Tiny cities that are a hub

[Sctvhound]

Cities that are local hubs of commerce with smaller populations. One I'd say is Florence, SC.

Town of about 38K, but punches above its weight in a lot of ways. Has a major interstate junction (I-20 and I-95 just outside town), has two enclosed malls, a four-year university (Francis Marion), and is the halfway point between New York and Miami on I-95, so it basically has every major hotel chain except for the luxury ones.

Also has a 10,000 seat arena which had a minor league hockey team for 8 years. Pretty much the major retail and job hub for a 10 county area (Florence, Marlboro, Dillon, Marion, Chesterfield, Darlington, Lee in SC, Scotland, Robeson and Richmond in NC).

Yet most people even in SC don't know much about it.

What about your area?

[Flint1979]

Let's see for Michigan:

For the U.P. there are probably a few hubs. Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, Escanaba, Houghton.

For the Lower Peninsula. Alpena is by far the largest city in the sparsely populated NE corner and is the hub of the region.
Traverse City is probably smaller than people think it is but that's also a hub and a small city.
Bad Axe for the Thumb.

Someone else from Michigan could probably add a few others.

[Max Rockatansky]

Tehachapi is a major stopping point at the southern flank of the Sierra Nevada Mountains but only has a population of about 14k. 

[Ben114]

Greenfield is the major city in northwestern Mass. with a population of 17k. Northern Berkshires have North Adams, with a population of 13k.

[I-55]

Portland, TN (pop 13k). About 30 minutes north of Nashville, Portland has ≈20 distribution centers including ones for FedEx and Macy's among others. A lot of the growth is evidenced in the roadwork on TN-109 including the widening south of Portland, the new interchange with I-65, and the proposed bypass of Portland. Portland's population is expected to increase by 2,000 for the 2020 census (per Google estimate)

[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)

[thspfc]

Minocqua and Woodruff WI are both unincorporated, yet they're the most important towns for at least 35-40 miles in each direction.

[Sctvhound]

Florence is probably the best example, but South Carolina has several.

Walterboro has a population of 5,500, but it acts like a town at least 2-3 times its size. It has a Starbucks, a movie theater, 2 Subways, 2 McDonalds, and is the center of commerce for probably 20-25 miles around it. It also is the southern terminus of US 15.

Newberry, Moncks Corner, and Union also are hubs. Moncks Corner's population went from 8,000 in 2010 to about 12,000 now, but it has every fast-food place, and people drive to their Walmart from miles and miles around.

[Takumi]

South Hill, VA
Emporia, VA
Roanoke Rapids, NC

[Sctvhound]

South Hill, VA
Emporia, VA
Roanoke Rapids, NC

Agree with all of those. Especially Emporia and Roanoke Rapids. It's amazing what being on I-95 does for a town's commerce. Hundreds of thousands or millions of people stop there every year because of the I-95 exits.

Lumberton, NC too. Five I-95 exits. Punches way above its weight with sit-down places too. Town of 20K and feels like a much bigger city from 95, compared to bypassed Fayetteville.

[jp the roadgeek]

Storrs, CT.  Home of the University of Connecticut... and little else.  The population is 15,344; most of whom are campus residents.  A lot of retail has built up in the area surrounding the campus, but go or 3 miles away and you're essentially in farmland and wooded areas.

Torrington and Putnam are also tiny hubs in that they are retail centers with little in the surrounding area.  Torrington is in Litchfield County, 20 miles from Waterbury and 30 miles from Hartford, with nothing of significance to the north and west for retail (a couple stores in Winsted and Canaan, but really, we're talking Great Barrington and Poughkeepsie before anything big).  Putnam is an oasis about 30 miles from both Worcester and Providence, and benefits from being along I-395 and US 44 as kind of a stopping off point in the highway void between Hartford and Providence. 

[DandyDan]

I would have to say my current hometown of Mason City, IA is one. It is the only Walmart and Target for miles around. There's a number of national chain or local chain restaurants only in Mason City, where the next closest of the chain is Waterloo/Cedar Falls. Everyone who needs something more than basic health care goes to MercyOne hospital here. This is probably the only city for miles around where there are more jobs not directly linked to agriculture than ones with a direct link. About the only thing in the area that's not agricultural that not in Mason City is the Diamond Jo Casino at the Northwood exit of I-35.

[ftballfan]

Also in northern lower Michigan, Gaylord and Petoskey both have populations under 6,000 in the city limits, but do have the following chains that typically don't go into towns of that size:
Shopping
Aldi (both)
Bed Bath and Beyond (Petoskey)
Big Lots (Gaylord)
Hobby Lobby (both)
Home Depot (both)
HomeGoods (Petoskey)
JoAnn Fabrics (Petoskey)
Kohl's (Gaylord)
Lowe's (both)
Marshalls (Petoskey)
Meijer (both)
PetSmart (Gaylord)
T.J. Maxx (Gaylord)
Walmart (both)
Restaurants
Applebee's (both)
Bob Evans (both) - the two northernmost locations of that chain
Buffalo Wild Wings (both)
Five Guys (Gaylord) - Traverse City doesn't even have Five Guys AFAIK
Panera Bread (Gaylord)
Qdoba (Gaylord)
Starbucks (both)

For comparison, Big Rapids, Cadillac, Ludington, and Manistee all have more people in the city limits than Petoskey or Gaylord, but don't have most of these chains (they all have Meijer).
Two possible factors on how Gaylord and Petoskey got all of these places:
1. The K-12 enrollment of the schools (both Petoskey and Gaylord are home to school districts that have over 3,000 kids K-12)
2. The freeway factor (only applies to Gaylord)

[MikeTheActuary]

While it doesn't count as "tiny", Dothan AL supports commercial development beyond what you might expect from its growing population due to its role as a commercial hub for southeast Alabama.

[webny99]

The closest thing New York has to a Florence, SC style example is... Watertown?
There's not really anything else that punches well above its weight in terms of population vs. importance.

[JayhawkCO]

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

[ozarkman417]

Sikeston, MO (pop. 16K). Has three U.S Highways (60, 61, 62) and two Interstates (55, 57). It is the largest city in the Missouri portion of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, and is approximately alf way between STL and Memphis on I-55. From Sikeston, US 60 is a four-lane expressway to Springfield, MO. It is served by BNSF tracks (North/South) and was served by U.P. (East/West?) up until tracks were removed last decade.

[sprjus4]

Emporia, VA

Their police department sure do love the town being a "mini hub". Not only do they take in money from businesses, the highway itself is a cash cow. In this case, it's both I-95 and US-58. Don't go above 70 mph on I-95, and above 60 mph on US-58 if you want to get through without a ticket. I'll usually drop my cruise to ~3 mph below the limit. See cops along US-58 all the time traveling through, less so on I-95. US-58 works great because they can enforce an artificial speed limit (60 mph on a limited access bypass) that should in reality be at least 5 - 10 mph faster.

[sprjus4]

Wytheville, VA is at the junction of I-77 and I-81. Lots of fast food places, gas stations, hotels, truck stops, etc.

Another one - not sure exactly what it would classify under - South of the Border on I-95 at the NC / SC line. Major tourist trap.

[Rothman]

The closest thing New York has to a Florence, SC style example is... Watertown?
There's not really anything else that punches well above its weight in terms of population vs. importance.

Fort Drum is kind of important.

[Sctvhound]

South of the Border is not much other than their chain of stuff. Nothing on the north side of the exit (the NC side) but a gas station and a below Motel 6 level motel. The county they are in doesn't even allow alcohol sales on Sunday.

On 301 it just pops up when you're a mile away from it.

Santee, SC punches way above its weight as well. Town of 1,000, but because it is on Lake Marion and is a "mid-point"  in SC, it has every mid-level hotel chain, all the major fast-food chains, a CVS and a Food Lion. You have to drive 20+ miles to Orangeburg or 40+ miles the other direction to Moncks Corner for anything bigger.

For some people Lake Marion is the point where it feels like you're getting close to Florida.

[NWI_Irish96]

If you want to use the centers of media markets as a proxy for hubs, here are the smallest:

Glendive, MT - 4,910
Presque Isle, ME - 9,007
Alpena, MI - 9,956
Traverse City, MI - 15,738
Beckley, WV - 15,940
Marquette, MI - 20,995
North Platte, NE - 23,639
Ottumwa, IA - 24,368
Watertown, NY - 24,838
Zanesville, OH - 25,158

[The Nature Boy]

Emporia, VA

Their police department sure do love the town being a "mini hub". Not only do they take in money from businesses, the highway itself is a cash cow. In this case, it's both I-95 and US-58. Don't go above 70 mph on I-95, and above 60 mph on US-58 if you want to get through without a ticket. I'll usually drop my cruise to ~3 mph below the limit. See cops along US-58 all the time traveling through, less so on I-95. US-58 works great because they can enforce an artificial speed limit (60 mph on a limited access bypass) that should in reality be at least 5 - 10 mph faster.

I was pulled over there once on I-95 because I was allegedly swerving in my lane (I wasn't). The cop and I had a polite back and forth discussion and he ended up letting me go. He was probably hoping I was drunk.

[Takumi]

Emporia, VA

Their police department sure do love the town being a "mini hub". Not only do they take in money from businesses, the highway itself is a cash cow. In this case, it's both I-95 and US-58. Don't go above 70 mph on I-95, and above 60 mph on US-58 if you want to get through without a ticket. I'll usually drop my cruise to ~3 mph below the limit. See cops along US-58 all the time traveling through, less so on I-95. US-58 works great because they can enforce an artificial speed limit (60 mph on a limited access bypass) that should in reality be at least 5 - 10 mph faster.

I was pulled over there once on I-95 because I was allegedly swerving in my lane (I wasn't). The cop and I had a polite back and forth discussion and he ended up letting me go. He was probably hoping I was drunk.

Oddly, whenever I'm down that way I see more cops between Stony Creek and exit 13 on I-95 than I do Emporia itself, unless there was active construction going on. 58 though, absolutely lives up to the stereotype. I went to clinch VA 308, which is about 15 minutes east of Emporia on 58, and decided to do it northbound instead of going southbound from Sussex, and on the bypass segment of 58 east of 95 there were no fewer than 3 cops.

[sprjus4]

^

Having only driven that segment of I-95 once last year in order to clinch it, since I have no real reason to drive it between Emporia and Richmond, I can't comment on that, but I have heard that the next few counties also enjoy I-95 as a cash cow, specifically Greensville County (north of Emporia) who also has jurisdiction over US-58 east of Emporia, who also always patrol that segment looking for somebody driving a reasonable speed (I.E. 70 mph, not the artificial 60 mph speed limit). I've seen Emporia police on I-95 south of US-58 a few times before, including when the bridge was under construction. I bet they were sad when that project was finished, no more 55 mph and double fines that clearly would rack in numerous tickets. Southampton County, though to a lesser extent, have also set up shop along various areas of US-58 to catch people off guard, and I've seen them in random median openings, including usually in blind areas that you won't see until you turn a corner or go over a hill. Courtland is another big area, and that in fact was recently lowered from 55 mph to 50 mph for "safety reasons"  which may exist for the business cluster just east of the Courtland Bypass, but most of that area can easily handle 55 mph if not a higher 60 mph. The long Suffolk, Courtland, and Franklin bypasses also never go above 60 mph despite being freeways, though enforcement seemed pretty relaxed on there, having only ever seen them a few times. Again, as the rest of the road, a reasonable 70 mph is the norm.

I've started taking US-17 and US-64 more and more specifically to avoid US-58 if heading to I-95, specifically because enforcement is significantly less on the 55 mph areas of US-17, and I've had no problem driving 68 - 70 mph the whole way, plus the bypasses and all of US-64 are all 70 mph, not to mention less traffic on US-64 vs. I-95. NCDOT plans to re-evaluate speed limits there in the near future and could potentially increase most of it to 60 mph, which would only make that route better.