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543 micropolitan areas at the time of this list. About 370 between 20-60k population. Plenty of options if the general or the particular size range I mentioned appeal. Some I have never heard of despite being long and very interested in place data.
Anybody want to shout out their micropolitan city / area, long-time resident or new? Could be for good or bad but I'd mainly be interested in the good.
I've only ever lived in metropolitan areas, although my college town in Ohio was way at the fringes of its MSA, separated from the core city and its sprawl by miles and miles of farmland and woods, and really felt more like a micropolitan area.
I prefer big cities, but if I had to live in a micropolitan area, Astoria OR, which I'm sure you've been to, would be my top choice. Tourist town at the junction of two of the nation's biggest US highways, so it gets a lot more outsiders coming through than the typical micropolitan town, and this has allowed it to maintain a solid restaurant scene and large assortment of businesses. Gorgeous scenery and several interesting neighborhoods too. And only two hours from a major city --- though I suppose in a way that's cheating, lol.
Astoria micropolitan at 40k is bigger than most Oregon coastal places. If someone wanted OR coastal but not small, it could fit.
I drove thru Astoria plenty in past. Didn't stop much, in a hurry to beaches further south; therefore I don't have a strong knowledge or opinion of it. Probably would be worth a look by those traveling or living nearby if they did not already think so.
The term "micropolitan" is not used that often. These places might be called small cities, tiny cities, towns, large towns or less friendly terms.
But if you want a change from bigger cities, medium or large metros, they might work. Be aware of the tradeoffs and how deep (or not) your habits & preferences are.
A few of those cities on that list are still classified as MSA's and not Micropolitan areas. Muskegon MI being the first one I see. Is there an official government list that's not been messed with?
I know there has been controversy whether to pay attention and federal money to micropolitans with Trump administration decisions and I believe recent reversals.
I live in the smallest MSA (#384), and near some of the micropolitans on the list in Northern Nevada. I love this area. I love the size of my city, it has everything you need within a 15 minute drive plus it’s a easy drive to bigger cities. People are friendly in smaller cities and crime is dealt with. You can’t get away with much in smaller cities before you get busted. Schools are better. Most smaller cities trend conservative, which I appreciate now more than ever.
#165 Boone NC is a beautiful area of the NC Blue Ridge Mountains among some of the highest elevations in the Eastern US. The three largest cities (Boone, Blowing Rock and Banner Elk) represent the area with the largest population above 3000 feet east of the Rockies. Boone itself is a college town (Appalachian State University) and an outdoor recreation mecca with skiing, rock climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, and fly-fishing/hunting all in close proximity. Despite its size and location, Boone is a progressive city minus the rabid right-wing majority of many of the other micropolitan areas where people of varying value systems seemingly don't coexist well together. Neighboring Blowing Rock skews older in population but has nice charm including its well-preserved and active downtown area. Banner Elk is the third city in the little triangle and serves as a base for the major ski areas and as a center for shopping/etc and is the home of Lees-McRae College, one of a few NCAA colleges east of the Rockies with varsity Skiing programs. Wautauga County Public Schools routinely rank at the top of NC's school districts and feature an overall cost of living a few ticks below the national average.
I live in the smallest MSA (#384), and near some of the micropolitans on the list in Northern Nevada. I love this area. I love the size of my city, it has everything you need within a 15 minute drive plus it’s a easy drive to bigger cities. People are friendly in smaller cities and crime is dealt with. You can’t get away with much in smaller cities before you get busted. Schools are better. Most smaller cities trend conservative, which I appreciate now more than ever.
I should note that by MSA I was referring to metropolitan statistical area vs micropolitan.
A lot of these micropolitan areas are consolidated into CSAs, and many of them are clearly struggling as compared to their associated MSAs, even sometimes compared to fast growing MSAs. I suspect that in those cases, their best hope is that the fast growing areas sprawl even more than they are doing today, and that the growth spills into these micropolitan areas. This will likely cause the micropolitan areas to stop existing and become part of the MSA due to increased commuting patterns.
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