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Location: Metro Atlanta (Sandy Springs), by way of Macon, GA
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Can someone explain to me the "official" reasons a place is considered within a Metro Area? I know I read somewhere about commuting patterns.
Example. Here in GA, Meriwether Country is listed as "Metro Atlanta." I know people in the cities of Atlanta, Marietta, Decatur, etc who've never even heard of that place. The County Seat of Meriwether County is 61 miles from Atlanta. I can't imagine the majority of people within that county driving 61 miles to work.
However, I could see if the majority work somewhere like Newnan, 25 miles away in Coweta County. Is that why?
Also, in your opinions, what would be a better way for considering what is within a "Metro Area?"
Last edited by Southern Soul Bro; 02-01-2021 at 10:26 PM..
You have central counties or parishes which act as the major centers people commute to and from. The commute threshold is 25%. That's pretty much it. So at least a quarter of people in Meriwether County commute to a central county in metro Atlanta.
Apparently a county is in the MSA if 25% commute to "an adjacent county or counties", and 15% makes it part of the CSA.
I don't fully understand how this works, though. Suppose Center County in the state of Iroquois has the following breakdown in where its residents commute:
Linden County, IR (to the west): 25%
Bixby County, IR (to the northeast): 20%
Diamond County, IR (to the southeast): 15%
Staying in Center County, IR: 40%
However, 40% of people working in Bixby County commute to Diamond County, and 40% in Diamond commute to Bixby. 0% of people in Linden commute anywhere outside of Linden.
Which MSA does Center County become part of, the Linden MSA or the Bixby-Diamond MSA? There are more total commutes to Bixby-Diamond, but the highest commute for one county is to Linden. Or does it just go to whichever MSA has more people? Or does it go to the Linden MSA because that's the only county that reaches 25% --- but if Linden were at 26%, Bixby were at 25%, and Diamond were at 15%, there would be counties in two MSAs past the 25% threshold, so then it would be determined by those MSAs' populations?
The census bureau uses a very precise definition which often means that there are completely detached areas that are part of the same urban area
My urban area is over 90% in Pennsylvania and a small portion by population and area in New Jersey. As of the last census we are considered part of the NYC combinsed metropolitan statistical area even though Philadelphia is closer and part of the same state as the bulk of the area.
But they use rules based on number of commuters and a long list of other criteria. The idea is to remove "opinion" from the calculation.
Can someone explain to me the "official" reasons a place is considered within a Metro Area? I know I read somewhere about commuting patterns.
Example. Here in GA, Meriwether Country is listed as "Metro Atlanta." I know people in the cities of Atlanta, Marietta, Decatur, etc who've never even heard of that place. The County Seat of Meriwether County is 61 miles from Atlanta. I can't imagine the majority of people within that county driving 61 miles to work.
However, I could see if the majority work somewhere like Newnan, 25 miles away in Coweta County. Is that why?
Also, in your opinions, what would be a better way for considering what is within a "Metro Area?"
google is your friend. There are formal definitions by the OMB.
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