What would you consider to be the largest suburb in America?

[Pink Jazz]

I was wondering, what city does anyone here think would be considered the largest suburb in America?

I know on Wikipedia, they list Fort Worth, Texas as one of the world's largest suburbs and largest in America.  However, I wouldn't consider Fort Worth to be a suburb of Dallas, since it seems to have its own economy and can thrive without Dallas.  In fact, prior to the 2003 statistical area definitions, Fort Worth/Arlington was in a separate Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) from Dallas, which they were grouped more loosely in a Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA).  It wasn't until 2003 when they became one large MSA (the PMSA and CMSA terms were replaced by MSA and CSA-Combined Statistical Area in 2003).

I personally would consider Long Beach, California to be the largest suburb in the United States, followed by Mesa, Arizona as second.

[NE2]

Las Vegas. The non-suburban part is like 10 blocks.

[Pink Jazz]

Las Vegas. The non-suburban part is like 10 blocks.

Well, the Las Vegas Strip isn't actually in the Las Vegas city limits at all; it is in the unincorporated communities of Paradise (southern portion) and Winchester (northern portion).  However, Las Vegas does have a fairly dense downtown area.

[NE2]

Las Vegas. The non-suburban part is like 10 blocks.

Well, the Las Vegas Strip isn't actually in the Las Vegas city limits at all; it is in the unincorporated communities of Paradise (southern portion) and Winchester (northern portion).  However, Las Vegas does have a fairly dense downtown area.

Whatever. Read my comment as "Las Vegas and surrounding suburbs".

[adventurernumber1]

I personally do not consider Ft. Worth as a suburb, and never have. As St. Paul is to Minneapolis, Ft. Worth is just a twin city to Dallas. Those cities are simply right next to each other. If Ft. Worth had a population of about 50,000, it would most likely be considered a suburb of Dallas, but that's not the case.

I can believe that Long Beach & Mesa are the largest suburbs. I can't think of any cities that are actual suburbs that are larger than those.

[Pete from Boston]

Hempstead, New York. 760,000 people, and most definitely a suburb.

[Pink Jazz]

Hempstead, New York. 760,000 people, and most definitely a suburb.

However, Hempstead is not a single municipal entity, but consists of 22 incorporated villages that make up the town.

[NWI_Irish96]

Going by the 2013 Census estimates, the largest incorporated cities that I would consider to be suburbs are:

Long Beach, CA 469,428
Mesa, AZ 457,587
Arlington, TX 379,577
Bakersfield, CA 363,630
Aurora, CO 345,803

[TheStranger]

Going by the 2013 Census estimates, the largest incorporated cities that I would consider to be suburbs are:

Bakersfield, CA 363,630

Bakersfield is the heart of its own small metropolitan area - too far from Los Angeles or Fresno to be a suburb of either.

[NE2]

Long Beach is more of an adjacent city than a suburb. Mesa, on the other hand, is suburban shite with barely anything over two stories visible from the zero point (Main at Center).

[Pink Jazz]

Going by the 2013 Census estimates, the largest incorporated cities that I would consider to be suburbs are:

Long Beach, CA 469,428
Mesa, AZ 457,587
Arlington, TX 379,577
Bakersfield, CA 363,630
Aurora, CO 345,803

Note that even though Virginia Beach, Virginia is the largest city in the state, the main economic hub of Hampton Roads is Norfolk, and Virginia Beach somewhat acts like a suburb of Norfolk.  It would be #3 on your list if you were to include it.

[Pete from Boston]

Hempstead, New York. 760,000 people, and most definitely a suburb.

However, Hempstead is not a single municipal entity, but consists of 22 incorporated villages that make up the town.

It is a single municipal entity, and it consists of all those villages.  Those are not contradictory statements, because that's New York.

[roadman65]

I can see where this is all going.  We had threads about cities before and if this turns out like before, we will then argue about which city is a suburb as supposed to another big city neighbor.

Is Yonkers, NY a suburb of New York City or is it another big city?  Should we consider Staten Island a suburb even though it is a borough of the City of New York because it is toned down from the other 4 boroughs that make NYC?  Is Jersey City, NJ considered a suburb of NYC being its in another state being its state's second largest city?

It will be like the highways thread of large city's along an interstate was, I see this becoming.

Anyway if I see the OP the way he wants, I would definitely say Yonkers as it is in the top five population centers of the state and it borders NYC's Bronx Borough.  Of course New York City with its millions of people constitute that as being in the world's big city categories.

[Brandon]

Would we consider a satellite city?  Or would we consider a rail/farm town with its own downtown?  Or, just a sprawling municipality with no downtown?

In Illinois, we have three different answers, depending on which ones would count.

Satellite City: Aurora (has a distinct downtown area), population 199,963
Rail/Farm Town w/a Downtown: Naperville (has a distinct downtown area), population 144,864
Sprawl w/o a Downtown: Cicero (there is no downtown Cicero, even if most of it is gridded), population 84,103

[Scott5114]

Sometimes you have multiple forms of city combined in one municipality. West side Norman, especially west of I-35, is very much a suburb of Oklahoma City. Central and eastern Norman are more anchored to the OU campus, and this is where you find student housing (in the form of both rental houses and apartments) and businesses which exist to support students.

[roadman65]

That is my point. What constitutes here a large city to make the suburb that the OP wants?

Sprawl without a Downtown is common, but nonetheless a city, or in the case of Edison, NJ it is a township and not a city, but either the third or fourth largest city in New Jersey.  Could you consider Highland Park, or even New Brunswick, both population centers with actual Downtown areas as suburbs to Edison a giant sprawl built out of mostly woodlands and farms?  What is Metuchen, NJ then as it sits right in the middle of Edison Township literally?  Metuchen is its own borough, but is land mass is a doughnut hole of Edison being the doughnut.  So that there poses one interesting scenario if we looked at any large community, sprawl, rail and farm, or satellite with a Metuchen type of deal.

[Roadgeek Adam]

That is my point. What constitutes here a large city to make the suburb that the OP wants?

Sprawl without a Downtown is common, but nonetheless a city, or in the case of Edison, NJ it is a township and not a city, but either the third or fourth largest city in New Jersey.  Could you consider Highland Park, or even New Brunswick, both population centers with actual Downtown areas as suburbs to Edison a giant sprawl built out of mostly woodlands and farms?  What is Metuchen, NJ then as it sits right in the middle of Edison Township literally?  Metuchen is its own borough, but is land mass is a doughnut hole of Edison being the doughnut.  So that there poses one interesting scenario if we looked at any large community, sprawl, rail and farm, or satellite with a Metuchen type of deal.

Having lived in Highland Park for the last 16 years, it is indeed a suburb of New Brunswick. We have/had a hell of a downtown when it comes to rich people, but it's trying to be a suburban sleeper city. Of course if you talk about the druggies, South River is their base.

[golden eagle]

I know they are their own metro, but what about Anaheim and Santa Ana? I believe most people would view them as suburbs of Los Angeles.

[bing101]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara,_California


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunnyvale,_California


Do these cities count as Large Suburbs. These places are all part of the San Jose, CA Area and these cities listed have 100,000 people




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_Grove,_California


Elk Grove counted as a Suburb of Sacramento, CA at 150,000 people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roseville,_California


Roseville is Counted as a suburb of Sacramento at 124,000 People

[Pink Jazz]

I know they are their own metro, but what about Anaheim and Santa Ana? I believe most people would view them as suburbs of Los Angeles.

This is somewhat of a similar case to Dallas and Fort Worth as far as metropolitan area definitions go.  Prior to 2003, as with Dallas and Fort Worth, Orange County was a separate PMSA from Los Angeles County and was more loosely grouped into a larger CMSA; it was merged into one MSA in the 2003 definitions.  And both cities are still smaller than Long Beach.  However, unlike Fort Worth, it seems that Orange County tends to have closer ties to Los Angeles than Fort Worth does with Dallas.

[triplemultiplex]

Mesa, AZ.

[mtantillo]

I know they are their own metro, but what about Anaheim and Santa Ana? I believe most people would view them as suburbs of Los Angeles.

This is somewhat of a similar case to Dallas and Fort Worth as far as metropolitan area definitions go.  Prior to 2003, as with Dallas and Fort Worth, Orange County was a separate PMSA from Los Angeles County and was more loosely grouped into a larger CMSA; it was merged into one MSA in the 2003 definitions.  And both cities are still smaller than Long Beach.  However, unlike Fort Worth, it seems that Orange County tends to have closer ties to Los Angeles than Fort Worth does with Dallas.

Though the "six Californias" plan had the OC in the same state as San Diego, not LA!

[mtantillo]

Going by the 2013 Census estimates, the largest incorporated cities that I would consider to be suburbs are:

Long Beach, CA 469,428
Mesa, AZ 457,587
Arlington, TX 379,577
Bakersfield, CA 363,630
Aurora, CO 345,803

Note that even though Virginia Beach, Virginia is the largest city in the state, the main economic hub of Hampton Roads is Norfolk, and Virginia Beach somewhat acts like a suburb of Norfolk.  It would be #3 on your list if you were to include it.

While Norfolk is the "traditional" downtown of the Hampton Roads area, I bet Virginia Beach has more jobs. Even the Census calls it "Virginia Beach - Norfolk - Newport News", as opposed to "Norfolk - Virginia Beach..."

[Greybear]

Plano, TX....population 269,776, as of the 2010 census.

[CtrlAltDel]

Here might be an interesting way to phrase it: What is the largest city in the United States that does not appear first in the name of the MSA to which it belongs? This, I admit, creates problems with Saint Paul and Fort Worth, but I (unlike others) am quite willing to accept that those cities have second-banana status in their area.