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SLC and OKC are lacking a few things I'd consider requirements for a major city. GDP <$100B in the metro, 5 or less fortune 1000 HQs, less than 2 million in each metro area, neither are top 25 media markets, and pro sports are limited in both cities. I'd rank them both regional cities.
I overall agree with you, but Salt Lake-Provo-Ogden is a continuous area with a GDP of $135 million with 2.6 million(24th largest CSA) people all connected north to south. I will agree the area is lacking fortune 1000 HQs(3), media market(30th), and only an NBA and MLS team. Salt Lake is the city for hundreds of miles which also helps it in a lot of ways and hurts it in others.
I've been wondering where these cities rank in terms of peoples perception of the cities.
The tiers are:
Tier 4: Global City
Tier 3: Major City
Tier 2: Regional Powerhouse
Tier 1: Small City
Oklahoma City, OK
Colorado Springs, CO
Spokane, WA
Albuquerque, NM
Shreveport, LA
Birmingham, AL
Chattanooga, TN
Monroe, LA
Little Rock, AR
Buffalo, NY
Pensacola, FL
Jackson, MS
Amarillo, TX
Portland, ME
Salt Lake City, UT
Tuscon, AZ
Richmond, VA
Wilmington, DE
Tier 4 (Global City): None
Tier 3 (Major City): None
Tier 2 (Regional Powerhouse)
Buffalo, NY
Jacksonville, FL
Oklahoma City, OK
Birmingham, AL
Salt Lake, UT
Albuquerque, NM
Tier 1 (Small City)
Wilmington, DE
Amarillo, TX
Portland, ME
Monroe, AL
Shrevport, LA
Colorado Springs, CO
Richmond, VA
Jackson, MS
Tucson, AZ
Little Rock, AR
Spokane, WA
Well, I do these by Minor League designations, since none of these cities have an MLB team, so IMO none of these cities are major, let alone global. IMO the only cities that don't have an MLB team that I consider major are Portland, OR, Las Vegas, Honolulu, Austin, and San Antonio, with Charlotte and Nashville right on the cusp. Indianapolis, New Orleans, Raleigh, Columbus, Jacksonville, Memphis, Louisville, Sacramento, and Orlando are also what I'd just consider AAA cities that fall just short of major, and usually have a "big league" team outside of MLB. Note that this doesn't necessarily matches up with the city's Minor League level in reality. BTW, the only Tier 4 cities by the OP that the US has IMO is New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Miami, and Washington DC. The other cities with MLB teams make up Tier 3, although Atlanta, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, and Seattle are what I call "3+" cities that certainly have that "Global City Lite" feel to them.
AAA: Regional Powerhouse (the OP's tier 2)
AA: Subregional center (Between the OP's 1 and 2)
A: Small city
Rookie: Local town center
Buffalo AAA
Oklahoma City AAA
Salt Lake City AAA
Albuquerque AA
Birmingham AA
Colorado Springs AA
Little Rock AA
Spokane AA
Amarillo A
Chattanooga A
Jackson A
Portland A
Shreveport A
Wilmington A
Monroe Rookie
Pensacola Rookie
You need to update your rankings. Colo Spgs recently lost the AAA Sky Sox and acquired Rookie League Rocky Mtn Vibe, formerly the Helena Brewers. But again, this is a paradox of Colo Spgs, lots a people, not a regional powerhouse.
Tier 4: none
Tier 3: OKC, SLC
Tier 2: Buffalo, Birmingham, ABQ, Richmond, Spokane, Amarillo, Jackson
Tier 1: The rest I guess, although I don't really think of all of them as small, they are just not the regional powerhouses of their respective areas.
Oklahoma City, OK
Colorado Springs, CO
Spokane, WA
Albuquerque, NM
Shreveport, LA
Birmingham, AL
Chattanooga, TN
Monroe, LA
Little Rock, AR
Buffalo, NY
Pensacola, FL
Jackson, MS
Amarillo, TX
Portland, ME
Salt Lake City, UT
Tuscon, AZ
Richmond, VA
Wilmington, DE
Tier 4: None
Tier 3: OKC, SLC, Bham, ABQ, Richmond, Buffalo (I'm being really generous, though, because none of these probably fit as truly major cities).
Tier 2: Little Rock (maybe--could be tier 1)
Tier 1: Wilmington, Tuscon, COS, Portland, Amarillo, Jackson, Pensacola, Monroe, Chatt., Shreveport, Spokane
Tier 2: Regional Powerhouse
Salt Lake City, UT
Richmond, VA
Tier 1: Small City
Oklahoma City, OK
Colorado Springs, CO
Spokane, WA
Albuquerque, NM
Shreveport, LA
Birmingham, AL
Chattanooga, TN
Monroe, LA
Little Rock, AR
Buffalo, NY
Pensacola, FL
Jackson, MS
Amarillo, TX
Portland, ME
Tuscon, AZ
Wilmington, DE
Without looking at metro population counts (which I believe gives at least a rough and brief idea as to a city's "tier") or even GDP.
Tier 4
None
Tier 3
Maybe OKC (it could be tier 2)
Maybe SLC (it could be tier 2)
Tier 2
Maybe Richmond (it could be tier 3 if OKC and SLC are)
Maybe Birmingham (it could be tier 3 if OKC and SLC are)
Colorado Springs
ABQ
Buffalo
Tucson
Wilmington
Tier 4
Spokane
Shreveport
Chattanooga
Monroe
Little Rock
Pensacola
Jackson
Amarillo
Portland, ME
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