outlook: I'd bet on Mobile - I think it has a lot of underutilized potential. The trouble is that the Eastern Shore is the regional hot spot, so Mobile needs to figure out how to take advantage of that for itself.
Culture: Mobile
Nightlife: Mobile
History: Mobile has been more important historically
Education: Seems like Jackson is stronger locally, Mobile regionally if including proximate regions.
Housing/Neighborhoods/Suburbs: Mobile
Economy: Mobile
Shopping/Retail: Mobile
Dining: Mobile
Infrastructure: Mobile
Proximity to major (1+ million) metro areas: Mobile is closer to New Orleans, but edge to Jackson for being closer to Memphis.
Future Outlook: Definitely Mobile. Jackson is beaten down by the competition. It should be competing with Birmingham and Memphis but in reality it competes better with smaller metros like Chattanooga.
Future Outlook: Definitely Mobile. Jackson is beaten down by the competition. It should be competing with Birmingham and Memphis but in reality it competes better with smaller metros like Chattanooga.
You can't be serious. Mobile was founded in 1702 and had a head start on all the cities in Gulf Coast states except New Orleans; at the onset of the Civil War, it was the fourth-largest city in the entire Confederacy. Given its rich history and geographical location, there's no reason it shouldn't be at least as big as Jacksonville or New Orleans. While Jackson hasn't exactly been leaving its competition in the dust, there's no way you can say with a straight face it is "beaten down by the competition" when Mobile is Alabama's oldest and formerly largest city and has been surpassed by Birmingham (which wasn't even founded until after the Civil War), Huntsville, and Montgomery in municipal population and Huntsville surpassed it this decade in metropolitan population and Birmingham, of course, passed that threshold long ago. And as far as other Gulf Coast MSAs go, Pensacola and Lafayette have already passed Mobile with Corpus Christi, Brownsville, and Gulfport all nipping on its heels, if they haven't already leaped ahead of it. Looking at the larger Southeast, in 2010 Mobile's metro area was also larger than that of Port St. Lucie, Asheville, and Myrtle Beach but a decade later, they've left Mobile in the dust.
To be fair, Jackson has also been knocked down a few pegs in the pecking order in the Southeast in recent years, but it is still numero uno in its state and since 2010, it has only been surpassed by three other metros in the Southeast (Palm Bay, Augusta, and Durham); Chattanooga is next in line to leapfrog it but it has 30K less people so that probably won't happen for a few years, barring any change in the composition of either metro. Given all of its advantages, I'm also tempted to say that Mobile wins when it comes to future outlook but I don't know what it's been doing all this time when those advantages have still been in place. Jackson just might surprise us all this decade, especially with Mississippi finally ditching its Confederate-inspired state flag. I think that step in the right direction, although LONG overdue, will result in more tourism and business opportunities for the state and Jackson is poised to be a primary beneficiary of such.
I haven't been to Mobile yet. I want to see Africatown and other activities. I notice 1 poster prior mentioned the Delta in relation to Jackson and that's far off. Your not going experience anything relatable to the delta in Jackson. I've been to both places numerous times now.
Culture: Equal.
Nightlife: Mobile
History: Equal.
Education: Jackson
Housing/Neighborhoods/Suburbs: Equal
Economy: Jackson MSA is larger technically.
Shopping/Retail: Equal
Dining: Equal ; Soul food v Seafood
Infrastructure: Mobile
Proximity to major (1+ million) metro areas: Mobile
Future Outlook: unknown. Jackson metro just have sluggish growth economicallly. Not sure about Mobile.
To be fair, Jackson has also been knocked down a few pegs in the pecking order in the Southeast in recent years, but it is still numero uno in its state and since 2010, it has only been surpassed by three other metros in the Southeast (Palm Bay, Augusta, and Durham); Chattanooga is next in line to leapfrog it but it has 30K less people so that probably won't happen for a few years, barring any change in the composition of either metro. Given all of its advantages, I'm also tempted to say that Mobile wins when it comes to future outlook but I don't know what it's been doing all this time when those advantages have still been in place. Jackson just might surprise us all this decade, especially with Mississippi finally ditching its Confederate-inspired state flag. I think that step in the right direction, although LONG overdue, will result in more tourism and business opportunities for the state and Jackson is poised to be a primary beneficiary of such.
As a longtime resident i can tell you that flag change is just aesthetics. Our state's economy will still be moving at it's own pace years from now. Jackson metro still has the 86th or so largest economy out of 384 which plenty of posters overlook.
As a longtime resident i can tell you that flag change is just aesthetics. Our state's economy will still be moving at it's own pace years from now. Jackson metro still has the 86th or so largest economy out of 384 which plenty of posters overlook.
I know it's mostly a symbolic change and that doesn't mean that attitudes have also significantly changed, but symbols are powerful things. It's beyond shameful that it took the dead bodies of nine parishioners inside one of the country's most historic Black churches in Charleston to get the Confederate flag totally off SC statehouse grounds, but in the five years since, I can tell you that Columbia in particular--which disproportionately suffered from the state's decision--really did seem to turn a corner. With the boycott lifted, it hosted NCAA men's basketball tournament games last year which resulted in positive press for the city and downtown in particular has been undergoing a hotel and residential boom. Before the pandemic, there were plans being discussed to expand the convention center and build a new adjoining large hotel and there have been major economic developments announced across the state. To be fair, there was already momentum occurring prior to the flag permanently coming down in 2015, but there's no doubt the state got an economic boost from finally doing the right thing. You'd be surprised how many companies are hesitant to do business in a state that proudly displays symbols that a wide swath of the population find offensive and how positive changes by the state can provide a foundation for future economic growth. If anything, local chambers of commerce and the state itself should play this up for Mississippi's economic benefit.
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