Tiny cities that are a hub

[kphoger]

Any examples of military towns that thrive despite their low population?

[Hwy 61 Revisited]

I don't know of any.


Stroudsburg, PA, is a total commercial hub despite its population of only 6,000--less than its neighbor East Stroudsburg Dansbury.

[kphoger]

How about Joplin, MO?  Population ~ 50,000, yet it's a major trucking hub

[CNGL-Leudimin]

For my area of the world, try the capital column of this list. These also serve as main hubs for each comarca, the smallest being Cantavieja with a population of only 709. Also note that Zaragoza isn't that tiny (the 5th largest city in Spain in fact), and it isn't even the official capital of its comarca, as when it finally organized as the Comarca Central last year the suburb of Utebo was chosen as capital instead.

Per what I have researched, I was quite surprised at Danville PA (population 4,648) and Marshfield WI (population 18,471). Having hospitals in relatively small places isn't unheard of in my area (there is one in Barbastro, population 16,979; thus sightly smaller than Marshfield), but not to the extent of having nothing less than a Ronald McDonald House adjacent to them.

[doorknob60]

In terms of shopping/commercial activity, Warrenton, OR. It has a population of 5,700, but has many big box stores including Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, Fred Meyer, Staples, TJ Maxx, Ross, and a bunch more. The reason is it serves as the main shopping district for the larger Astoria and Seaside, but the population of the whole county is still just shy of 40,000.

As more of a real hub, Hermiston, OR. It's about 18,000 population, but it has hubs and distribution centers for FedEx, UPS, and Walmart, among many others. It's also where 2 interstates (I-84 and I-82) and 2 US routes (US-395 and US-730, also US-30 but it's just concurrent with I-84) meet. Boardman to the west is much smaller and also has a sizable industrial area.

[jmacswimmer]

Hagerstown MD (~40k) deserves a mention here - being at the intersection of I-70 & I-81 (and US 11 & US 40) makes it an ideal location for commercial distribution centers.  Among other things, there are large shopping centers at I-81 exits 5 & 6, outlets at I-70 exit 29, and countless auto dealers at I-70 exit 32.

[webny99]

Any examples of military towns that thrive despite their low population?

I mentioned Watertown, NY... which has Fort Drum, so it might count depending on how you define "thrive". 

[EpicRoadways]

Hudson, Wisconsin: A tiny hub in its own right or too suburban to count? I'd argue that the state boundary marks enough of a separation to give Hudson its own identity, but I'd be interested to know how other people feel about it. For a city of 13,000 a major urban freeway presence mixed with a ton of mid-tier food and lodging options makes Hudson seem three or four times its size to someone passing through on 94.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Hudson, Wisconsin: A tiny hub in its own right or too suburban to count? I'd argue that the state boundary marks enough of a separation to give Hudson its own identity, but I'd be interested to know how other people feel about it. For a city of 13,000 a major urban freeway presence mixed with a ton of mid-tier food and lodging options makes Hudson seem three or four times its size to someone passing through on 94.

Some east metro river cities like Hastings, Hudson, and Stillwater kind of fall into the same gray area as places with their own unique historical identities from before the Twin Cities absorbed them. I guess from my view living in the west metro my entire life, I consider them as places I need a reason to go to more so than going to, say, Eagan or Woodbury, so maybe that makes them their own hubs?

[JayhawkCO]

Hudson, Wisconsin: A tiny hub in its own right or too suburban to count? I'd argue that the state boundary marks enough of a separation to give Hudson its own identity, but I'd be interested to know how other people feel about it. For a city of 13,000 a major urban freeway presence mixed with a ton of mid-tier food and lodging options makes Hudson seem three or four times its size to someone passing through on 94.

Some east metro river cities like Hastings, Hudson, and Stillwater kind of fall into the same gray area as places with their own unique historical identities from before the Twin Cities absorbed them. I guess from my view living in the west metro my entire life, I consider them as places I need a reason to go to more so than going to, say, Eagan or Woodbury, so maybe that makes them their own hubs?

Having lived in both Hastings and Eagan as a kid, I don't really feel like either are "hubs".  Maybe Hastings for the Miesville and Welch crowd, but that's not many people.

Chris

[kphoger]

I was going to say basically the same thing about Hastings.  Sure, it's a nice town to visit, but I wouldn't call it a "hub".

[bing101]

[quote author=Max Rockatansky link=topic=27578.msg2529620#msg2529620 date=1598822224]
Tehachapi is a major stopping point at the southern flank of the Sierra Nevada Mountains but only has a population of about 14k.


I would put Barstow and Santa Nella at least for California cities with tiny hubs though.

[briantroutman]

Per what I have researched, I was quite surprised at Danville PA (population 4,648) and Marshfield WI (population 18,471). Having hospitals in relatively small places isn't unheard of in my area (there is one in Barbastro, population 16,979; thus sightly smaller than Marshfield), but not to the extent of having nothing less than a Ronald McDonald House adjacent to them.

In the case of Danville, the hospital in question is Geisinger Medical Center, a world-class tertiary/quaternary hospital. The Danville hospital anchors a integrated health maintenance organization and care provider that dominates a roughly triangular shaped slice of Pennsylvania stretching from northeast of Scranton down through Harrisburg and northwest to the rural areas beyond State College. If you're one of the half-million people in this region who are members of the Geisinger Health Plan–or one of the millions more in the region on Medicare–and are in need of acute care not available in your local hospital, you'll be sent to Danville.

So in that sense–from a health care perspective–Danville is a hub, drawing patients from a large geographic region of Pennsylvania who aren't associated with the health networks of the major hospital networks in Pittsburgh (UPMC) and Philadelphia (Penn Medicine).

My sister was born with a life-threatening congenital heart defect in Williamsport, and she was airlifted to Geisinger on her second day. She underwent numerous surgeries and other procedures in Danville before finally emerging as a fairly normal and healthy infant.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Having lived in both Hastings and Eagan as a kid, I don't really feel like either are "hubs".  Maybe Hastings for the Miesville and Welch crowd, but that's not many people.

I was going to say basically the same thing about Hastings.  Sure, it's a nice town to visit, but I wouldn't call it a "hub".

I think I did a crappy job of explaining my point, which was to respond to the "is Hudson a suburb or its own hub" , which although Hastings isn't a hub I was trying to illustrate the fact that it feels like a suburb in some ways and its own town in others. Back to the other point, Stillwater is probably a better allegory to Hudson for this discussion. 

[Hwy 61 Revisited]

Danville is a hub, drawing patients from a large geographic region of Pennsylvania who aren't associated with the health networks of the major hospital networks in Pittsburgh (UPMC) and Philadelphia (Penn Medicine).

Don't forget Allentown and the Poconos (LVHN).

[CoreySamson]

For Texas my immediate thought was Bastrop. It only has a population of 7.2K, but it has the following:

Academy
Lowes and a Home Depot
Chilis
Chick-Fil-A
Ross
Petco
Best Buy
Buc-ee's (a full-size one, not a small one)

It has all this plus the usual restaurants and shops you'd find in a small town. It has no US highways or interstates, but it is about halfway between College Station and San Antonio on SH 21, and about a fourth of the way between Austin and Houston on SH 71.

[Sctvhound]

I forgot to mention Orangeburg here in SC when I was talking about tiny hub cities. A town of 12,500, but it has the services of a town probably 4 times the size. Two HBCUs, a daily newspaper, an enclosed mall (Prince of Orange), and every fast food place known to man.

It's the city for a trading area of at least 30 miles in most directions (except for the north, with Columbia being so close).

It helps when you have 4 US highways intersecting in town (21, 178, 301, 601) plus I-26.

[TXtoNJ]

Maybe Limon, CO?  Crossroads of US24, US40, US287, CO71, and I-70.  Not much else out in eastern Colorado, especially in the central-eastern part of the state.

Chris

Perfect example.

I'd throw Rock Springs, WY in there, along with Woodward, OK and Dodge City, KS.

[keithvh]

Maybe Limon, CO?  Crossroads of US24, US40, US287, CO71, and I-70.  Not much else out in eastern Colorado, especially in the central-eastern part of the state.

Chris

Perfect example.

I'd throw Rock Springs, WY in there, along with Woodward, OK and Dodge City, KS.

A counterpoint on Limon: it doesn't even have a hospital in town.  The nearest hospital is in Hugo, 15 miles down US-287.  Limon doesn't have a Wal-Mart either.

Limon's always just seemed to me like a place where roads converge.  Good for gas, fast food and a low-to-mid-tier hotel room.  But not a place that draws folks in from a surrounding radius for retail and food and medical choices.  An eastern Colorado hub like Fort Morgan or Lamar has a hospital, a Wal-Mart and a Safeway.  Limon has none of those 3.

I do agree on your latter 3.

[golden eagle]

Marion, Illinois, population around 18,000, but has numerous big box stores and chain restaurants. The larger Carbondale is about 20-30 minutes away.

[ftballfan]

Maybe Limon, CO?  Crossroads of US24, US40, US287, CO71, and I-70.  Not much else out in eastern Colorado, especially in the central-eastern part of the state.

Chris

Perfect example.

I'd throw Rock Springs, WY in there, along with Woodward, OK and Dodge City, KS.

A counterpoint on Limon: it doesn't even have a hospital in town.  The nearest hospital is in Hugo, 15 miles down US-287.  Limon doesn't have a Wal-Mart either.

Limon's always just seemed to me like a place where roads converge.  Good for gas, fast food and a low-to-mid-tier hotel room.  But not a place that draws folks in from a surrounding radius for retail and food and medical choices.  An eastern Colorado hub like Fort Morgan or Lamar has a hospital, a Wal-Mart and a Safeway.  Limon has none of those 3.

I do agree on your latter 3.

Despite Limon not having a hospital, it is still batting well above its weight when it comes to fast food, as it has Arby's, IHOP, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Subway, Taco Bell, and Wendy's. The closest Walmart is in Falcon, an eastern suburb of Colorado Springs.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

For Minnesota it's places like Marshall (college), Morris (college), Virginia/Hibbing (regional centers), Winona (college), Grand Rapids (tourism!, Baxter/Brainerd (more Baxter these days, tourism), Bemidji (college/tourism), Albert Lea (interstate junction)

Should probably add Hutchinson and Thief River Falls. Hutchinson is big enough for Walmart and Applebee's.

[Sctvhound]

Another tiny city that is a hub: Greenwood, SC. Town of 23K that has no decent-sized city around it for 50 miles. 54 from Greenville, 58 from Augusta, 79 from Columbia and Athens, GA.

It has a university (Lander), a Publix, a Starbucks, a Lidl (a higher-end type of grocery store like Aldi owned by Food Lion) and a Hobby Lobby, among other things, plus all the fast food choices. It also has 2 Walmarts.

[jakeroot]

Ellensburg, WA (population ~21k) is definitely a hub for central Washington. But it's also a college town and not really near other major cities:

* meeting point of I-90, I-82, and US-97.
* home to Central Washington University, a large public university with 12,000+ students
* very walkable downtown with many businesses and restaurants
* major truck stop, with many businesses catering to this located directly off I-90 (hotels, gas stations, etc)

It doesn't have any major big-box stores other than Fred Meyer (aka Kroger), so not as impressive as other examples.

[JKRhodes]

Safford, Arizona (Pop 9,872) has Wal-Mart Supercenter, Home Depot, Harbor Freight, and several other businesses. Interstate 10 is located 33 miles away.

The town the main employment and shopping hub for Graham and Greenlee  counties, as well as parts of northern Cochise County; Hidalgo County, NM and Catron County, NM.

Copper mining is the major job creator. Cotton Farming is big, and cattle ranching plays a role as well.

Eastern Arizona college in nearby Thatcher has a popular nursing program, and partners with Arizona State University to offer a limited number of Bachelor's degrees.

Someone once told me that Safford is considered to have a "market population" of about 50-60K; a figure used by businesses when they consider whether or not they should set up shop here.

We don't have a ton of nice retail businesses or restaurants; people here prefer to drive to Tucson or Phoenix for a better experience when they spend their money at nice stores or eat at restaurants. With Amazon and eBay getting huge I don't expect that to change anytime soon as far as the shopping is concerned