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I was messing around and decided to try to come up with a ranking and grouping of U.S. metro areas by population and GDP. I computed the scores using a formula that weights pop and GDP pretty close to equally, and then tried to group them into Tiers based on the score. The numbers are for Combined Statistical Areas with the exception of San Diego, which is the only stand-along Metro Statistical Area that ranks in the Top 20. The table is attached (I hope).
Analysis:
Tier 1: New York and Los Angeles. Arguably, they each should have their own tier because neither are close to any other city. But let's keep them in Tier 1, acknowledging that New York is first among equals there.
Tier 2: San Francisco, Washington, and Chicago. These three regions definitely stand out, not nearly as big as NY/LA but there's significant space between Chicago and the next tier down. Chicago is there more by population, and SF more by GDP, with DC in the middle.
Tier 3: Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Houston. Each has their own set of dynamics around population and GDP, but their own major cities, not quite mega cities, but certainly power players in their own rights.
Tier 4: Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, Detroit. Atlanta and Miami are almost twin cities, and Seattle and Detroit are almost opposites, with Seattle being there for GDP, and Detroit there for population. The line between Tier 3 and 4 is not super bright, but one can see that these cities are not Tier 3.
Tier 5: Phoenix, Minneapolis, Denver, Portland, San Diego, Orlando, Cleveland. Again, some there more for population (Phoenix, Cleveland) and others more for GDP (Minneapolis, Denver, Portland, San Diego), but these cities are significant players, but relatively minor on the national scale.
One other thing that struck me although it doesn't exactly show from the chart: the GDP differential between the behemoths and the minor cities is ginormous. We have some economic titans in the U.S. where a huge proportion of our total economic activity takes place!
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