On Oct 18, 2006, at 8:08 PM, Carrol Cox wrote:
> What is the minimum population to be regarded as a "metro" area? B/
> N is
> over 100,000. We're certainly not "suburban," but neither are we
> "rural." And 100k doesn't feel all that "metro" either.
Bloomington-Normal is a metropolitan area, with a pop of 159,013 in 2005, making it the 238th largest metro area. The smallest metro area is about 56,000. The top 5 metro areas account for 18% of US population; the top 10, 26%; the top 100 (smallest: pop 495,000), 65%. All metro areas together are 83%.
There are also "micropolitan areas," which range from about 12,000 to 190,000, but they account for just 10% of US pop.
Doug