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Ok, I wanted to switch some things up a bit. Often times we see list for major metropolitans areas especially when it comes to recommendations for Black Americans(any person of African descent btw). Well this time I want to know if you had to compile a list of SMALLER MSA's which ones would make your top 10 list for Black Americans. Here's the requirements and metrics below:
1) MSA must be under 1.5 million people.
2) Must have a Black percentage equal to or greater than the national Black average (13.4%)
3) MSA can't be smaller than 400,000
Metrics:
1) Economic growth
2) Good size Black Middle class
3) Educational attainment
4) Amenities
5) Culture
List of MSA's under 1.5 million with a Black percentage equal to or greater than 13.4%
1) Raleigh-Cary, NC
2) Memphis, TN
3) Richmond, VA
4) Louisville, KY
5) New Orleans, LA
6) Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
7) Birmingham-Hoover, AL
8) Greenville-Anderson, SC
9) Baton Rogue, LA
10) Columbia, SC
11) Dayton, OH
12) Charleston-North Charleston, SC
13) Greensboro-High Point, NC
14) Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR
15) Winston-Salem, NC
16) Durham, NC
17) Toledo, OH
18) Augusta, GA
19) Jackson, MS
20) Chattanooga, TN
21) Fayetteville, NC
22) Hunstville, AL
23) Lafayette, LA
24) Killeen-Temple, TX
25) Vallejo, CA
26) Mobile, AL
27) Gulfport, MS
28) Flint, MI
29) Savannah, GA
I've found Akron to be a good place to raise a family. It reaches the criteria but is not mentioned for some reason.
1. Economic Growth is not Sunbelt level but it is trending upwards. Akron did a better job of shifting than many of it's Rust Belt Factory Town Peers(Flint,Gary,Youngstown etc.)
2. Akron's MSA has a decent size Black Middle Class, both within the City and now in the Suburbs. Several Suburban school districts have gone from virtually no black students to 10-15% of their enrollment.
3. Not sure about stat, I will look it up and come back and edit when I find it.
4. Amenities are very good and punch above the Metro's weight due to being 30-45 minutes from most of Cleveland and Canton's amenities as well.
5. Culturally I think there can and should be continued grown in the Black community. Depending on whom you're dealing with there can be a small-mindedness, lack of thinking and dreaming big . However I've seen the same thought process and lifestyle living in Chicago so I think it's something that can be an obstacle no matter the metro size.
I've found Akron to be a good place to raise a family. It reaches the criteria but is not mentioned for some reason.
1. Economic Growth is not Sunbelt level but it is trending upwards. Akron did a better job of shifting than many of it's Rust Belt Factory Town Peers(Flint,Gary,Youngstown etc.)
2. Akron's MSA has a decent size Black Middle Class, both within the City and now in the Suburbs. Several Suburban school districts have gone from virtually no black students to 10-15% of their enrollment.
3. Not sure about stat, I will look it up and come back and edit when I find it.
4. Amenities are very good and punch above the Metro's weight due to being 30-45 minutes from most of Cleveland and Canton's amenities as well.
5. Culturally I think there can and should be continued grown in the Black community. Depending on whom you're dealing with there can be a small-mindedness, lack of thinking and dreaming big . However I've seen the same thought process and lifestyle living in Chicago so I think it's something that can be an obstacle no matter the metro size.
In terms of suburban areas/other communities, wouldn't Copley, Twinsburg, Macedonia, Barberton and Kent meet or even exceed that percentage range? I believe that Barberton has a long time black population and Kent due to being a college town likely does as well.
In terms of suburban areas/other communities, wouldn't Copley, Twinsburg, Macedonia, Barberton and Kent meet or even exceed that percentage range? I believe that Barberton has a long time black population and Kent due to being a college town likely does as well.
Yes. Those communities(and schools) are all considered diverse by suburban NEO standards. Barberton, Twinsburg, Kent, Copley and Ravenna have had substantial black neighborhoods/communities for as long as black people began to migrate to the area. Places like Streetsboro and Macedonia have fast growing AA populations and places like Cuyahoga Falls and Stow have begun to see black families grow as well.
There were also places like Windham or Orrville(not in the MSA) that had substantial black populations that are litterally out in the middle of nowhere.
Yes. Those communities(and schools) are all considered diverse by suburban NEO standards. Barberton, Twinsburg, Kent, Copley and Ravenna have had substantial black neighborhoods/communities for as long as black people began to migrate to the area. Places like Streetsboro and Macedonia have fast growing AA populations and places like Cuyahoga Falls and Stow have begun to see black families grow as well.
There were also places like Windham or Orrville(not in the MSA) that had substantial black populations that are litterally out in the middle of nowhere.
Yeah, I knew about some of those places due to athletes that have come from some of those Akron suburbs(Alvin Robertson-Barberton, James Posey-Twinsburg, Delone Carter-Copley, etc.).
I'm noticing that about Ohio in that there are small towns and cities scattered across the state with visible to decent sized black populations. Hiram is another town like that and the reason I'm familiar with it is due to this man, in which his name is on Iowa State's football stadium: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Trice
Orrville likely has a black population due to Smucker's being located there and some likely work for the company.
Yeah, I knew about some of those places due to athletes that have come from some of those Akron suburbs(Alvin Robertson-Barberton, James Posey-Twinsburg, Delone Carter-Copley, etc.).
I'm noticing that about Ohio in that there are small towns and cities scattered across the state with visible to decent sized black populations. Hiram is another town like that and the reason I'm familiar with it is due to this man, in which his name is on Iowa State's football stadium: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Trice
Orrville likely has a black population due to Smucker's being located there and some likely work for the company.
I just looked it but it was GM who had plant in Orriville. I couldn't remember but I knew there was heavy industry out there that was the draw for it's black population. They were a High School powerhouse and won many state championships in Basketball, Football and Track during the 90s.
Yes, in Ohio there are small towns and cities that you wouldn't think would have sizeable black populations. I can remember competing against certain High Schools. Most of these small towns and cities are bleeding population and their black populations are leaving even quicker and have aged out (Malvern, Waynesboro, East Liverpool, Wellsville, Bellaire, Windham etc.).
Raleigh and Durham really function as a single metro area in practice, so leaving that area aside my inclination would be choose Charleston. It's one of the fastest-growing metros in the country, is affluent, and more liberal than some of these other metros.
Durham and Charleston do have some key similarities that make them quite comparable overall, but Charleston has started hemorrhaging Black residents--most likely because wages and COL are out of whack primarily. People relocate to Charleston because it's Charleston first and foremost, and their job/business/practice comes with them, they are able to work remotely full time or most of the time, they find a position locally with a salary that allows them to live comfortably, or if they are 20-somethings, they live with roommates as a means of adjusting to their likely low-to-average salaries.
That said, there's still a sizable Black population in metro Charleston that stacks up well to its peers according to the typical metrics but pound for pound, Columbia is the best option in SC on this front and among the best performers for Black folks nationwide for metros under 1M.
Durham and Charleston do have some key similarities that make them quite comparable overall, but Charleston has started hemorrhaging Black residents--most likely because wages and COL are out of whack primarily. People relocate to Charleston because it's Charleston first and foremost, and their job/business/practice comes with them, they are able to work remotely full time or most of the time, they find a position locally with a salary that allows them to live comfortably, or if they are 20-somethings, they live with roommates as a means of adjusting to their likely low-to-average salaries.
That said, there's still a sizable Black population in metro Charleston that stacks up well to its peers according to the typical metrics but pound for pound, Columbia is the best option in SC on this front and among the best performers for Black folks nationwide for metros under 1M.
Definitely agree with this, Columbia gets overlooked a lot and is often underrated. Though both Raleigh and Durham aren’t large cities, they are essentially in the same metro, ditto for Greensboro and Winston-Salem.
In terms of the culture category, I'd say that it would have to be between Memphis and New Orleans for 1 and 2(not necessarily in that order). After that, it seems like it may be a matter of where you would place say the next 8 cities/areas on a top 10 list, but it also looks like a handful of other cities have some recognition in terms of culture related to the thread.
Something to consider with some of these areas is that they may have a county that meets the population and percentage criteria, even if the whole metro area doesn't. For instance, Monroe County NY(Rochester) and I believe Onondaga County(Syracuse) would fit both(both have over 400k people and are at/above the black percentage), as both are the main counties for those metro areas. Those are a couple that come to mind, but that may be another thing to keep in mind.
How about the smaller Florida metros: Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, etc.?
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