The word ‘micropolitan’ doesn’t sound particularly beautiful, does it? Seriously … it seems like the kind of thing George Costanza would blame you for being “in the pool”.
Size matters, people … and while it’s not a universal truism, bigger is usually equated with being better. Especially when there are dollars at stake.
Therefore, a recent recommendation by a group of federal statistical agencies to redefine how American cities are classified for statistical purposes is causing surprise – and raising concern among municipal bureaucrats across the country. Specifically, the proposed redefinition would increase the level of what constitutes a “metropolitan statistical area” (MSA) in the United States – which is currently defined at 50,000 people for each qualified “urban core”.
According to the new guidance, this limit would be doubled.
“The minimum population of the urban area to qualify for a metropolitan statistical area must be increased from 50,000 to 100,000,” argued the federal accountants in their report, which was submitted to the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
If approved, the new designation would take effect in 2023.
By 2020, America was organized into almost 1,100 statistical areas – including 392 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with central urban populations above 50,000 and 547 micropolitan statistical areas (mSAs) with central urban populations above 10,000. In addition, there were 175 combined statistical areas (CSAs) that included various assortments from the first two categories.
Take a look …
(Click to view)
(Via: US Census)
“The metropolitan area program has provided standard statistical designs for the area for approximately seventy years,” noted a recent note included in the Federal Register. “In the 1940s, it became clear that the value of statistics produced by federal agencies would increase dramatically if agencies used a single set of geographical boundaries for the country’s largest population and activity centers.”
The purpose of these classifications, according to the government, is to provide “a set of nationally consistent designs to collect, tabulate and publish federal statistics for geographic areas”.
Assuming that the proposed changes are accepted by OMB, 144 the current metropolitan statistical areas would become “micropolitics” in 2023. Three of those areas in South Carolina – Florence, Sumter and Hilton Head Island – would be affected.
This is a serious reduction …
As of the 2010 Census, the central urban population of Florence was in 89,557. Sumter had a central urban population of 73,107 while the Hilton Head Island number registered at 68,998.
Florence, Sumter and Hilton Head are currently the three smallest of the ten designated metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the state of Palmetto. South Carolina also currently has eight “micropolitan” areas, as well as four combined statistical areas (CSAs).
The largest combined statistical area in South Carolina is Greenville – Spartanburg – Anderson CSA – which has an estimated population of more than 1.47 million (in 2019). Within this CSA is the Greenville-Anderson DMA – which boasted an estimated population of 920,477 (again, from 2019).
Greenville, SC is the largest city in both areas, with a central urban population of more than 400,000. Greenville anchors the country’s 40th largest CSA and its 60th largest MSA, based on current census estimates. Its CSA population increased by an estimate 10.37 percent since the last census, while its MSA population has grown by an estimated 11.69 percent.
In contrast, the combined statistical area of Columbia – which includes “micropolitan” population centers in Newberry, SC and Orangeburg, SC – had an estimated total population of 963,048 (from 2019). Within this CSA, the metropolitan statistical area of Columbia had a population of 838,433 (again, from 2019).
Columbia’s CSA population ranked 60th nationally in 2019 and grew 7.29 percent since the last census. Its MSA population ranked 71st nationwide and expanded by 9.23 percent since 2010.
The real “boom city” in the state of Palmetto in the past decade? Charleston …
Although not part of a combined statistical area, the Charleston MSA – which includes North Charleston, SC – has seen explosive growth since the last census. According to the latest records, the total population of Charleston MSA was 802.122 in 2019 – an impressive 20.69 percent increase from 2010.
Of cities of its size or larger, only Orlando (Florida), Austin (Texas) and Raleigh (North Carolina) had a higher percentage of population growth in the same period.
Even though it is on the verge of a downgrade, Hilton Head’s MSA population also experienced significant growth from 2010 to 2019, according to census estimates – expanding by 18.81 percent for 222,195 people.
Florence and Sumeria did not do so well, however, losing 0.32 percent and 1.38 percent of their MSA populations in the same period of time, respectively.
So, in addition to being downgraded, they are literally shrinking as well.
Why change the designations? According to the feds, they want to keep up with “the continuing change in the US population and activity patterns”. Basically, the argument is that America’s population has more than doubled since the original classification standards were established – while the percentage of the population living in a metropolitan statistical area has skyrocketed from 50% to almost 90%.
Needless to say, this media outlet will keep track of all of these numbers as the April 30, 2021 deadline approaches for the U.S. Census Bureau to provide population counts used for distribution to the White House.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: FITSNews)
Will Folks is the founding editor of the media you are currently reading.
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