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Austin population will slow in the near future as col rises. I'm predicting Austin will hit around 3.5 million and its southern neighbor San Antonio will be around 3.0 million in 30 yrs.
Access to fresh water is going to kill growth in a few of these cities.
Over 3.5 million should be Austin and Charlotte. Nashville should be flirting with the 3 million mark.
Richmond has a super bright future. I think Richmond could be poised as the next boom city.
I disagree. I don't believe Austin will be growing the same or better for 30 more years. Cities go through cycles. Austin is still behind Charlotte, and that will not change anytime soon. I also don't see Richmond booming.
Why not? If the cost of living continues to increase in places like Atlanta, Nashville, and the NC cities, Richmond could eventually become a cheaper alternative. It has many of the same positives of North Carolina and doesn't have a lot of built in negatives like OKC does. I don't think Richmond is really poised to boom imminently but I think it could happen.
Why not? If the cost of living continues to increase in places like Atlanta, Nashville, and the NC cities, Richmond could eventually become a cheaper alternative. It has many of the same positives of North Carolina and doesn't have a lot of built in negatives like OKC does. I don't think Richmond is really poised to boom imminently but I think it could happen.
The cost of living increase in Atlanta and Nashville will continue due to demand. That has little to do with others choosing Richmond when the demand in Richmond is not there. I understand the Richmond area is growing, but I don't see the connection between it and said cities. In addition, Richmond has hefty competition in its own state, as it is not even the largest city. Raleigh, Charlotte, DC, etc. are all stronger competitive performing cities in nearby regions.
Historically speaking, Kansas City isn't new to the "big city" game.
If you still have checks from your bank, they have fractional numbers at the top right; these are the numbers that used to be used to determine which bank they came from (they've been superseded by the magnetic ABA routing numbers on the bottom of the check).
The first part of the numerator applied to the city or region; the 20 biggest cities in the country were so numbered. Banks in Kansas City have fractional numbers that begin with "18," for that was the city's rank when the system was set up along with the Federal Reserve System in 1914.
And speaking of the Federal Reserve, KC is home to one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks nationwide. Again, that should tell you something about the relative importance of the city back in the early decades of the 20th century.
And up until 1990 or thereabouts, its metropolitan area was one of the nation's 25 largest.
A number of cities have passed it since then (it's now #31). And I suspect some of the cities on this list will pass it in the future, in particular Austin and Charlotte.
But I don't see it stagnating to the point where its metropolitan population barely budges over the next 30 years. I'd put the 2050 figure at about 2.7 million.
And the city already has a full complement of "big city" cultural amenities and institutions (renowned art museum, contemporary art museum, several niche museums, the National World War I Museum, symphony orchestra, opera company, public library system, scientific research library [Linda Hall], jazz clubs, concert venues, so on). Some of the other cities on this list, most notably Richmond IMO, have a fair number of these as well. I really don't see the other cities growing these institutions to the stature of the ones I've listed, or creating new ones, in the future if they don't have them already - though Charlotte IMO might add some of these as it accumulates more wealth.
But since I'm supposed to pick winners in all of these categories:
1. Future population growth. Will these cities/metros still be in the same peer group of cities with one another 30 years from now?
Estimated metros:
Austin 4 million
Oklahoma City 1.7 million
Kansas City 2.7 million
Indianapolis 2.5 million
Columbus 2.7 million
Nashville 2.6 million
Richmond 1.9 million
Charlotte 3.5 million
Raleigh 2.2 million
Jacksonville 2.5 million
2. Brightest future / economic prosperity.
Austin, Charlotte
3. Big city Amenities - such libraries and museums
Austin, Charlotte, Kansas City, Richmond
4. Food/restaurants
Kansas City will continue to broaden; Austin will develop
5. Culture
Columbus, Kansas City, Richmond
6. Cost of living
Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City
7. Nightlife
Nashville, Austin
8. Infrastructure
Kansas City, Charlotte
9. Crimes
Austin, Oklahoma City lowest
10. Diversity
Richmond, Nashville
11. Education levels of residents
Charlotte
12. Public transportation
Charlotte, Nashville (that city will try a transit Great Leap Forward again and succeed this time)
13. Health care
Columbus, Kansas City, Nashville, Raleigh
14. Street/road/highway congestion.
Kansas City, Indianapolis lowest in that order
Austin population will slow in the near future as col rises. I'm predicting Austin will hit around 3.5 million and its southern neighbor San Antonio will be around 3.0 million in 30 yrs.
I was literally going to write that, lol. I totally agree. Though Austin's population is booming now, they won't be able to maintain the boom with their rapidly rising cost of living, especially over a 30 year span.
The cost of living increase in Atlanta and Nashville will continue due to demand. That has little to do with others choosing Richmond when the demand in Richmond is not there. I understand the Richmond area is growing, but I don't see the connection between it and said cities. In addition, Richmond has hefty competition in its own state, as it is not even the largest city. Raleigh, Charlotte, DC, etc. are all stronger competitive performing cities in nearby regions.
I agree that I don't see Atlanta and Nashville having much of an impact on Richmond, however, I don't think that any city within the state is going to take away from Richmond's growth. NOVA will always be NOVA and it will always be a larger area than Richmond, however, with the COL in the DC metro the way it is, people have and will continue to see Richmond as a viable option. The other larger metro, Hampton Roads, isn't growing as quickly, is not as centrally located and is not as much of a draw(inside or outside of the state) as people on city data seem to believe. As far as Raleigh goes, it will also continue to grow and increase in prominence. This does not hinder Richmond in the least because of the two cities largely attract completely different types of people. Raleigh is also 70miles further from Richmond then DC is with not a whole lot of development in between the two.
I agree that I don't see Atlanta and Nashville having much of an impact on Richmond, however, I don't think that any city within the state is going to take away from Richmond's growth. NOVA will always be NOVA and it will always be a larger area than Richmond, however, with the COL in the DC metro the way it is, people have and will continue to see Richmond as a viable option. The other larger metro, Hampton Roads, isn't growing as quickly, is not as centrally located and is not as much of a draw(inside or outside of the state) as people on city data seem to believe. As far as Raleigh goes, it will also continue to grow and increase in prominence. This does not hinder Richmond in the least because of the two cities largely attract completely different types of people. Raleigh is also 70miles further from Richmond then DC is with not a whole lot of development in between the two.
Modcut: Discuss the topic, not other posters.
What seems to be among the misconceptions online about Richmond are that its receiving great competition within Virginia. For sure HR is not the draw people on here choose to believe, and although I will swear by Virginia Beach, not a single city out there is really a competitor to Richmond...
NoVa is NoVa and is overrated, and all the points you hit on here, as well as others in the past, are accurate...
Richmond has long been the primate city of Virginia and all indications lend that this will continue for a long, long time. Those who are ignorant of Richmond's stature within Virginia are largely doing so voluntarily; many have mentioned this thru the years on here, by all practical measures, and in the eyes of the overwhelming majority of Virginia residents, Richmond is the largest and most prominent city in Virginia...
I agree that I don't see Atlanta and Nashville having much of an impact on Richmond, however, I don't think that any city within the state is going to take away from Richmond's growth. NOVA will always be NOVA and it will always be a larger area than Richmond, however, with the COL in the DC metro the way it is, people have and will continue to see Richmond as a viable option. The other larger metro, Hampton Roads, isn't growing as quickly, is not as centrally located and is not as much of a draw(inside or outside of the state) as people on city data seem to believe. As far as Raleigh goes, it will also continue to grow and increase in prominence. This does not hinder Richmond in the least because of the two cities largely attract completely different types of people. Raleigh is also 70miles further from Richmond then DC is with not a whole lot of development in between the two.
I disagree. I don't believe Austin will be growing the same or better for 30 more years. Cities go through cycles. Austin is still behind Charlotte, and that will not change anytime soon. I also don't see Richmond booming.
Austin will continue to boom and grow, as Texas booms and grows. Look at Dallas/Ft Worth, Houston, San Antonio, etc. Costs are rising, sure, but that is a result of all "booming" areas. Austin won't rise to Boston, NYC or San Francisco levels, I don't think. Higher for sure, but not so much that growth will slow to a crawl.
Austin could realistically double its metro area in 30 years--or come close to it.
As for Richmond, I think it has some huge pros: capital city of Virginia, strong base of finance, government, and medical. Great location near DC, NYC, Philly, Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville. Lower cost of living. Easy access to beach (1 hour) and mountains (2 hours). Already starting to grow decently well...good future!
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