For North Carolina and I'll do the top 20 maybe? I added more.
Could be missing some but these are from wikipedia.com
1. Charlotte - 134,042
2. Winston-Salem - 87,881
3. Greensboro - 74,389
4. Durham - 71,311
5. Raleigh - 65,679
6. Asheville - 53,000
7. Wilmington - 45,043
8. Fayetteville - 34,715
9. Rocky Mount - 27,697
10. Burlington - 24,560
11. Gastonia - 23,069
12. Wilson - 23,010
13. Goldsboro - 21,454
14. Salisbury - 20,102
15. Kinston - 18,336
16. Statesville - 16,901
17. Greenville - 16,724
18. Concord - 16,486
Interesting that Burlington only barely more than doubled, which is in line with the national average. On the other hand, Raleigh saw an 8× increase. What happened to the trend of growing suburbs?
Quote from: 1 on February 13, 2022, 11:10:13 AM
Interesting that Burlington only barely more than doubled, which is in line with the national average. On the other hand, Raleigh saw an 8× increase. What happened to the trend of growing suburbs?
Not sure man. This was definitely before the urban sprawl. Suburbs like Cary, Apex, Mooresville, Indian Trail, were like underpopulated villages.
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 13, 2022, 11:17:17 AM
Quote from: 1 on February 13, 2022, 11:10:13 AM
Interesting that Burlington only barely more than doubled, which is in line with the national average. On the other hand, Raleigh saw an 8× increase. What happened to the trend of growing suburbs?
Not sure man. This was definitely before the urban sprawl. Suburbs like Cary, Apex, Mooresville, Indian Trail, were like underpopulated villages.
Raleigh annexed a lot of the space that would've been the suburbs - their northern city limits are breach by NC 98 outside Wake Forest. Burlington, less so.
Check out the Midwest and see what you think about the 50—66% population declines in some major cities.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 13, 2022, 11:30:44 AM
Check out the Midwest and see what you think about the 50—66% population declines in some major cities.
Yes, cities like Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, etc were way more populated than they are now.
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 13, 2022, 11:33:27 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 13, 2022, 11:30:44 AM
Check out the Midwest and see what you think about the 50—66% population declines in some major cities.
Yes, cities like Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, etc were way more populated than they are now.
Compare that to the explosive growth in population world wide since 1950 and it makes it all the more striking.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 13, 2022, 11:38:33 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 13, 2022, 11:33:27 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 13, 2022, 11:30:44 AM
Check out the Midwest and see what you think about the 50—66% population declines in some major cities.
Yes, cities like Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, etc were way more populated than they are now.
Compare that to the explosive growth in population world wide since 1950 and it makes it all the more striking.
Yes, a lot of them moved to the suburbs, and to the south. See Arizona (Phoenix aswell!), Texas, and Florida for instance.
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 13, 2022, 11:40:36 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 13, 2022, 11:38:33 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 13, 2022, 11:33:27 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 13, 2022, 11:30:44 AM
Check out the Midwest and see what you think about the 50—66% population declines in some major cities.
Yes, cities like Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, etc were way more populated than they are now.
Compare that to the explosive growth in population world wide since 1950 and it makes it all the more striking.
Yes, a lot of them moved to the suburbs, and to the south. See Arizona (Phoenix aswell!), Texas, and Florida for instance.
That's short sighted though and only part of what makes the decline of the Midwest cities striking. The overall population of the U.S. is more than double what it was in 1950. By that definition even population stagnation takes numerous driving forces to occur much less a 50-66% drop. That's kind of amazing considering there has not been things like a major war, famine or disease which would have generally accounted for declines like that through human history.
Want some numbers for cities that aren't in the center of the world for you (aka not NC)?
Detroit - 1,849,568, now 639,111
Baltimore - 949,708, now 585,708
Cleveland - 914,808, now 372,624
St Louis - 856,796, now 301,578
Pittsburgh - 676,806, now 302,971
Cincinnati - 503,998, now 309,317
Quote from: SkyPesos on February 13, 2022, 11:45:42 AM
Want some numbers for cities that aren't in the center of the world for you (aka not NC)?
Detroit - 1,849,568, now 639,111
Baltimore - 949,708, now 585,708
Cleveland - 914,808, now 372,624
St Louis - 856,796, now 301,578
Pittsburgh - 676,806, now 302,971
Cincinnati - 503,998, now 309,317
Yes that works too.
Also btw
Philadelphia - 2,071,605, now 1,603,797
Richmond - 230,310, now 226,610. Seen absolutely ZERO growth in the past 7 decades.
Flint - 163,143, now 81,252
Youngstown - 168,330, now 60,068
Gary - 133,911, now 69,093
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 13, 2022, 11:52:46 AM
Richmond - 230,310, now 226,610. Seen absolutely ZERO growth in the past 7 decades.
Er, no, that's not quite true.
1950 230,310 19.3% growth over 1940
1960 219,958 −4.5%
1970 249,621 13.5%
1980 219,214 −12.2%
1990 203,056 −7.4%
2000 197,790 −2.6%
2010 204,214 3.2%
2020 226,610 11.0%
The growths in the 1940s and 1960s can be contributed to annexations of parts of Chesterfield County (one during WWII, one in 1969), but after bottoming out in the early 2000s the city's population has been steadily growing.
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 13, 2022, 11:33:27 AM
Yes, cities like Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, etc were way more populated than they are now.
Minneapolis proper did not see anything remotely close to Detroit, St. Louis, or Cleveland's declines and has steadily been gaining population for the last three census cycles (including 12.4% growth 2010-2020).
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 13, 2022, 11:33:27 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 13, 2022, 11:30:44 AM
Check out the Midwest and see what you think about the 50—66% population declines in some major cities.
Yes, cities like Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, etc were way more populated than they are now.
Detroit's city proper declined but the metro area has about a million more people than it did in 1950 and the CSA has about two million more.
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 13, 2022, 11:52:46 AM
Quote from: SkyPesos on February 13, 2022, 11:45:42 AM
Want some numbers for cities that aren't in the center of the world for you (aka not NC)?
Detroit - 1,849,568, now 639,111
Baltimore - 949,708, now 585,708
Cleveland - 914,808, now 372,624
St Louis - 856,796, now 301,578
Pittsburgh - 676,806, now 302,971
Cincinnati - 503,998, now 309,317
Yes that works too.
Also btw
Philadelphia - 2,071,605, now 1,603,797
Richmond - 230,310, now 226,610. Seen absolutely ZERO growth in the past 7 decades.
Flint - 163,143, now 81,252
Youngstown - 168,330, now 60,068
Gary - 133,911, now 69,093
Flint was still growing in 1950, it peaked in 1960 and has been in decline ever since.
A lot of those cities, expecially in the midwest, have been unable to annex anything since at least the 1950s, too. They've been surrounded by incorporated suburbs.
Mike
A few growing Rust Belt cities
City | | 1950 | | 2020 |
Green Bay | | 52,735 | | 107,395 |
Appleton | | 34,010 | | 75,644 |
Madison | | 96,056 | | 269,840 |
Columbus | | 375,901 | | 905,748 |
New York | | 7,891,957 | | 8,804,190 |
Quote from: skluth on February 13, 2022, 02:40:53 PM
A few growing Rust Belt cities
Yep, totally plays into the coastal narrative that the Midwest is just a dying, worthless hellhole where only old conservative curmudgeons still live.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on February 13, 2022, 05:35:46 PM
Quote from: skluth on February 13, 2022, 02:40:53 PM
A few growing Rust Belt cities
Yep, totally plays into the coastal narrative that the Midwest is just a dying, worthless hellhole where only old conservative curmudgeons still live.
Out of those, Green Bay is the only one that gets my notice. The other cities are barely Rust Belt, and NYC just ain't.
Anchorage, Alaska:
1950 30,060
current 280,437 (est.)
Before World War II, Anchorage had a population of only 4,229 in 1939. And it isn't shown at all in the 1900 Census summary for Alaska (http://live.laborstats.alaska.gov/cen/histpdfs/1900inhab.pdf).
Jacksonville's population in 1950 was slightly over 200,000. Compare this to now where, as a consolidated city-county, Duval County (at just under 1 million people) has more population than Pinellas County (which has slightly over 950,000 people).
Back in 1950, Boston had a population of 801K, then it slowly started declining until 1990, when it started increasing in population up until today. Now in February 2022, the city has a population of 675,647.
Nashville TN - For 1970, I'm sure it had the fact that it had to do with the annexation of Davidson County. In reality, population would be closer to 250,000-300,000ish. Same thing with Louisville.
1950: 174,307
1960: 170,874
1970: 448,003
1980: 455,651
1990: 488,374
2000: 545,524
2010: 601,222
2020: 689,447
Louisville KY - Merged with Jefferson County in 2003. If the merge never happened, population would have been closer to 275,000.
1950: 369,129
1960: 390,639
1970: 361,706
1980: 298,694
1990: 269,063
2000: 256,231
2010: 597,337
2020: 633,045
Quote from: skluth on February 13, 2022, 02:40:53 PM
A few growing Rust Belt cities
City | | 1950 | | 2020 |
Green Bay | | 52,735 | | 107,395 |
Appleton | | 34,010 | | 75,644 |
Madison | | 96,056 | | 269,840 |
Columbus | | 375,901 | | 905,748 |
|
The commonality all of these have is none were completely hemmed in by incorporated suburbs 50 years ago.
I think this discussion is more interesting if we see how the physical size of cities has changed alongside population. As an example, when Milwaukee peaked in population c.1960, that was right after the city had annexed the township of Granville in northwestern Milwaukee County, the last substantial boundary expansion the city would have.
Meanwhile over here in Madison, the city is continuing to expand east and west adding substantial area to the city over the same time period Milwaukee has been completely enclosed. This fall, most of the remaining township of Madison will be attached to the city adding most of its 6,000 residents all at once. So the city continues to grow by annexation and doesn't have to solely rely on infill development.
Toronto proper (using present-day boundaries):
1950: 1,176,622
2016: 2,731,571
Mississauga (Toronto's biggest suburb even though Mississauga doesn't want to be called a suburb)
1970: 172k
2021: 717k
Washington's numbers, 1950 vs 2020:
State | 1950 | 2020 |
Washington | 2,378,963 | 7,705,281 |
County | 1950 | 2020 |
King | 732,992 | 2,269,675 |
Pierce | 275,876 | 921,130 |
Snohomish | 111,580 | 827,957 |
Snohomish County was the 5th largest county in 1950 and is now 3rd.
City | 1950 | 2020 |
Seattle | 467,591 | 737,015 |
Spokane | 161,721 | 228,989 |
Sources: HistoryLink (https://www.historylink.org/File/9424), Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_municipalities_in_Washington)
Quote from: Bruce on February 15, 2022, 01:04:07 AM
Washington's numbers, 1950 vs 2020:
State | 1950 | 2020 |
Washington | 2,378,963 | 7,705,281 |
County | 1950 | 2020 |
King | 732,992 | 2,269,675 |
Pierce | 275,876 | 921,130 |
Snohomish | 111,580 | 827,957 |
Snohomish County was the 5th largest county in 1950 and is now 3rd.
City | 1950 | 2020 |
Seattle | 467,591 | 737,015 |
Spokane | 161,721 | 228,989 |
Sources: HistoryLink (https://www.historylink.org/File/9424), Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_municipalities_in_Washington)
I think the population differences in Bellevue and Kent are the most striking.
Gilbert, AZ
1950: 1,114
2020: 267,918
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 15, 2022, 10:18:58 AM
Gilbert, AZ
1950: 1,114
2020: 267,918
A suburb of Phoenix. Just like how many other suburbs of cities boomed.
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 15, 2022, 10:24:23 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 15, 2022, 10:18:58 AM
Gilbert, AZ
1950: 1,114
2020: 267,918
A suburb of Phoenix. Just like how many other suburbs of cities boomed.
Well excuse me that I didn't post something North Carolina related.
And actually Gilbert wasn't originally a suburb of Phoenix. It was an Arizona Eastern Railway siding established in 1902.
The 100 largest cities in 1950:
New York, NY--7,891,957
Chicago, IL--3,620,962
Philadelphia, PA--2,071,605
Los Angeles, CA--1,970,358
Detroit, MI--1,849,568
Baltimore, MD--949,708
Cleveland, OH--914,808
St. Louis, MO--856,796
Washington, DC--802,178
Boston, MA--801,444
San Francisco, CA--775,357
Pittsburgh, PA--676,806
Milwaukee, WI--637,392
Houston, TX--596,163
Buffalo, NY--580,132
New Orleans, LA--570,445
Minneapolis, MN--521,718
Cincinnati, OH--503,998
Seattle, WA--467,591
Kansas City, MO--456,622
Newark, NJ--438,776
Dallas, TX--434,462
Indianpolis, IN--427,173
Denver, CO--415,786
San Antonio, TX--408,442
Memphis, TN--396,000
Oakland, CA--384,575
Columbus, OH--375,901
Portland, OR--373,628
Louisville, KY--369,129
San Diego, CA--334,387
Rochester, NY--332,488
Atlanta, GA--331,314
Birmingham, AL--326,037
St. Paul, MN--311,349
Toledo, OH--303,616
Jersey City, NJ--299,017
Fort Worth, TX--278,778
Akron, OH--274,605
Omaha, NE--251,117
Long Beach, CA--250,767
Miami, FL--249,276
Providence, RI--248,674
Dayton, OH--243,872
Oklahoma City, OK--243,504
Richmond, VA--230,310
Syracuse, NY--220,583
Norfolk, VA--213,513
Jacksonville, FL--204,517
Worcester, MA--203,486
Tulsa, OK--182,740
Salt Lake City, UT--182,121
Des Moines, IA--177,965
Hartford, CT--177,397
Grand Rapids, MI--176,515
Nashville, TN--174,307
Youngstown, OH--168,330
Wichita, KS--168,279
New Haven, CT--164,443
Flint, MI--163,143
Springfield, MA--162,399
Spokane, WA--161,721
Bridgeport, CT--158,709
Yonkers, NY--152,798
Tacoma, WA--143,673
Paterson, NJ--139,336
Sacramento, CA--137,572
Arlington, VA--135,449
Albany, NY--134,995
Charlotte, NC--134,042
Gary, IN--133,911
Ft. Wayne, IN--133,607
Austin, TX--132,459
Chattanooga, TN--131,041
Erie, PA--130,803
El Paso, TX--130,485
Kansas City, KS--129,553
Mobile, AL--129,009
Evansville, IN--128,636
Trenton, NJ--128,009
Shreveport, LA--127,206
Baton Rouge, LA--125,629
Scranton, PA--125,536
Knoxville, TN--124,769
Tampa, FL--124,681
Camden, NJ--124,555
Cambridge, MA--120,740
Savannah, GA--119,638
Canton, OH--116,912
South Bend, IN--115,911
Berkeley, CA--113,805
Elizabeth, NJ--112,817
Fall River, MA--111,963
Peoria, IL--111,856
Wilmington, DE--110,356
Reading, PA--109,320
New Bedford, MA--109,189
Corpus Christi, TX--108,287
Phoenix, AZ--106,818
Allentown, PA--106,756
And it's ironic of how Phoenix grew rapidly over so many decades.
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 15, 2022, 10:55:55 AM
And it's ironic of how Phoenix grew rapidly over so many decades.
How is it ironic? Is like rain on your wedding day?
It's hard to believe that 72 years ago, Las Vegas had a population of 24,624. It is now 621,903 as of 2022.
Michigan suburb example
Sterling Heights: 6500 (1950), 134000 (2020)
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 15, 2022, 11:00:49 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 15, 2022, 10:55:55 AM
And it's ironic of how Phoenix grew rapidly over so many decades.
How is it ironic? Is like rain on your wedding day?
Yes. There was an exodus of people moving to the south and west in those early days. It's ironic because I don't think the city was prepared for explosive growth.. population jumped to 400,000 in 1960.
This is like the "objectively worst" debate again, just with a different word.
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 15, 2022, 11:12:23 AM
ironic
https://tenor.com/view/princess-bride-you-keep-using-that-word-i-dont-think-it-means-what-you-think-it-means-gif-15708582
Quote from: GaryV on February 15, 2022, 11:25:31 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 15, 2022, 11:12:23 AM
ironic
https://tenor.com/view/princess-bride-you-keep-using-that-word-i-dont-think-it-means-what-you-think-it-means-gif-15708582
Inconceivable!
Aurora, CO
1950 - 11,421
2020 - 386,261
The smallest decade over decade population growth we've had since the city was incorporated is 17.6%.
Here's a list of cities that had under 200,000 people in 1950 and had over 500,000 in 2020 (alphabetical order):
City | 1950 | 2020 |
Albuquerque | 96,815 | 564,559 |
Austin | 132,459 | 961,855 |
Charlotte | 134,042 | 874,579 |
El Paso | 130,485 | 678,815 |
Fresno | 91,669 | 542,107 |
Las Vegas | 24,624 | 641,903 |
Mesa | 16,790 | 504,258 |
Nashville | 174,307 | 689,447* |
Phoenix | 106,818 | 1,608,139 |
Sacramento | 137,572 | 524,943 |
San Jose | 95,280 | 1,013,240 |
Tucson | 45,454 | 542,629 |
*Consolidated with county in 1963
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 15, 2022, 11:12:23 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on February 15, 2022, 11:00:49 AM
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 15, 2022, 10:55:55 AM
And it's ironic of how Phoenix grew rapidly over so many decades.
How is it ironic? Is like rain on your wedding day?
Yes. There was an exodus of people moving to the south and west in those early days. It's ironic because I don't think the city was prepared for explosive growth.. population jumped to 400,000 in 1960.
Sunnyslope was annexed into Phoenix in 1959. There was also further annexations that probably make it seem on the surface like the population boom was larger than it was in Phoenix.
Quote from: DTComposer on February 15, 2022, 12:17:34 PM
Here's a list of cities that had under 200,000 people in 1950 and had over 500,000 in 2020 (alphabetical order):
City | 1950 | 2020 |
Albuquerque | 96,815 | 564,559 |
Austin | 132,459 | 961,855 |
Charlotte | 134,042 | 874,579 |
El Paso | 130,485 | 678,815 |
Fresno | 91,669 | 542,107 |
Las Vegas | 24,624 | 641,903 |
Mesa | 16,790 | 504,258 |
Nashville | 174,307 | 689,447* |
Phoenix | 106,818 | 1,608,139 |
Sacramento | 137,572 | 524,943 |
San Jose | 95,280 | 1,013,240 |
Tucson | 45,454 | 542,629 |
*Consolidated with county in 1963
And Jacksonville just barely above the threshold at 204,275 in 1950 and 949,611 in 2020.
When Houston had as many people as Buffalo NY... wow
Quote from: andrepoiy on February 15, 2022, 01:50:47 PM
When Houston had as many people as Buffalo NY... wow
Yeah, no wonder planners overlooked the Houston-Texarkana corridor for an interstate back then.
And now, let's see the same 100 cities and how they changed in 2020:
New York, NY--7,891,957 (now 8,804,190)
Chicago, IL--3,620,962 (now 2,746,388)
Philadelphia, PA--2,071,605 (now 1,603,797)
Los Angeles, CA--1,970,358 (now 3,898,747)
Detroit, MI--1,849,568 (now 639,111)
Baltimore, MD--949,708 (now 585,708)
Cleveland, OH--914,808 (now 372,624)
St. Louis, MO--856,796 (now 301,578)
Washington, DC--802,178 (now 689,545)
Boston, MA--801,444 (now 675,647)
San Francisco, CA--775,357 (now 873,965)
Pittsburgh, PA--676,806 (now 302,971)
Milwaukee, WI--637,392 (now 577,222)
Houston, TX--596,163 (now 2,304,580)
Buffalo, NY--580,132 (now 278,349)
New Orleans, LA--570,445 (now 383,997)
Minneapolis, MN--521,718 (now 429,954)
Cincinnati, OH--503,998 (now 309,317)
Seattle, WA--467,591 (now 737,015)
Kansas City, MO--456,622 (now 508,090)
Newark, NJ--438,776 (now 311,549)
Dallas, TX--434,462 (now 1,304,379)
Indianpolis, IN--427,173 (now 887,642)
Denver, CO--415,786 (now 715,522)
San Antonio, TX--408,442 (now 1,434,625)
Memphis, TN--396,000 (now 633,104)
Oakland, CA--384,575 (now 440,646)
Columbus, OH--375,901 (now 905,748)
Portland, OR--373,628 (now 652,503)
Louisville, KY--369,129 (now 633,045)
San Diego, CA--334,387 (now 1,386,932)
Rochester, NY--332,488 (now 211,328)
Atlanta, GA--331,314 (now 498,715)
Birmingham, AL--326,037 (now 200,733)
St. Paul, MN--311,349 (now 311,527)
Toledo, OH--303,616 (now 270,871)
Jersey City, NJ--299,017 (now 292,449)
Fort Worth, TX--278,778 (now 918,915)
Akron, OH--274,605 (now 190,469)
Omaha, NE--251,117 (now 486,051)
Long Beach, CA--250,767 (now 466,742)
Miami, FL--249,276 (now 442,241)
Providence, RI--248,674 (now 190,934)
Dayton, OH--243,872 (now 137,644)
Oklahoma City, OK--243,504 (now 681,054)
Richmond, VA--230,310 (now 226,610)
Syracuse, NY--220,583 (now 148,620)
Norfolk, VA--213,513 (now 238,005)
Jacksonville, FL--204,517 (now 949,611)
Worcester, MA--203,486 (now 206,518)
Tulsa, OK--182,740 (now 413,066)
Salt Lake City, UT--182,121 (now 199,723)
Des Moines, IA--177,965 (now 214,133)
Hartford, CT--177,397 (now 121,054)
Grand Rapids, MI--176,515 (now 198,917)
Nashville, TN--174,307 (now 689,447)
Youngstown, OH--168,330 (now 60,068)
Wichita, KS--168,279 (now 397,532)
New Haven, CT--164,443 (now 134,023)
Flint, MI--163,143 (now 81,252)
Springfield, MA--162,399 (now 155,929)
Spokane, WA--161,721 (now 228,989)
Bridgeport, CT--158,709 (now 148,654)
Yonkers, NY--152,798 (now 211,569)
Tacoma, WA--143,673 (now 219,346)
Paterson, NJ--139,336 (now 159,732)
Sacramento, CA--137,572 (now 524,943)
Arlington, VA--135,449 (now 238,643)*
Albany, NY--134,995 (now 99,224)
Charlotte, NC--134,042 (now 874,579)
Gary, IN--133,911 (now 69,093)
Ft. Wayne, IN--133,607 (now 263,886)
Austin, TX--132,459 (now 961,855)
Chattanooga, TN--131,041 (now 181,099)
Erie, PA--130,803 (now 93,928)
El Paso, TX--130,485 (now 678,815)
Kansas City, KS--129,553 (now 156,607)
Mobile, AL--129,009 (now 187,041)
Evansville, IN--128,636 (now 117,298)
Trenton, NJ--128,009 (now 90,871)
Shreveport, LA--127,206 (now 187,593)
Baton Rouge, LA--125,629 (now 227,470)
Scranton, PA--125,536 (now 76,328)
Knoxville, TN--124,769 (now 190,740)
Tampa, FL--124,681 (now 384,959)
Camden, NJ--124,555 (now 71,791)
Cambridge, MA--120,740 (now 118,403)
Savannah, GA--119,638 (now 147,780)
Canton, OH--116,912 (now 70,872)
South Bend, IN--115,911 (now 103,453)
Berkeley, CA--113,805 (now 124,321)
Elizabeth, NJ--112,817 (now 137,298)
Fall River, MA--111,963 (now 94,000)
Peoria, IL--111,856 (now 113,150)
Wilmington, DE--110,356 (now 70,898)
Reading, PA--109,320 (now 95,112)
New Bedford, MA--109,189 (now 101,079)
Corpus Christi, TX--108,287 (now 317,863)
Phoenix, AZ--106,818 (now 1,608,139)
Allentown, PA--106,756 (now 125,845)
So now we have twice as many cities of over 1 million people as we did in 1950, and of the five such cities from then, only Detroit is no longer a member of that club. As for Arlington, it gets an asterisk because sometime after 1950, the census takers realized that it would rather be called a county, and reclassified it as such (but that didn't stop it from growing either). By the way, two-thirds of the country's largest cities in the current census didn't even reach the 100,000 mark in 1950!
Quote from: Rothman on February 13, 2022, 05:40:56 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on February 13, 2022, 05:35:46 PM
Quote from: skluth on February 13, 2022, 02:40:53 PM
A few growing Rust Belt cities
Yep, totally plays into the coastal narrative that the Midwest is just a dying, worthless hellhole where only old conservative curmudgeons still live.
Out of those, Green Bay is the only one that gets my notice. The other cities are barely Rust Belt, and NYC just ain't.
The City of Green Bay annexed the adjacent (east) township of Preble in about 1964, which added substantial population and land area to the city. Since the 1960s, the City of Green Bay has annexed very little land area but has seen several large adjacent townships incorporate and has also had substantial infill development,especially in the former Preble Township. Those separate former townships that incorporated (ie, Howard, Bellvue, etc) are rapidly developing and all together the metro area is now likely well over 250K in total population.
Mike
Quote from: mgk920 on February 17, 2022, 12:00:51 PM
Quote from: Rothman on February 13, 2022, 05:40:56 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on February 13, 2022, 05:35:46 PM
Quote from: skluth on February 13, 2022, 02:40:53 PM
A few growing Rust Belt cities
Yep, totally plays into the coastal narrative that the Midwest is just a dying, worthless hellhole where only old conservative curmudgeons still live.
Out of those, Green Bay is the only one that gets my notice. The other cities are barely Rust Belt, and NYC just ain't.
The City of Green Bay annexed the adjacent (east) township of Preble in about 1964, which added substantial population and land area to the city. Since the 1960s, the City of Green Bay has annexed very little land area but has seen several large adjacent townships incorporate and has also had substantial infill development,especially in the former Preble Township. Those separate former townships that incorporated (ie, Howard, Bellvue, etc) are rapidly developing and all together the metro area is now likely well over 250K in total population.
Mike
Preble had about 12K at the time (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preble,_Wisconsin#:~:text=Its%20population%20was%2012%2C000%2C%20making,easterly%20development%20of%20the%20city.). IIRC, most of that was immediately adjacent to the city (I was 8 and living in Allouez so it's vague.). Edison Junior High opened in September 1970 in the middle of farm fields (I was one of the inaugural group of students) but today is well within the subdivided parts of the city. There are still farm fields along the far east side.
Green Bay also annexed the large area southwest of I-US/41 post-WWII though I don't know exactly when. This 1956 map (http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/68063/Brown+County/Wisconsin+State+Atlas+1956+Highway+Maps/Wisconsin/) from the Wisconsin State Atlas shows Brown County at that time.
Quote from: triplemultiplex on February 15, 2022, 02:41:59 PM
Quote from: andrepoiy on February 15, 2022, 01:50:47 PM
When Houston had as many people as Buffalo NY... wow
Yeah, no wonder planners overlooked the Houston-Texarkana corridor for an interstate back then.
The I-69E/69/369 corridor in TX would've been a no-brainer if the 1950s planners predicted Houston's explosive growth! Not connecting Houston to the Midwest and Northeast was a mistake imo.
Here is a list of the top 100 cities in 2020, sorted by their growth percentage since 1950.
| City | State | 2020 | 1950 | Change % |
| Irvine | California | 307670 | 0 | Infinity |
| Santa Clarita | California | 228673 | 0 | Infinity |
| Fremont | California | 230504 | 0 | Infinity |
| Gilbert | Arizona | 267918 | 1114 | 23,950 |
| Plano | Texas | 285494 | 2126 | 13,329 |
| Scottsdale | Arizona | 241361 | 2032 | 11,778 |
| Irving | Texas | 256684 | 2621 | 9,693 |
| Henderson | Nevada | 317610 | 3643 | 8,618 |
| Virginia Beach | Virginia | 459470 | 5390 | 8,424 |
| Chandler | Arizona | 275987 | 3799 | 7,165 |
| North Las Vegas | Nevada | 262527 | 3875 | 6,675 |
| Arlington | Texas | 394266 | 7692 | 5,026 |
| Aurora | Colorado | 386261 | 11421 | 3,282 |
| Glendale | Arizona | 248325 | 8179 | 2,936 |
| Mesa | Arizona | 504258 | 16790 | 2,903 |
| Las Vegas | Nevada | 641903 | 24624 | 2,507 |
| Anchorage | Alaska | 291247 | 11254 | 2,488 |
| Anaheim | California | 346824 | 14556 | 2,283 |
| Garland | Texas | 246018 | 10571 | 2,227 |
| Chula Vista | California | 275487 | 15927 | 1,630 |
| Phoenix | Arizona | 1608139 | 106818 | 1,405 |
| Tucson | Arizona | 542629 | 45454 | 1,094 |
| Bakersfield | California | 403455 | 34784 | 1,060 |
| San Jose | California | 1013240 | 95280 | 963 |
| Colorado Springs | Colorado | 478961 | 45472 | 953 |
| Reno | Nevada | 264165 | 32497 | 713 |
| Austin | Texas | 961855 | 132459 | 626 |
| Raleigh | North Carolina | 467665 | 65679 | 612 |
| Boise | Idaho | 235684 | 34393 | 585 |
| Santa Ana | California | 310227 | 45533 | 581 |
| Riverside | California | 314998 | 46764 | 574 |
| Charlotte | North Carolina | 874579 | 134042 | 552 |
| Fresno | California | 542107 | 91669 | 491 |
| Orlando | Florida | 307573 | 52367 | 487 |
| Albuquerque | New Mexico | 564559 | 96815 | 483 |
| Lexington | Kentucky | 322570 | 55534 | 481 |
| El Paso | Texas | 678815 | 130485 | 420 |
| Laredo | Texas | 255205 | 51910 | 392 |
| Jacksonville | Florida | 949611 | 204517 | 364 |
| Stockton | California | 320804 | 70853 | 353 |
| San Diego | California | 1386932 | 334387 | 315 |
| Greensboro | North Carolina | 299035 | 74389 | 302 |
| Durham | North Carolina | 283506 | 71311 | 298 |
| Nashville | Tennessee | 689447 | 174307 | 296 |
| Houston | Texas | 2304580 | 596163 | 287 |
| Sacramento | California | 524943 | 137572 | 282 |
| Lubbock | Texas | 257141 | 71747 | 258 |
| San Antonio | Texas | 1434625 | 408442 | 251 |
| Fort Worth | Texas | 918915 | 278778 | 230 |
| Tampa | Florida | 384959 | 124681 | 209 |
| Dallas | Texas | 1304379 | 434462 | 200 |
| Lincoln | Nebraska | 291082 | 98884 | 194 |
| Corpus Christi | Texas | 317863 | 108287 | 194 |
| Winston—Salem | North Carolina | 249545 | 87881 | 184 |
| Madison | Wisconsin | 269840 | 96056 | 181 |
| Oklahoma City | Oklahoma | 681054 | 243504 | 180 |
| St. Petersburg | Florida | 258308 | 96738 | 167 |
| Chesapeake | Virginia | 249422 | 99537 | 151 |
| Columbus | Ohio | 905748 | 375901 | 141 |
| Wichita | Kansas | 397532 | 168279 | 136 |
| Tulsa | Oklahoma | 413066 | 182740 | 126 |
| Indianapolis | Indiana | 887642 | 427173 | 108 |
| Los Angeles | California | 3898747 | 1970358 | 98 |
| Fort Wayne | Indiana | 263886 | 133607 | 98 |
| Omaha | Nebraska | 486051 | 251117 | 94 |
| Long Beach | California | 466742 | 250767 | 86 |
| Baton Rouge | Louisiana | 227470 | 125629 | 81 |
| Miami | Florida | 442241 | 249276 | 77 |
| Portland | Oregon | 652503 | 373628 | 75 |
| Denver | Colorado | 715522 | 415786 | 72 |
| Louisville | Kentucky | 633045 | 369129 | 71 |
| Memphis | Tennessee | 633104 | 396000 | 60 |
| Seattle | Washington | 737015 | 467591 | 58 |
| Atlanta | Georgia | 498715 | 331314 | 51 |
| Spokane | Washington | 228989 | 161721 | 42 |
| Honolulu | Hawaii | 350964 | 248034 | 41 |
| Oakland | California | 440646 | 384575 | 15 |
| San Francisco | California | 873965 | 775357 | 13 |
| New York | New York | 8804190 | 7891957 | 12 |
| Norfolk | Virginia | 238005 | 213513 | 11 |
| Kansas City | Missouri | 508090 | 456622 | 11 |
| Saint Paul | Minnesota | 311527 | 311349 | 0 |
| Richmond | Virginia | 226610 | 230310 | -2 |
| Jersey City | New Jersey | 292449 | 299017 | -2 |
| Milwaukee | Wisconsin | 577222 | 637392 | -9 |
| Toledo | Ohio | 270871 | 303616 | -11 |
| Washington | District of Columbia | 689545 | 802178 | -14 |
| Boston | Massachusetts | 675647 | 801444 | -16 |
| Minneapolis | Minnesota | 429954 | 521718 | -18 |
| Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 1603797 | 2071605 | -23 |
| Chicago | Illinois | 2746388 | 3620962 | -24 |
| Newark | New Jersey | 311549 | 438776 | -29 |
| New Orleans | Louisiana | 383997 | 570445 | -33 |
| Baltimore | Maryland | 585708 | 949708 | -38 |
| Cincinnati | Ohio | 309317 | 503998 | -39 |
| Buffalo | New York | 278349 | 580132 | -52 |
| Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 302971 | 676808 | -55 |
| Cleveland | Ohio | 372624 | 914808 | -59 |
| St. Louis | Missouri | 301578 | 856798 | -65 |
| Detroit | Michigan | 639111 | 1849568 | -65 |
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 13, 2022, 10:33:06 PM
Nashville TN - For 1970, I'm sure it had the fact that it had to do with the annexation of Davidson County. In reality, population would be closer to 250,000-300,000ish. Same thing with Louisville.
1950: 174,307
1960: 170,874
1970: 448,003
1980: 455,651
1990: 488,374
2000: 545,524
2010: 601,222
2020: 689,447
Louisville KY - Merged with Jefferson County in 2003. If the merge never happened, population would have been closer to 275,000.
1950: 369,129
1960: 390,639
1970: 361,706
1980: 298,694
1990: 269,063
2000: 256,231
2010: 597,337
2020: 633,045
Not only would Louisville's population would've kept dropping, but Lexington was on the verge of becoming Kentucky's largest city until Louisville's merger with Jefferson County.
Memphis annexed the Cordova area (early 2000s) and kept Nashville at bay from being Tennessee's largest city. But that was short-lived and Nashville did officially take over in the 2020 census.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on February 17, 2022, 01:17:16 PM
Here is a list of the top 100 cities in 2020, sorted by their growth percentage since 1950.
| City | State | 2020 | 1950 | Change % |
| Irvine | California | 307670 | 0 | Infinity |
| Fremont | California | 230504 | 0 | Infinity |
Fremont and Irvine didn't exist in 1950?
Quote from: golden eagle on March 07, 2022, 12:38:52 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on February 17, 2022, 01:17:16 PM
Here is a list of the top 100 cities in 2020, sorted by their growth percentage since 1950.
| City | State | 2020 | 1950 | Change % |
| Irvine | California | 307670 | 0 | Infinity |
| Fremont | California | 230504 | 0 | Infinity |
Fremont and Irvine didn't exist in 1950?
Wikipedia says 1956 for Fremont and 1971 for Irvine.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on February 17, 2022, 01:17:16 PM
Here is a list of the top 100 cities in 2020, sorted by their growth percentage since 1950.
| Santa Clarita | California | 228673 | 2895 | 7,799 |
Santa Clarita wasn't incorporated until 1987, so should be at "infinity" (like Irvine and Fremont). Not sure where Wikipedia pulled that 2,895 figure (unless they were using the equivalent unincorporated place, which would likely be Newhall).
Fremont and Santa Clarita are both amalgamations of historical towns/townships, so there were definitely people there in 1950, just not in an incorporated city. Irvine was little more than a railroad stop until the 1960s when it began to be built out as a "planned" city.
Quote from: DTComposer on March 07, 2022, 01:01:10 PM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on February 17, 2022, 01:17:16 PM
Here is a list of the top 100 cities in 2020, sorted by their growth percentage since 1950.
| Santa Clarita | California | 228673 | 2895 | 7,799 |
Santa Clarita wasn't incorporated until 1987, so should be at "infinity" (like Irvine and Fremont). Not sure where Wikipedia pulled that 2,895 figure (unless they were using the equivalent unincorporated place, which would likely be Newhall).
Fremont and Santa Clarita are both amalgamations of historical towns/townships, so there were definitely people there in 1950, just not in an incorporated city. Irvine was little more than a railroad stop until the 1960s when it began to be built out as a "planned" city.
Fixed!
Maybe it's just me, but "Santa Clarita" is kind of lame name IMO. I get it is on the Santa Clara River but the name was obviously already taken elsewhere in the state. Newhall, Saugus or Valencia would have been just as good of a fit.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 07, 2022, 01:26:32 PM
Maybe it's just me, but "Santa Clarita" is kind of lame name IMO. I get it is on the Santa Clara River but the name was obviously already taken elsewhere in the state. Newhall, Saugus or Valencia would have been just as good of a fit.
You obviously have looked into the history of its naming but, before Santa Clarita even existed as a place name, the southerly Santa Clara River was already known as the Little Santa Clara River. With that fact in mind, I don't consider Santa Clarita to be a lame name at all.
The name Santa Clarita has a history that goes back to the 1940s. Locals derided the suggested names of Newhall and Valencia either as coming from outsiders or even an attack by rampant suburban development. As for Saugus, well, I'm not sure why that never caught on.
Quote from: kphoger on March 07, 2022, 01:53:41 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 07, 2022, 01:26:32 PM
Maybe it's just me, but "Santa Clarita" is kind of lame name IMO. I get it is on the Santa Clara River but the name was obviously already taken elsewhere in the state. Newhall, Saugus or Valencia would have been just as good of a fit.
You obviously have looked into the history of its naming but, before Santa Clarita even existed as a place name, the southerly Santa Clara River was already known as the Little Santa Clara River. With that fact in mind, I don't consider Santa Clarita to be a lame name at all.
The name Santa Clarita has a history that goes back to the 1940s. Locals derided the suggested names of Newhall and Valencia either as coming from outsiders or even an attack by rampant suburban development. As for Saugus, well, I'm not sure why that never caught on.
Right, so if Saugus was popular and well liked by the locals then why not go with that? Saugus is certainly more unique sounding than Santa Clarita comes off as in the context of other place names in California. Let me rephrase, not so much "lame" as kind of derivative sounding.
Also, is "Clarita" even proper Spanish? Imagine the controversy if the city was named "Rancho San Francisco?"
Quote from: kphoger on March 07, 2022, 01:53:41 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 07, 2022, 01:26:32 PM
Maybe it's just me, but "Santa Clarita" is kind of lame name IMO. I get it is on the Santa Clara River but the name was obviously already taken elsewhere in the state. Newhall, Saugus or Valencia would have been just as good of a fit.
You obviously have looked into the history of its naming but, before Santa Clarita even existed as a place name, the southerly Santa Clara River was already known as the Little Santa Clara River. With that fact in mind, I don't consider Santa Clarita to be a lame name at all.
The name Santa Clarita has a history that goes back to the 1940s. Locals derided the suggested names of Newhall and Valencia either as coming from outsiders or even an attack by rampant suburban development. As for Saugus, well, I'm not sure why that never caught on.
Not sure how Newhall would qualify as either an "outsider" or "suburban development" name. Newhall (first the depot, then the town) dates back to the 1870s and remains the historical "downtown" for the valley. That would have been my preference for a name. Rancho Santa Clarita was the name for a small subdivision north of Newhall built around 1950.
While it's not a "lame" name, Santa Clarita truly doesn't carry nearly the historical cachet of Newhall (or even Saugus), and to my ear sounds very much like the kind of quasi-Mission-revival-romantic name that a developer would have come up with.
Quote from: DTComposer on March 07, 2022, 02:24:55 PM
Quote from: kphoger on March 07, 2022, 01:53:41 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 07, 2022, 01:26:32 PM
Maybe it's just me, but "Santa Clarita" is kind of lame name IMO. I get it is on the Santa Clara River but the name was obviously already taken elsewhere in the state. Newhall, Saugus or Valencia would have been just as good of a fit.
You obviously have looked into the history of its naming but, before Santa Clarita even existed as a place name, the southerly Santa Clara River was already known as the Little Santa Clara River. With that fact in mind, I don't consider Santa Clarita to be a lame name at all.
The name Santa Clarita has a history that goes back to the 1940s. Locals derided the suggested names of Newhall and Valencia either as coming from outsiders or even an attack by rampant suburban development. As for Saugus, well, I'm not sure why that never caught on.
Not sure how Newhall would qualify as either an "outsider" or "suburban development" name. Newhall (first the depot, then the town) dates back to the 1870s and remains the historical "downtown" for the valley. That would have been my preference for a name. Rancho Santa Clarita was the name for a small subdivision north of Newhall built around 1950.
While it's not a "lame" name, Santa Clarita truly doesn't carry nearly the historical cachet of Newhall (or even Saugus), and to my ear sounds very much like the kind of quasi-Mission-revival-romantic name that a developer would have come up with.
^^^
Which to be fair kind of matches the impression I get whenever I visit Santa Clarita today. There is very little outside of San Fernando Pass and centered around Newhall to suggest the area is much beyond the most modern development. It's kind of strange jogging a couple miles north to the Old Ridge Route or Golden State Highway given it feels much more like the 1930s.
Quote from: golden eagle on March 07, 2022, 12:37:13 PM
Quote from: tolbs17 on February 13, 2022, 10:33:06 PM
Nashville TN - For 1970, I'm sure it had the fact that it had to do with the annexation of Davidson County. In reality, population would be closer to 250,000-300,000ish. Same thing with Louisville.
1950: 174,307
1960: 170,874
1970: 448,003
1980: 455,651
1990: 488,374
2000: 545,524
2010: 601,222
2020: 689,447
Louisville KY - Merged with Jefferson County in 2003. If the merge never happened, population would have been closer to 275,000.
1950: 369,129
1960: 390,639
1970: 361,706
1980: 298,694
1990: 269,063
2000: 256,231
2010: 597,337
2020: 633,045
Not only would Louisville's population would've kept dropping, but Lexington was on the verge of becoming Kentucky's largest city until Louisville's merger with Jefferson County.
Lexington merged with Fayette county in the 70s.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 07, 2022, 02:14:29 PM
Also, is "Clarita" even proper Spanish? Imagine the controversy if the city was named "Rancho San Francisco?"
Such diminutives are very common in Mexico. I spent my honeymoon in the Mexican town San Francisco (Nayarit), and everybody calls it San Pancho. I know quite a few people from the
rancho San Francisco del Progreso (Coahuila), and the locals there call it by various diminutives–San Paquito, San Quico, San Pancho, San Panchito... Mexicans have trouble with the name Kyle, so everyone there just calls me Cayito. One of the biggest guys I know in Mexico goes by Juanito. Totally normal.
FWIW (and then I'll stop being off-topic on the Off-Topic topic), in 24 years of living in SoCal, I could probably count on two hands the times anyone actually referred to it as Santa Clarita in conversation. They lived in Canyon Country or Stevenson Ranch; went to the farmers' market in Newhall; Magic Mountain and CalArts are in Valencia; etc.
Even the USPS "recommended" cities for the zip codes remain the old town names: 91321 is Newhall, 91354-55 is Valencia.