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A lot of maps of the Sunbelt show an entire strip from Southern California all the way to South Florida but that does include economically depressed areas. Also there are differences as to how far north the Sunbelt reaches. Some maps include Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Richmond while others don't.
Personally I consider the following cities/metro areas to be Sunbelt, from west to east.
- Palm Springs, California
- Las Vegas
- Phoenix
- Tucson
- Santa Fe
- Albuquerque
- San Antonio
- Dallas-Fort Worth
- Houston
- Austin
- Biloxi, Mississippi
- Tampa
- Miami - Fort Lauderdale
- Jacksonville
- Orlando
- Daytona Beach
- Atlanta
- Nashville
- Charlotte
- Raleigh-Durham
So this excludes Louisiana, Arkansas, and most of Mississippi and Alabama and Kentucky. Also I think Richmond, Reno-Tahoe, and Washington, D.C., while seeing a lot of growth, are too cold to be Sunbelt. Some have even included Salt Lake City. Sorry but a city that hosts the WINTER Olympics?
"Sunbelt" as a term to me has strong cultural implications.
It's often associated with rapid growth & sprawl, but there are exceptions of course.
I would consider Southern California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Central-South Florida to definitely be Sunbelt areas, at least culturally.
But weather-wise there's plenty of other Southern states that have great sunny weather all year that it's reasonable to group the Carolinas, Georgia, as such as well.
Personally I consider the following cities/metro areas to be Sunbelt, from west to east.
- Palm Springs, California - Las Vegas - Phoenix - Tucson - Santa Fe - Albuquerque
- San Antonio - Dallas-Fort Worth - Houston - Austin
[quote]
somewhere here I would include Yuma, AZ (the sunniest of all) Las Cruces, NM and El Paso, TX
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