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Raleigh-Cary and Durham-Chapel Hill being two separate MSAs is crazy to me. Hopefully that changes back after the 2020 Census.
It'll also be interesting to see if Brunswick County NC returns to the Wilmington NC MSA after switching to Myrtle Beach recently.
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Originally Posted by TarHeelNick
By far this is the most ridiculous MSA fluke in the country.
I thik that the Raleigh-Cary MSA has the distinction of being the smallest (by area) MSA to have added more than 200,000 in the past decade. The 2020 Census will likely show that it will be pushing 300,000 added since 2010. Austin is another relatively small (by area) MSA to also be very rapidly growing, but Raleigh's MSA is only half its size. Since the Triangle was split into two MSAs back in 2003, it has highlighted just how much Raleigh carries its overall growth. For every 1 person added to the Triangle in Durham-Chapel Hill, Raleigh-Cary's been adding more than 3 people.
The Worcester MSA is also kind of a strange one in that it's Worcester County which includes Leominster/Fitchburg area which is arguably a separate yet smaller region that's also included in Worcester County. Worcester Urbanized Area is just under 500k whereas Worcester County is just over 800k.
What percentage of workers who live in Jupiter, FL, actually commute an hour and a half (on a good traffic day) to Miami? I doubt it’s very high. Yet Jupiter is part of Miami’s MSA. The only reason is because Jupiter is part of Palm Beach Co. and MSA’s are created by county.
An even more extreme example exists in San Bernardino Co., CA, in which Needles is 3 1/4 hours from San B. yet it’s in the same MSA due to it being in the same county. I’d venture to say that almost nobody in Needles commutes to San B.
I feel like NYC metro is way too extensive. It covers multiple states and it doesnt seen like a fair comparison against LA. I feel LA should include inland empire in its MSA and NYC should trim some of its MSA. LA would be 18 million people in MSA and it'll all be in same state in a continuous development. NYC should trim at least a few million people who are unfairly swallowed up in the NYC MSA. It's like they dont want to see a California MSA have the largest population in the country because LA is a newer city built mostly in 20th century. It's like the guys in DC want the east coast to maintain the largest MSA title for population status reasons. Idk
Who is this "they" you speak of that apparently dislike CA? Lol.
I highly agree, and I think everyone would agree, that the IE should absolutely just be part of the LA MSA and not a separate MSA.
However, the NYC MSA is strange. It really is not unheard of for people to commute from PA into NYC for work. Some people who don't need to be in the office every day will live in a place like PA for the lower COL, yet there are still charter buses that pick up directly in cities like Allentown and Bethlehem and drop you off right at the PABT in Midtown. Others further up the Hudson Valley and into CT have direct train access on Metro North into GCT for commuting purposes as well.
Also, a lot of people live across the Delaware in Monroe and Pike counties in PA, but work in NJ in Warren, Sussex, and Hunterdon counties.
I will also never understand the obsession with Californians caring about political boundaries and calling them unfair. The East Coast is full of small state boundaries with strange borders and shapes. Political boundaries do not stop people from commuting or socializing or being culturally affiliated with a state across another political boundary. Actually, the political boundaries are probably why you see these MSAs expanding and taking on weird shapes. NJ residents move to PA for lower COL and taxes, yet can still commute to their jobs in NJ. Metro North goes pretty far into the Hudson Valley and CT, so people have just continually moved along those lines to find cheaper housing, yet have a reasonable commute to Manhattan. AFAIK, Southern NH gets a lot of people from MA looking for lower COL and lower taxes, but still a close commute to Boston. People are fleeing South NJ because it's expensive for what you get there, but DE is seeing some good growth because COL is lower, yet commutes to Philly jobs are still totally doable. Even the PA suburbs of Philly are doing much better than South NJ suburbs of Philly because COL and taxes are more reasonable there, with more public transit commutes into Philly via SEPTA. DE also has a SETPA RR Line.
Once the high speed rail between LA and LV opens up, I bet a ton of people will flood into LV to take the train into LA for higher paying jobs, yet have the low COL in LV.
MSA/CSAs are based off of commute patterns, not what you think looks right.
Yeah this is why it's such a joke when people say NYC's MSA is too big. No. That's a testament to just how powerful NYC's economy is. It keep swallowing up new commuter regions.
The IE is the only that confuses me. I'm shocked it's still able to remain its own MSA.
I mean honestly, we have entered into a near lock down as a 6-county region that most locals already consider a single entity. Santa Clara belongs to us and vice versa.
What percentage of workers who live in Jupiter, FL, actually commute an hour and a half (on a good traffic day) to Miami? I doubt it’s very high. Yet Jupiter is part of Miami’s MSA. The only reason is because Jupiter is part of Palm Beach Co. and MSA’s are created by county.
An even more extreme example exists in San Bernardino Co., CA, in which Needles is 3 1/4 hours from San B. yet it’s in the same MSA due to it being in the same county. I’d venture to say that almost nobody in Needles commutes to San B.
I have actually done the Jupiter to Miami trip as a weekend trip, and it's nothing that I'd want to do on a daily basis! That said, Jupiter is in Miami's MSA, no because of commuters from Jupiter to Miami, rather because of the way that South Florida daisy-chains from community to community for a 100 miles uninterrupted.
For those who do commute, I'd imagine that they are likely to take Tri-Rail instead of driving. At least I'd hope that they aren't driving!
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