What is a major city?

[hobsini2]

I think my criteria for a major city has to have at least 5 of the following:
1. The city limit population needs to be 150,000 at a minimum.
2. Has a major commercial airport within 10 miles of city limits with at least 200 commercial flights a day.
3. Pro sport team or at least a AAA MLB team.  No A or AA.
4. Must be at least top 5 in population in the state.
5. There has to be a downtown or central business district.
6. Has it's own city buses or train system.
7. A state university.

In my criteria, Omaha would qualify but not Lincoln for example.  Anaheim would also qualify.

[huskeroadgeek]

I think my criteria for a major city has to have at least 5 of the following:
1. The city limit population needs to be 150,000 at a minimum.
2. Has a major commercial airport within 10 miles of city limits with at least 200 commercial flights a day.
3. Pro sport team or at least a AAA MLB team.  No A or AA.
4. Must be at least top 5 in population in the state.
5. There has to be a downtown or central business district.
6. Has it's own city buses or train system.
7. A state university.

In my criteria, Omaha would qualify but not Lincoln for example.  Anaheim would also qualify.

Uh, mind explaining that one? Lincoln has 5 of the above criteria. The only ones that don't fit are #2 and #3.

[hobsini2]

it has over 150K within the city limits?

[jwolfer]

Exactly what constitutes a major city? I've been trying to figure that out after seeing that term on the Internet earlier.

It also depends on where the city is located.  For example most of NJ couties have large populations.  I grew up in Ocean County and it has over 500K people and along with neighboring Monmouth County over 600K.  1.1 million is on par than many "major" metro areas populations (ie San Antonio or Jacksonville0  But Monmouth-Ocean is just suburbs/exurbs of NYC.

[huskeroadgeek]

it has over 150K within the city limits?

Uh, yes I'd say so-258,379 in the 2010 Census. Lincoln reached the 150,000 level 40 years ago. Not sure what numbers you were looking at.

[hobsini2]

OK. i just looked it up. Lincoln does qualify.

[golden eagle]

I think my criteria for a major city has to have at least 5 of the following:
1. The city limit population needs to be 150,000 at a minimum.
2. Has a major commercial airport within 10 miles of city limits with at least 200 commercial flights a day.
3. Pro sport team or at least a AAA MLB team.  No A or AA.
4. Must be at least top 5 in population in the state.
5. There has to be a downtown or central business district.
6. Has it's own city buses or train system.
7. A state university.

In my criteria, Omaha would qualify but not Lincoln for example.  Anaheim would also qualify.

Jackson would meet five of the seven, perhaps a sixth depending on how many commercial flights per day. We have AA baseball team, so we wouldn't qualify there. But, I still don't see Jackson as a major city.

[hobsini2]

Actually thinking about it a little more, I came up with an 8th one.
Has to be more than 100 Sq miles. so a city must be at least 10X10 miles.

[berberry]

Jackson would meet five of the seven, perhaps a sixth depending on how many commercial flights per day. We have AA baseball team, so we wouldn't qualify there. But, I still don't see Jackson as a major city.

I agree.  But it's rated 2AA by Ranally, above cities like Fort Worth TX and Oakland CA.  The classification is defined as "major regional business center", which does fit Jackson when you consider that the nearest larger city is hundreds of miles away.  My guess is that that's the very reason Jackson is ranked higher - Oakland is right next to San Francisco and Fort Worth is only a short drive from Dallas.

Jackson is indeed not a very large city, but it's apparently more important than either of us would have guessed. 

Thanks to the poster who pointed out the Ranally ratings.  I'd heard of them some time ago but forgotten about them.

[jgb191]

And people forget that the largest city in Florida is not Miami or Tampa or Orlando -- it's Jacksonville.  In fact Jacksonville I believe is the 11th largest city in the US.  Orlando is the fifth largest city in Florida.  In fact Florida has more pro sports cities than my home state of Texas 4-3.

[DTComposer]

I agree.  But it's rated 2AA by Ranally, above cities like Fort Worth TX and Oakland CA.  The classification is defined as "major regional business center", which does fit Jackson when you consider that the nearest larger city is hundreds of miles away.  My guess is that that's the very reason Jackson is ranked higher - Oakland is right next to San Francisco and Fort Worth is only a short drive from Dallas.

Jackson is indeed not a very large city, but it's apparently more important than either of us would have guessed. 

Thanks to the poster who pointed out the Ranally ratings.  I'd heard of them some time ago but forgotten about them.

Careful when comparing the AA vs. BB vs. CC ratings. The only reason Ft. Worth/Oakland/etc. are BB cities instead of AA is that there's already an A-level city in their market (Dallas, San Francisco). The Ranally system dictates there can only be one A-level city in each of their (admittedly self-described) market areas. It doesn't necessarily mean that the AA cities are more "important" or "ranked higher" than the BB cities.

[DTComposer]

I think my criteria for a major city has to have at least 5 of the following:
1. The city limit population needs to be 150,000 at a minimum.
2. Has a major commercial airport within 10 miles of city limits with at least 200 commercial flights a day.
3. Pro sport team or at least a AAA MLB team.  No A or AA.
4. Must be at least top 5 in population in the state.
5. There has to be a downtown or central business district.
6. Has it's own city buses or train system.
7. A state university.

In my criteria, Omaha would qualify but not Lincoln for example.  Anaheim would also qualify.

Anaheim? I'm not arguing that it isn't a major city, but while it has numbers 1 and 3 down, it does not have numbers 4 (it's ranked number 9 in the state), 6 (the transit system is regional, not centered on Anaheim), or 7 (closest are in Irvine or Fullerton). That leaves number 2 (debatable, since SNA is 14 miles from Disneyland and 16 miles from City Hall) and number 5, and while there is a "downtown" Anaheim, [opinion] I wouldn't consider it worthy of a major city by any stretch [/opinion].

That being said, given the benefit of the doubt, Anaheim still only qualifies on 4 of the categories. But again, I'm not arguing it isn't a major city, just some friendly fact-checking.

[DTComposer]

Yeah, Orlando has an NBA franchise and its newspaper may be a major newspaper, but does any of that happen if Disney World doesn't locate in the area? I doubt it.

So whether you want to call it a major city or not, you still must recognize it is quite different from other major cities. Those cities have had suburbs that have grown up due to outgrowth from the central city. Orlando has been the opposite-a city that has grown because of something that grew up in the surrounding area.

However, you can argue that San Francisco only became a major city because of something that happened 130 miles away (discovery of gold), and Los Angeles' growth was only possible because of something over 200 miles away (Owens Valley water). I'm sure other cities could cite such far-flung events or resources as the impetus behind their growth as well. It's impossible to predict what would have happened to Orlando had Disney not located there - all of Florida has experienced tremendous growth the last 50 years, so who's to say Orlando wouldn't be a similar size now, just driven by factors other than tourism? The point is Orlando is what it is today, for whatever reasons inside or outside city limits, and do we consider it a major city? I would say yes.

[berberry]

The only reason Ft. Worth/Oakland/etc. are BB cities instead of AA is that there's already an A-level city in their market (Dallas, San Francisco). The Ranally system dictates there can only be one A-level city in each of their (admittedly self-described) market areas.

Yes, I think we're making the same point in different ways.  I said that I felt Jackson's higher ranking reflected the fact that it is at least a moderately large city and commercial center with no other large city anywhere within a couple hundred miles, at least.

I had used the word "important" only in saying that Jackson was apparently more important than I or Golden Eagle had assumed, probably because we're both closely connected to it and it doesn't seem like such a large or important place to us.  I was not saying that Jackson is ultimately more important than larger but lower-ranked cities. 

[NE2]

And people forget that the largest city in Florida is not Miami or Tampa or Orlando -- it's Jacksonville.

Only because they merged with the county.

[PAHighways]

It's been so long since I've been to Pittsburgh that I've pretty much forgotten it.  For some reason,  I remember it as a mostly dirty, smoggy place.  Is there a reason for that or is it a mistake?  A friend visited there a couple years ago, and told me that it's a beautiful city with very clean air.

It has been awhile!

The reason is pretty simple because heavy industry was based along the riverbanks, and the city, especially downtown, sits in the bottom of a large river valley and the smoke would get trapped between the hills.  In the late 50s, the Renaissance I project began which, including demolishing everything from Stanwix Street to the Point and building Gateway Center and Point State Park, the mills had to clean up their acts...literally.

[golden eagle]

And people forget that the largest city in Florida is not Miami or Tampa or Orlando -- it's Jacksonville.  In fact Jacksonville I believe is the 11th largest city in the US.  Orlando is the fifth largest city in Florida.  In fact Florida has more pro sports cities than my home state of Texas 4-3.

If you wanna get technical, Texas has four pro sports cities (Dallas, Arlington, San Antonio and Houston). Sure, the Cowboys and Rangers are in Arlington, but if you're counting Arlington as a part of Dallas, then it would be three. Same with Florida. Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and Miami do host pro sports, but don't the Tampa Bay Rays play in St. Petersburg and the Florida Panthers play somewhere outside of Miami? That would make it six cities. 

[TheStranger]

If you wanna get technical, Texas has four pro sports cities (Dallas, Arlington, San Antonio and Houston). Sure, the Cowboys and Rangers are in Arlington, but if you're counting Arlington as a part of Dallas, then it would be three. Same with Florida. Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and Miami do host pro sports, but don't the Tampa Bay Rays play in St. Petersburg and the Florida Panthers play somewhere outside of Miami? That would make it six cities. 

The Florida Panthers play in suburban Sunrise (which IIRC is closer to Fort Lauderdale than Miami).

[huskeroadgeek]

Yeah, Orlando has an NBA franchise and its newspaper may be a major newspaper, but does any of that happen if Disney World doesn't locate in the area? I doubt it.

So whether you want to call it a major city or not, you still must recognize it is quite different from other major cities. Those cities have had suburbs that have grown up due to outgrowth from the central city. Orlando has been the opposite-a city that has grown because of something that grew up in the surrounding area.

However, you can argue that San Francisco only became a major city because of something that happened 130 miles away (discovery of gold), and Los Angeles' growth was only possible because of something over 200 miles away (Owens Valley water). I'm sure other cities could cite such far-flung events or resources as the impetus behind their growth as well. It's impossible to predict what would have happened to Orlando had Disney not located there - all of Florida has experienced tremendous growth the last 50 years, so who's to say Orlando wouldn't be a similar size now, just driven by factors other than tourism? The point is Orlando is what it is today, for whatever reasons inside or outside city limits, and do we consider it a major city? I would say yes.

Whether one wants to all it a major city or not isn't really that important to me. I still maintain that Orlando alone, by itself isn't really a major city, but it certainly is a major metropolitan area. Clearly, some people have a broader definition of what constitutes a major city than others. I think it's a difficult term to define anyway. My main point for bringing it up in the first place was citing it as an example of a city that is very small in relation to its metropolitan area.

[golden eagle]

If you wanna get technical, Texas has four pro sports cities (Dallas, Arlington, San Antonio and Houston). Sure, the Cowboys and Rangers are in Arlington, but if you're counting Arlington as a part of Dallas, then it would be three. Same with Florida. Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and Miami do host pro sports, but don't the Tampa Bay Rays play in St. Petersburg and the Florida Panthers play somewhere outside of Miami? That would make it six cities. 

The Florida Panthers play in suburban Sunrise (which IIRC is closer to Fort Lauderdale than Miami).

According to my atlas, Sunrise is just west of Ft. Lauderdale.

[Michael in Philly]

Actually thinking about it a little more, I came up with an 8th one.
Has to be more than 100 Sq miles. so a city must be at least 10X10 miles.

Within city limits?  If so, you'd be surprised how many places that eliminates.  Boston, Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Saint Louis, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle I think....

[Michael in Philly]

Put it another way, what's the largest metro with the smallest center city?  Twin or multi-cities are fine, so long as the comparison is to the largest city within the area.

my guess would be the Bay Area.  945,000 people live in San Jose.  7.4 million people live in the Bay Area.

The Bay Area is a combined statistical area; San Jose and San Francisco are separate CBSAs. Even so, with the numbers you cite San Jose is about 12.8% of the Bay Area.

Taking a quick look at some census estimates for 2009, and considering only CBSAs, I came up with:

Miami 433K out of a CBSA of 5.5M (about 7.8%)
Atlanta 540K out of 5.4M (9.9%) - this one surprised me
Washington DC 600K out of 5.5M (11.0%)
Minneapolis 385K out of 3.3M (11.8%)
St Louis 357K out of 2.8M (12.6%)

There may be better examples but I think Miami's the winner.

5.5 million for Washington?  If you extend the Washington area far enough to take in that many people, is Washington still the largest city in it?  Or would it be Baltimore?

[Desert Man]

When it comes to the USA, the US Census decides and defines a major city, a metropolitan area and nowadays, the rise of exurbs and micropolitan areas. We have 10 cities with over a million inhabitants: San Jose surpassed Detroit according to the 2010 census, when San Jose has now 1.0 million while Detroit shrinks to 800,000 or less people. The 250 other cities with over 100,000 residents may have less or lower urban status profile, many are suburban cities of already larger ones: Long Beach near L.A., Mesa near Phoenix, Aurora near Denver and Arlington in Dallas-Ft. Worth.

In Cal. we have 12 cities with over a quarter of million (250,000+ people), with a possible tie of Anaheim and Santa Ana at 300,000 in the 2000 census report. But I think the latest updates on Anaheim (8th largest in Cal.) has more than Santa Ana (12th largest in Cal.), while Bakersfield, Stockton and Riverside pushed down Santa Ana. The other 6 cities in the 500,000-1 million range are San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno and Oakland. The San Diego area has a border town Tijuana with 1.5 million residents, if the two merged, the San Diego-Tijuana duplex doubles to 3 million.

[jwolfer]

Yeah, Orlando has an NBA franchise and its newspaper may be a major newspaper, but does any of that happen if Disney World doesn't locate in the area? I doubt it.

So whether you want to call it a major city or not, you still must recognize it is quite different from other major cities. Those cities have had suburbs that have grown up due to outgrowth from the central city. Orlando has been the opposite-a city that has grown because of something that grew up in the surrounding area.

However, you can argue that San Francisco only became a major city because of something that happened 130 miles away (discovery of gold), and Los Angeles' growth was only possible because of something over 200 miles away (Owens Valley water). I'm sure other cities could cite such far-flung events or resources as the impetus behind their growth as well. It's impossible to predict what would have happened to Orlando had Disney not located there - all of Florida has experienced tremendous growth the last 50 years, so who's to say Orlando wouldn't be a similar size now, just driven by factors other than tourism? The point is Orlando is what it is today, for whatever reasons inside or outside city limits, and do we consider it a major city? I would say yes.

Orlando was the largest inland city in Florida pre-Disney.  I remember when I was a kid ( in the 70s) WESH 2 the NBC affiliate was licenced to Daytona Beach and Orlando.  The didnt even have all the networks represented in the city.  It was a regional city in Florida but not internationally known.  Disney and then the "copycat" attractions have put Orlando on the map.  Jacksonville historically was much more prominent than Orlando but Orlando has taken over as Metro area number 3 in Florida

[Stephane Dumas]

Detroit dropped to 713 000, but the Metro Detroit have 4 500 000 when we add the surrounding suburban counties. If we add Windsor, Ontario and its suburbs, it's around 5.7 millions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit-Windsor