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I think people have a hard time ranking Mpls on here because it's not as well known and popular as other cities. Mpls at 3.6 million people has 600k more people than Denver's 2.9 million and is closer to Seattle's 3.9 million yet Denver is being ranked above Mpls by a lot of people.
It's also quite possible (and my personal opinion), that Minneapolis does not belong on this list at all as it's a top 15 city (unquestionably).
You'd have to be delusional to think Denver, San Diego, Or Phoenix is more important than MSP. I'm struggling to find any metrics that support this argument.
Detroit stands apart from these other cities in that it has an established legacy as a major city and national player. The way I view these things, the burden of proof is never on the incumbent city, I give it benefit of doubt until slippage becomes unquestionable across several planes...
So rising cities have the burden of proving they have supplanted an incumbent from position. Minneapolis hasn't done that with Detroit and has been knocking on the door for years...its still on Detroit's heels but has yet to show it can or has leapt over Detroit...
(To be clear I view all of these cities in the same "weight class" or bracket, but listing them in order, I can't justify any over Detroit at this point)...
I can see Minneapolis and Denver as interchangeable, though. I lean Minny, slightly larger corporate base and market, but I have no issues with someone calling them interchangeable. Phoenix and San Diego are also interchangeable and clearly bring up the rear in this group of five, in my opinion!
Yeah I think it becomes very difficult to rank once you get beyond the top 6 (and even within the top 6!). There are just too many variables, and no coherent or agreeable basis on how to weigh them. If you are looking for a consensus then the most that can be said IMO is that there is a top 6, a 7 to 12, and a 13 to 17. The next tier would be Baltimore, St Louis, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Cleveland, TB and LV. I can't decide if any of Portland, Orlando, Austin and Nashville also belong in that tier, or in the next tier with Cinci, KC and Milwaukee.
I can see Minneapolis and Denver as interchangeable, though. I lean Minny, slightly larger corporate base and market, but I have no issues with someone calling them interchangeable. Phoenix and San Diego are also interchangeable and clearly bring up the rear in this group of five, in my opinion!
All the reasons that Denver is more important than San Diego:
- Airport
- Sports teams (larger media market)
- no competition
That's hardly convincing...
San Diego's global importance is far higher than Denver's. Denver is important to Colorado and adjacent rural areas.
It's also quite possible (and my personal opinion), that Minneapolis does not belong on this list at all as it's a top 15 city (unquestionably).
You'd have to be delusional to think Denver, San Diego, Or Phoenix is more important than MSP. I'm struggling to find any metrics that support this argument.
Which UAs cross MSA boundary lines and what is the supporting methodology?
I always assumed that if something is not within the same MSA with the primary city it cannot be considered to be part of the primary city's urban area.
Greenville SC's urbanized area is mostly within Greenville County but a small part of it extends into neighboring Spartanburg County which is the central county of its own separate MSA. They are both included in a larger CSA though.
I think people have a hard time ranking Mpls on here because it's not as well known and popular as other cities. Mpls at 3.6 million people has 600k more people than Denver's 2.9 million and is closer to Seattle's 3.9 million yet Denver is being ranked above Mpls by a lot of people.
I don't think too many people are ranking Denver ahead of MSP though. Most can agree that it is currently ahead of the other cities based on it's population and other stats. It indeed ranks in the middle. But it's not head and shoulders above the others at all. It's more a peer to San Diego, Denver and Phoenix than it is to Seattle. Which wasn't the case 10 years ago.
The population figures don't necessarily tell the whole story though. Boulder is very much a part of the Denver area and (like some have already said) was part of the MSA not too long ago. That's nearly 3.3M people in the immediate Denver area. 600k is a stretch imo
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fitzrovian
Interesting. From my (very unscientific) perspective, Denver and MPLS are interchangeable. And so are Phoenix and SD - two large sunbelt cities that dont seem to be particularly impactful, nationally or globally... They don't have a strong corporate presence, cultural influence or historical significance. (Tampa Bay is another one that fits that mold.) So if I were to rank 13-17, it'd be:
13-15: MPLS, Detroit, Denver
16-17: Phoenix, SD
What puts Denver ahead of Phoenix?
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