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To me, it's ALWAYS about metro population. Otherwise Jacksonville is considered "larger" than SF
This. City pop is worthless as a comparison metric.
I agree with the posters that say it's opinion based. There is no one clear authority that defines these things.
I agree with other posters that it's a combination of population and regional draw/amenities. I don't agree that there's 1 clear cut off number. I consider cities(metros) over 2 million major there are a few under it that I'd consider major as well.
For me semi-major cities are open for debate. Any of them in the Omaha - Jacksonville range and a few smaller than that.
I agree with other posters that it's a combination of population and regional draw/amenities. I don't agree that there's 1 clear cut off number. I consider cities(metros) over 2 million major there are a few under it that I'd consider major as well.
I think this is an important consideration. If a city's status as major, semi-major, etc. were determined solely by population, we'd just list the ones that fell within the range and call it a day. But there's more to it than that. As an example, the metros for Des Moines, Iowa and Lakeland, Florida are essentially the same in population. But one of those cities is its state's capital, its largest city, a regional hub, and a major player in the insurance industry. The other one . . . isn't. I would consider Des Moines to be a semi-major city for sure. But I really don't think I would classify Lakeland as such.
I think this is an important consideration. If a city's status as major, semi-major, etc. were determined solely by population, we'd just list the ones that fell within the range and call it a day. But there's more to it than that. As an example, the metros for Des Moines, Iowa and Lakeland, Florida are essentially the same in population. But one of those cities is its state's capital, its largest city, a regional hub, and a major player in the insurance industry. The other one . . . isn't. I would consider Des Moines to be a semi-major city for sure. But I really don't think I would classify Lakeland as such.
Kind of cool that both Des Moines and Lakeland are located in their own respective "Polk" County, LOL.
However, I couldn't agree more. Lakeland wouldn't qualify for semi-major status in Florida, let alone nationally. The city itself is almost half the size of Des Moines, a downtown comparison are like night and day and Lakeland has no dedicated airline service for starters.
Thanks for explaining the parameters of this question. That said I will offer Boise, Idaho. Truly a very fast growing State capital with well over 700,000 now but may be approaching a million by 2030.
Other cities I would call solidly semi-major or "regional cities":
Spokane, WA
Anchorage, AK
Tucson, AZ
Fresno/Bakersfield, CA
Tulsa, OK
Peoria/Rockford/Springfield, IL
Fort Wayne, IN
Richmond, VA
Hartford, CT
Springfield, MA
Borderline semi-major/major:
Albuquerque, NM
Dayton, OH
Jacksonville, FL
Oklahoma City, OK
Buffalo, NY
Borderline semi-major/small cities:
Eugene, OR
Huntington, WV
Corpus Christi/Waco/Amarillo/Lubbock, TX
Fargo, ND
Sioux Falls, SD
Little Rock, AR
Reno does feel like a somewhat bigger city than Boise; it has a few walkable commercial corridors outside the downtown while Boise doesn't really. I really think of both as being in the same league, though, and I actually immediately thought of Reno when I saw the thread.
Other cities I would call solidly semi-major or "regional cities":
Spokane, WA
Anchorage, AK
Tucson, AZ
Fresno/Bakersfield, CA
Tulsa, OK
Peoria/Rockford/Springfield, IL
Fort Wayne, IN
Richmond, VA
Hartford, CT
Springfield, MA
Borderline semi-major/major:
Albuquerque, NM
Dayton, OH
Jacksonville, FL
Oklahoma City, OK
Buffalo, NY
Borderline semi-major/small cities:
Eugene, OR
Huntington, WV
Corpus Christi/Waco/Amarillo/Lubbock, TX
Fargo, ND
Sioux Falls, SD
Little Rock, AR
Boise has walkable commercial areas outside of downtown. The downtown area is impressive considering how vibrant and eclectic and walkable it is.
The OMB considers any city with a 2-million plus metro a "major" city, so that's what I go with. We currently have 35 metropolises above 2-million, and if that seems like alot, consider there are nearly 400 defined MSAs...
So a semi or mid-major city for me would be the 1-2 million range...
35 major cities seems reasonable to me, but if you're a curmudgeon with tight standards I guess I'd say, no one disagrees with any of the 12 largest cities being considered "major". Most people don't consider the Inland Empire a separate metro, so then you add Detroit, Seattle, MSP, and San Diego that most people would call "major" cities. That's 16 cities...
The question of who's "major" or not comes into play around Tampa Bay, which I don't know why anyone would question the major viability of Tampa, but I think it fits; people consider smaller places like Baltimore major all the time...
Every place above 2-million pretty much meets the requirements of being a major city. Once you've defined major you can define "semi-major"...
The OMB considers any city with a 2-million plus metro a "major" city, so that's what I go with. We currently have 35 metropolises above 2-million, and if that seems like alot, consider there are nearly 400 defined MSAs...
So a semi or mid-major city for me would be the 1-2 million range...
35 major cities seems reasonable to me, but if you're a curmudgeon with tight standards I guess I'd say, no one disagrees with any of the 12 largest cities being considered "major". Most people don't consider the Inland Empire a separate metro, so then you add Detroit, Seattle, MSP, and San Diego that most people would call "major" cities. That's 16 cities...
The question of who's "major" or not comes into play around Tampa Bay, which I don't know why anyone would question the major viability of Tampa, but I think it fits; people consider smaller places like Baltimore major all the time...
Every place above 2-million pretty much meets the requirements of being a major city. Once you've defined major you can define "semi-major"...
I pretty much agree with this.
I’d place Omaha as a “mid-major”- along with its peers- Tulsa, Albuquerque, Tucson, Grand Rapids, Birmingham, Oklahoma City, Louisville, etc..Metros basically knocking at the door of 1 million to under the 2 million metro population range. 2 million metro population plus gets into that Major category.
So I never actually made a list of what I considered to be "semi-major" based my actual criteria (for the record, Hartford is actually a major city in my criteria)
Mobile and Huntsville are both semi-major cities (both CSA's are more indicative of their actual metros)
Baton Rouge
Columbia
Charleston (SC)
Chattanooga
Knoxville
Albany
Syracuse
etc
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