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Not a fair comparison. Indianapolis covers most of Marion County except for about three small suburbs. Columbus does not cover most of Franklin County. The metro area comparisons, as usual, are much more relevant.
Actually there are four towns in Marion County that were never absorbed into Indianapolis' city limits from the 1970 Unigov agreement. The four towns located in Marion County that are still separate entities from Indianapolis are Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport, and Speedway. I don't know why you say that "metro area comparisons, as usual, are much more relevant". Yes I know Columbus' metro population is higher than Indianapolis' metro population, but only 100,000 people separate the two metros in population so I don't think CBus is that much better than Indy based on that. We should be happy that we have two Midwestern cities/metros that have consistently been growing every decade. Especially since the Midwest is not known for having its cities grow as strongly and consistently as Indianapolis and Columbus have over the decades.
This doesn't need to turn into the typical well this city consolidated with most of the county to get its population, or this other city annexed land area to get its population. I'm sure you've heard people on the Cleveland boards complain about CBus being the biggest city in Ohio because it annexed so much land area over the decades right? I know I've read that plenty of times from all the ornery Cleveland posters who just won't accept the fact that Cleveland is losing its position as the top city in Ohio to Columbus. Instead of turning this into another Indianapolis VS Columbus battle, we should be celebrating and being proud of the fact that these two shining stars of the Midwest are doing better than any other cities in their region.
... we should be celebrating and being proud of the fact that these two shining stars of the Midwest are doing better than any other cities in their region.
Everything you stated is very true. To answer the thread yes. Yes it is likely that Columbus will overtake Indianapolis in the next year and become the next Midwest City to surpass the coveted 1 Million mark which is incredibly exciting! However its also likely that Indy will be joining the Million+ club within a few years, which would bump the midwest from 1 to 3 cities in the Million+ Club and that will be a massive win for the region. It's a win all around!
With that being said I will be damn excited for Columbus. Its honestly hard not to be.
I think this city has insane potential and feels like we are at the cusp of a massive boom time.
Actually there are four towns in Marion County that were never absorbed into Indianapolis' city limits from the 1970 Unigov agreement. The four towns located in Marion County that are still separate entities from Indianapolis are Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport, and Speedway. I don't know why you say that "metro area comparisons, as usual, are much more relevant". Yes I know Columbus' metro population is higher than Indianapolis' metro population, but only 100,000 people separate the two metros in population so I don't think CBus is that much better than Indy based on that. We should be happy that we have two Midwestern cities/metros that have consistently been growing every decade. Especially since the Midwest is not known for having its cities grow as strongly and consistently as Indianapolis and Columbus have over the decades.
This doesn't need to turn into the typical well this city consolidated with most of the county to get its population, or this other city annexed land area to get its population. I'm sure you've heard people on the Cleveland boards complain about CBus being the biggest city in Ohio because it annexed so much land area over the decades right? I know I've read that plenty of times from all the ornery Cleveland posters who just won't accept the fact that Cleveland is losing its position as the top city in Ohio to Columbus. Instead of turning this into another Indianapolis VS Columbus battle, we should be celebrating and being proud of the fact that these two shining stars of the Midwest are doing better than any other cities in their region.
You don't get anything out of comparisons unless you compare apples to apples. Comparing one city that covers 95% of its county to another city that covers 60% of its county is not a valid comparison. If you don't want to compare Metro areas, then the only other apples-to-apples comparison you can make is to compare Marion County, Indiana to Franklin County, Ohio.
Everything you stated is very true. To answer the thread yes. Yes it is likely that Columbus will overtake Indianapolis in the next year and become the next Midwest City to surpass the coveted 1 Million mark which is incredibly exciting! However its also likely that Indy will be joining the Million+ club within a few years, which would bump the midwest from 1 to 3 cities in the Million+ Club and that will be a massive win for the region. It's a win all around!
With that being said I will be damn excited for Columbus. Its honestly hard not to be.
I think this city has insane potential and feels like we are at the cusp of a massive boom time.
I'm not that excited. I liked the metro area better when it was at 1.5 million people ... maybe even 1.2 million. It was big enough to have everything you needed yet small enough that it wasn't so hectic. I miss the days when you could drive to Lancaster or Granville without wall-to-wall development.
I'm not that excited. I liked the metro area better when it was at 1.5 million people ... maybe even 1.2 million. It was big enough to have everything you needed yet small enough that it wasn't so hectic. I miss the days when you could drive to Lancaster or Granville without wall-to-wall development.
? I often drive to Granville to see friends and family and I sure don't see wall to wall development. I see miles and miles and miles of rural farm field. The inside scoop (discussed quietly and quietly confirmed by friends and local real estate people) is the housing market was slow to recover because young people are not interested in living out there. Young people want to live within the metropolitan area.
Many families who would have chosen Granville 20 years ago now choose New Albany for proximity to Easton, restaurants, city conveniences, etc.
Granted that population growth rates won't stay the same from the last decade (6.1% vs 10.6%), but if they did, Columbus would pass Indianapolis in city population in 2022, a mere 9 years away. By 2030, Columbus would lead by 35,000.
The 2011 estimate growth rate, which is also not going to stay consistent, was 0.9% vs 1.3%, Indianapolis and Columbus, respectively. If you went by these growth rates, Columbus would pass Indianapolis by 2024, and by 2030 would lead by 26,000.
So yeah, the only time Indianapolis' population grew faster the last 60 years was when it merged with its county. You guys do the math. This is not a new trend.
You don't get anything out of comparisons unless you compare apples to apples. Comparing one city that covers 95% of its county to another city that covers 60% of its county is not a valid comparison. If you don't want to compare Metro areas, then the only other apples-to-apples comparison you can make is to compare Marion County, Indiana to Franklin County, Ohio.
You completely missed the point of my posts in this board. I never said I wanted to compare Indianapolis and Columbus, what I did say was how happy I am to see two Midwestern cities that are breaking the stereotype of people thinking that the Midwest has no cities with stable and consistent growth. I don't understand why you seem to go out of your way to undermine any accomplishments that Indianapolis has made over the decades. So Franklin County has a 2015 population of 1,251,722 while Marion County has a 2015 population of 939,020. 300,000 people is really not that big of a difference either. Marion County may not have one million people just yet, but since it keeps growing in population every decade it should reach one million by the 2030 Census. It's not like Franklin County has as much of a lead over Marion County as Cook County has over the other Midwestern counties.
Franklin County may be growing faster than Marion County, however Franklin and Marion County are two of only a handful of Midwestern counties that grow in population every decade. So not only are Indy and CBus two of the few Midwestern cities to grow in population every decade, Franklin and Marion County are two of the few Midwestern counties to grow every decade as well. There doesn't need to be a competition where we say one city is doing better than the other. Both cities are doing exceptionally well compared to the rest of the Midwest region. The point of my posts was to say that I'm happy for both Indianapolis and Columbus for doing so well, and proving people wrong that there are in fact cities in the Midwest that have consistent and strong growth. I can be happy for both Indy and CBus, I don't understand why you can't be as happy for Indianapolis as you seem to be for Columbus.
Figured if I was going to resurrect an older thread I found in my previous posts, might as well throw some numbers in the little update. Looks like Columbus passed Indy a few years earlier than predicted and discussed above.
As of 2017, here is how Columbus and Indianapolis compare
City Population Columbus 879,170
Indianapolis 863,002
Metro Population Columbus 2,078,725
Indianapolis 2,004,230
CSA Population Columbus 2,424,83
Indianapolis 2,386,199
City Density Columbus 3,960/sq mi
Indianapolis 2,365/sq mi
Metro Density Columbus 490/sq mi
Indianapolis 444/sq m
GDP
Columbus 136,296 w/ 3.7% Growth Indianapolis 143,873 w/ 4.3% Growth
Population Growth Rate Columbus 1.79% or +15,429 Residents
Indianapolis 0.65% or +5,549 Residents
Overall both metros are doing well but Indy's growth slowing down much sooner than expected led to Columbus surpassing it in most metrics earlier than the 2020 predictions. It looks as if Columbus has also begun to gain some steam in terms metrics of domestic and foreign migration that may lead to it gaining a greater lead in coming years.
Curious to see how the two keep trending, if Indy just had a random blip or if it's truly slowing. I also think both cities are being undercounted and the 2020 census could post huge gains for Columbus.
Figured if I was going to resurrect an older thread I found in my previous posts, might as well throw some numbers in the little update. Looks like Columbus passed Indy a few years earlier than predicted and discussed above.
As of 2017, here is how Columbus and Indianapolis compare
City Population Columbus 879,170
Indianapolis 863,002
Metro Population Columbus 2,078,725
Indianapolis 2,004,230
CSA Population Columbus 2,424,83
Indianapolis 2,386,199
City Density Columbus 3,960/sq mi
Indianapolis 2,365/sq mi
Metro Density Columbus 490/sq mi
Indianapolis 444/sq m
GDP
Columbus 136,296 w/ 3.7% Growth Indianapolis 143,873 w/ 4.3% Growth
Population Growth Rate Columbus 1.79% or +15,429 Residents
Indianapolis 0.65% or +5,549 Residents
Overall both metros are doing well but Indy's growth slowing down much sooner than expected led to Columbus surpassing it in most metrics earlier than the 2020 predictions. It looks as if Columbus has also begun to gain some steam in terms metrics of domestic and foreign migration that may lead to it gaining a greater lead in coming years.
Curious to see how the two keep trending, if Indy just had a random blip or if it's truly slowing. I also think both cities are being undercounted and the 2020 census could post huge gains for Columbus.
I don't understand the obsession with population growth anywhere. Head to India if population growth is deemed so important.
What Columbus or any MSA should be concerned about are quality of life measures such as relative real GDP and growth, relative real per capita personal income, and relative urban amenities.
The Columbus MSA lags behind Indianapolis MSA in real per capita personal income and real GDP (despite the larger population in the Columbus MSA) -- Indianapolis ($48,602) vs. Columbus ($46,550) and Indianapolis ($122.608 billion) vs. Columbus ($117.250 billion).
Your statistics say that the Indianapolis GDP is growing faster than that of Columbus.
Considering pro sports teams and cultural attractions, Indianapolis also has an edge on Columbus. E.g., the Columbus Museum of Art isn't even a top 20 attraction at tripadvisor.com.
I don't understand the obsession with population growth anywhere. Head to India if population growth is deemed so important.
What Columbus or any MSA should be concerned about are quality of life measures such as relative real GDP and growth, relative real per capita personal income, and relative urban amenities.
The Columbus MSA lags behind Indianapolis MSA in real per capita personal income and real GDP (despite the larger population in the Columbus MSA) -- Indianapolis ($48,602) vs. Columbus ($46,550) and Indianapolis ($122.608 billion) vs. Columbus ($117.250 billion).
Your statistics say that the Indianapolis GDP is growing faster than that of Columbus.
Considering pro sports teams and cultural attractions, Indianapolis also has an edge on Columbus. E.g., the Columbus Museum of Art isn't even a top 20 attraction at tripadvisor.com.
Okay here's the thing, the thread doesn't ask about cultural amenities (which I'd argue are quite equal actually between the two cities), it asks about population and that's the update I gave.
GDP and cultural amenities can help drive growth, yes, but these are also things that (shock) come with growth. I mean head to Cleveland if GDP is deemed so important... I hear they have the Second largest theatre district outside of NYC so that city should be BOOMING.
Like come on, discussing population doesn't make GDP and amenities less important just as GDP and amenities don't make population growth less important. It's a big picture kind of thing.
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