Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Second-tier is an insult? I think you are overthinking this whole tier thing. It doesn't mean a place is inferior... Frankly, I'd prefer tier 2/3 San Diego over most of the tier 1 cities. Same with Austin
I agree...it doesn't belong w/ ABQ and OKC. It also doesn't belong in the top 20...yet.
Honestly, I've seen both sides of the spectrum. It wouldn't get so much negative energy if it wasn't so hyped up.
Miami and Seattle are clearly the tops in this field to me. I think they are 11 & 12 and are both knocking on the door of top 10. Very competitive 6-12.
After those I think there is a little gap. I would put Detroit at 13. Clearly it used to be even higher, but has been passed in recent decades by cities with higher growth. It is still top 15 in population and GDP and has had strong cultural influence on the US.
I round it out with Phoenix and Minnesota, honorable mention to SD. Minnesota seems pretty well rounded and is the #3 metro in the Midwest, with a chance to overtake Detroit in the years to come. Phoenix is fast growing and already has a large population, but somewhat low GDP per capita.capital. I don't think Denver is there yet, but isn't far off and is the most important metro in a very large geographic area, which gives it a bit more heft than if it had other competition nearby.
Population is strongly, although not perfectly, correlated with importance.
I'd say economic/cultural impact is more important than bodies (as any world city comparison will demonstrate).
Phoenix is just not that important. It doesn't belong on this list. What's the point of this thread if we're just defaulting to a single measure that doesn't even equate to importance? I'm not sure why people feel obligated to include Phoenix, when there really isn't any evidence that it is important.
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
27,606 posts, read 14,590,333 times
Reputation: 9169
Quote:
Originally Posted by newgensandiego
I'd say economic/cultural impact is more important than bodies (as any world city comparison will demonstrate).
Phoenix is just not that important. It doesn't belong on this list. What's the point of this thread if we're just defaulting to a single measure that doesn't even equate to importance? I'm not sure why people feel obligated to include Phoenix, when there really isn't any evidence that it is important.
Please, we're more important than San Diego. And we have teams in all big 4 professional sports leagues, only 12 other metro areas can boast that stat
It's hard to take this seriously when:
- Philly is 100% top 10; no way it's below Seattle and Miami
- Seattle is 100% not top 10
- San Diego is a global hub for telecommunications, biotech/life sciences, trade, and defense. Also, as far as Shamu is concerned, it's also the birthplace of modern oceanography and a top tourist destination
- Phoenix has no place being above Detroit or anywhere near Philly. Completely laughable. What exactly does Phoenix have that is important?
What does Philly have that makes it important?
Seattle has a better seaport, airport and economy. There’s more investment in Seattle than Philly and Seattle gets more immigrants than Philly. Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are the two richest men in the world and they created two of the biggest and most important companies in the world in Seattle, not Philly. Amazon and Microsoft are both valued at $1 trillion on the stock market. What does Philly have? Seattle has a better life sciences economy than Philly.
SD has nothing. They’re known for a whale called Shamu. SD and Philly are deadweight. They can never compare to Seattle.
Last edited by sugar loafer; 04-30-2020 at 01:06 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
