What is your definition of "big" city? (state, compare, bigger)

[leighland]

Density is the hallmark of an urban city.

NYC 27K people per sq mile
Chicago 12k ppsm

Providence RI has similar density to Chicago. Parts of New Jersey rival NYC

The biggest cities, square miles only, are in Alaska tho i've been told Chesapeake VA is in top 10, with about 250K residents over 350 square miles

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

If a city has a sort of a dense core. Either tracts of 20k ppsm or a good amount of high rises that give it a daytime population of 20ppsm

Metropolitan area over 3 million.

Has to have a major international airport with flights to at least 3 continents.

Must be central city of metro.


So:
New York City
San Francisco
LA
Chicago
Boston
Washington DC
Miami
Houston
Dallas
Seattle
Minneapolis
Detroit
Philadelphia
Denver
Atlanta
.. maybe a few others im missing

Originally Posted by citidata18

No love for Phoenix?

And at least as of the 2019 estimate, Denver didn't meet the 3 million metro threshold. I guess we'll find out today if it does as of 2020.

Welp, 2020 estimates show that Denver is still 9K shy of 3 million.

I don't even live in Denver and that triggers my OCD, lol. We'll see if the official census shows they've surpassed 3 million.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by citidata18

Welp, 2020 estimates show that Denver is still 9K shy of 3 million.

I don't even live in Denver and that triggers my OCD, lol. We'll see if the official census shows they've surpassed 3 million.

That excludes Boulder and many other Denver suburbs. The CSA makes alot more sense in my opinion when discussing Denver areas population.

[Mezter]

Originally Posted by citidata18

Welp, 2020 estimates show that Denver is still 9K shy of 3 million.

I don't even live in Denver and that triggers my OCD, lol. We'll see if the official census shows they've surpassed 3 million.

You guys forget that Boulder is right up the street. They also use to be the same MSA. The Denver area has been over 3M for a while now

[newgensandiego]

I stopped at Boston, but included SF too.

Detroit, Phoenix, Seattle, San Diego, and Denver may be state or regional hubs, but I think they are a tier below the big cities.

It's interesting to see Seattle so close to Atlanta and Miami.

[newgensandiego]

Originally Posted by citidata18

Yes, IMO.

It's lacking in the following (which I think are must-haves):

*International Airline Hubs
*The big 4 sports franchises
*Sizeable Fortune 500 company presence

Despite its size on paper, it's much more similar to San Antonio than Denver.

San Diego is a bigger city in just about every single criteria. Sure Denver compares favorably in these specific metrics, but that's literally it. Also, Denver's airport is hardly an "International Airline Hub" relative to San Diego in terms of both destinations and foreign carriers. Also, we can walk into the TJ Airport at the border. We have a major U.S. and (5th busiest) Mexican airport. Is that not as impressive as Denver being served by...2-3 more foreign carriers on single city routes?

The idea that SD is closer to San Antonio than Denver is beyond ridiculous. Denver and San Diego are at similar levels, with each having their own strengths.

[NDFan]

Large city to me has urbanized area of 1M+, esp. once you get above 1.5-3M (KC, St. Louis, would qualify as large; Charlotte, Nashville on the bubble, Tampa Bay, Denver approaching very large). Very large is 3M plus (Seattle and San Diego on/near the bubble with Minneapolis on/near the bubble).