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The CSA isn't generally used as often as the MSA to reflect
a city's true sphere of influence. CSA designation is relatively new.
Some of Charlotte's current "CSA" counties used to be "MSA" counties prior to the 2000 census. Yes, CSA is new. Thus, many folks don't respect it (simply because they don't understand it).
Charlotte is in the same boat as Nashville when it comes to MSA (assuming we completely ignore the 3,000 vs 5,700 sq/mi MSA land areas). CSA, however, sheds some light on why and how Charlotte is progressing so much faster than Nashville. Honestly, MSA sheds some light on this too if we pay close attention to the land area difference.
Trust me, if Nashville had the same amount of people in the same amount of land as either the city, MSA, or CSA of Charlotte, we WOULD NOT be having this conversation. However, there is a size/density difference between these two cities that points to why one is doing "better" than the other when it comes to progress and economics. My point is Charlotte is a larger city/metro (and no, it is not a "slight" difference).
Why does a third party site show metro Charlotte (CSA) having 800,000 more people than metro Nashville (CSA) if these two cities are the "same size"?
Maybe because they used Combined Statistical Area which is a measure of regional population rather than Metropolitan Statistical Area which is a measure of metro population, a far better statistic to use for comparing cities. Charlotte's CSA contains not only its MSA, but also six distinct micropolitan areas. The metro populations are very close between Charlotte and Nashville.
So when it comes to city vs. city (as opposed to region vs. region), metro Charlotte is only slightly larger than metro Nashville. You asked me to explain that, I explain it by clarifying that the CSA data you cite speaks to regions, ie. does not measure the size of a city, and the MSA data I cite speaks to single metro areas, ie. does measure the size of a city's metro.
My point is Charlotte is a larger city/metro (and no, it is not a "slight" difference).
Wrong.
My point is that Charlotte is only a slightly larger city/metro than Nashville but is in a much more populated region than Nashville is in. The data backs that up, and population density differences don't change that.
Nashville and Charlotte on a city population track are the same size. I think the new MSA definitions are only half the truth. Example, Raleigh and Durham just recently got their own MSA even though much of their cultural and travel definitely criss cross. In that regards, Charlotte definitely has the feel of a 2miilion plus city. Its GDP and skyline reflect that.
If Nashville is on the same level as Charlotte then NAshville needs to account for the nearly 40 billion difference in GDP. Nashville is a very nice city that is definitely growing at a great rate. It is doing some great things to improve its image and is truly a progressive city. I actually see Nashville as a smaller Charlotte.
If Nashville is on the same level as Charlotte then NAshville needs to account for the nearly 40 billion difference in GDP.
Well said. However, Charlotte's GDP is growing this year. Nashville's is shrinking as of this year.
Also, Charlotte's CSA is nearly 50% larger than Nashville's (2.4 million vs 1.7 million).
Charlotte's GDP is nearly 50% larger than Nashville's ($118.4 billion vs. $78.9 billion).
Like you said, Charlotte acts like a 2 million plus metro where as Nashville acts like a 1 million plus metro. Charlotte is statistically much larger than Nashville in every category except UA. This fact has got to be considered or this thread will go nowhere.
Great conversation guys/gals, never thought it would come to this interesting, a few of the other posters on the original forum should come back, I like how the debate is being played out, however remember to use the latest available data, not from 2000 or 1990 to 2000 unless you are analyzing what may be happening in the future based on past results.
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