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We have a thread asking what constitutes a "major" city.
So, what then is the largest "mid-sized" city in the country? How about the smallest "mid-sized" city? I relize this will probably be very subjective, but I want to hear people's thoughts.
If we are going by metro area populations I would say the largest mid-sized cities are Denver/Tampa/St. Louis @ around 3 million people and I would say the smallest cities are Rochester NY/Tucson/Grand Rapids at a little over a million each.
For mid sized, I’d say at least 500,000 in the metro area. There are about 400 metro areas and about 900+ areas when including micro areas in the United States and even those with at least 500k are in the top 125 or so.
There are only about 53 metros with at least 1 million people.
A mid-sized city I say has some amenities of a big city but not all. It might have a large arena for concerts but no zoo in the area. It might have a zoo but the arena it has is small and only minor league. Concerts come there but not too often and not too diverse (ie largest concert venue can draw bands like Shinedown but too small for bands like Green Day). Airport there usually doesn't have international flights (though sometimes might) and often doesn't fly to all coasts. Also may be a satellite of a larger city (like Worcester is to Boston).
Largest mid-size I'd say Providence (1.3m). It's proximity to Boston prevents it from being "big/major".
Smallest mid-size could possibly be Fargo (250k), as it has multiple amenities typical of a larger city and is the largest city for miles around.
Last edited by Corey the Otter; 12-01-2020 at 10:36 AM..
For mid sized, I’d say at least 500,000 in the metro area. There are about 400 metro areas and about 900+ areas when including micro areas in the United States and even those with at least 500k are in the top 125 or so.
There are only about 53 metros with at least 1 million people.
Using those numbers would make Hartford, Buffalo, Birmingham, Grand Rapids, Rochester, and Tucson both the smallest major metros and the largest medium metros! On the cusp so to speak.
What's the different between a small city and a mid-size city?
Likely in terms of volume of amenities(minus college towns) and the mid sized area is likely a relatively big city for its state, among possibly some other things.
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