July 1, 2011 Population Estimates

[gwiATLeman]

Originally Posted by fubo

You merely confirmed what I said, those near Atlanta view it differently than the rest of the country does. Put it this way , I don't think you'll see any national contests offering a weeks vacation in Atlanta as the grand prize, that is unless thay don't want to deal with too many entries.

And yes I am referring only to VACATION not convention or business travel.

On the other hand, my best friends parents won an Atlanta vacation ...in Germany. International tourism is on the rise, some whom come just for shopping (due to the weak dollar$) and I see them on Marta trains on a weekly basis.

IMO no city without an ocean or some other natural physical feature would be worthy of a weeks vacation. Even when traveling internationally it is rare to spend an entire week in one city without those features, because thats not the primary function of cities!

I'm honestly amazed that this is STILL being debated.

Atlanta wouldn't have 100,000 hotel rooms if it didn't have a tourism industry. At the same time it is not a leisure (VACATION) destination which EVERYONE as far as I can see has agreed with on this thread.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by gwiATLeman

My best friends parents won an Atlanta vacation ...in Germany. Furthermore international tourism is on the rise, some who come just for shopping (due to the weak dollar$) and I see them on Marta trains on a weekly basis.

I'm amazed that this is STILL being debated.

Atlanta wouldn't have hotel 100,000 rooms if it didn't have a tourism industry. At the same time it is not a leisure (VACATION) destination and EVERYONE agrees with this.

They lived in Germany? I suppose that would be like winning a trip to Berlin or Oslo.

[fubo]

Originally Posted by gwiATLeman

On the other hand, my best friends parents won an Atlanta vacation ...in Germany.

I believe you are making this up. What was the contest name, i would like to google it.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by fubo

I believe you are making this up. What was the contest name, i would like to google it.

Really not that hard to imagine. They may have won a trip to attend something specifically in Atlanta.

[fubo]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

Really not that hard to imagine. They may have won a trip to attend something specifically in Atlanta.

Way too contrived and convenient to be true IMHO.

[gwiATLeman]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

They lived in Germany? I suppose that would be like winning a trip to Berlin or Oslo.

Correct and if I remember correctly, it was based around the opening of the new Coke museum but I do know it was Coke related. BTW I've been to Berlin, I didn't stay a week and I wasn't there on business. Therefore, I was a tourist.

[Hey_Hey]

Getting back to the population totals....

I know things can change dramatically and that these estimates are still just estimates, but it's fun to project forward. Below are totals that would be expected in 2020 for each MSA if the growth rates remains the same.

Dallas - 8.47 million
Houston - 7.6 million
Miami - 6.72 million
Atlanta - 6.63 million
Orlando - 3.28 million
Tampa - 3.23 million
Charlotte - 2.83 million
San Antonio - 2.73 million
Austin - 2.56 million
Raleigh- 2.27 million
Nashville - 1.97 million
Norfolk - 1.76 million

I stopped after that. There may be some mistakes. If so, I apologize.

Some thoughts:
-Dallas may be closer to becoming the third largest metro area sooner than many think. At this rate it may overtake Chicago around 2025 or so.
-That being said, it may be tough for those bigger metros (Dallas, Houston, Miami, Atlanta) to continue growing at those rates.
-Over the next few years the smaller metros in the south may find it easier to maintain growth rates.

[RandomNameTag]

Originally Posted by CVG

Estimated growth the past year, the darker the blue the more growth, darker red bigger decline.

Looks like Savannah metro is dark blue. Take that Augusta!

[RandomNameTag]

Originally Posted by Nhoj

Can anyone explain to me why Charlton, Ga. was the fastest growing county?

It's done by percent growth, not actual numerical growth. If a county with 12,000 jumps to 13,500, that's a pretty significant increase percentage wise.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by gwiATLeman

Correct and if I remember correctly, it was based around the opening of the new Coke museum but I do know it was Coke related. BTW I've been to Berlin, I didn't stay a week and I wasn't there on business. Therefore, I was a tourist.

I've been to Berlin, about 20 years ago.

[spencer114]

I was in Berlin about 12 years ago. Nice enough place, kind of like the Atlanta or Dallas of Europe. It's certainly not a destination city like Paris, London, Barcelona, Vienna or Rome. Perhaps the contest was "come see an OK place like Berlin in America". Of course the European equivalent of my city would be some dump like Brighton, Groningen or Calais

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by RandomNameTag

Looks like Savannah metro is dark blue. Take that Augusta!

It's getting even bluer cuz my sister's moving back to Savannah!

[gwiATLeman]

Originally Posted by RandomNameTag

Looks like Savannah metro is dark blue. Take that Augusta!

There's no doubt that Savannah's port-driven growth was approaching new levels for that city before the recession and I would expect that to continue if the US economy is healthy.

[WeimieLvr]

Originally Posted by gwiATLeman

On the other hand, my best friends parents won an Atlanta vacation ...in Germany. International tourism is on the rise, some whom come just for shopping (due to the weak dollar$) and I see them on Marta trains on a weekly basis.

IMO no city without an ocean or some other natural physical feature would be worthy of a weeks vacation. Even when traveling internationally it is rare to spend an entire week in one city without those features, because thats not the primary function of cities!

I'm honestly amazed that this is STILL being debated.

Atlanta wouldn't have 100,000 hotel rooms if it didn't have a tourism industry. At the same time it is not a leisure (VACATION) destination which EVERYONE as far as I can see has agreed with on this thread.

Those of us who are familiar with Atlanta understand that tourism is a huge industry in the city...while not as large as places like Orlando, NYC, or Las Vegas, it is a large industry nonetheless (a 2nd tier tourist city in the U.S.) and nothing to scoff at. Those who aren't familar with Atlanta love to play this back and forth game like they have some inside information that they don't have. It's no big deal...we know the true story and I'm not sure why they are so intent on arguing about it. It's quite immature.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by WeimieLvr

Those of us who are familiar with Atlanta understand that tourism is a huge industry in the city...while not as large as places like Orlando, NYC, or Las Vegas, it is a large industry nonetheless (a 2nd tier tourist city in the U.S.) and nothing to scoff at. Those who aren't familar with Atlanta love to play this back and forth game like they have some inside information that they don't have. It's no big deal...we know the true story and I'm not sure why they are so intent on arguing about it. It's quite immature.

A forum's purpose is for people to gather and post, often engaging in non-violent arguments, such was what we just had about Atlanta.

Us city nerds are keen on more things than the normal person is, tourism to the average person has a connotation of a weekend getaway destination (NO, Gulf Shores, Santa Monica, Daytona, SF, NYC, etc). That does not describe Atlanta or cities similar to it in that regard. If it were such a tourist draw, you wouldn't have to prove it.

It's not a big deal, just because you live in Atlanta doesn't allow you some deeper insight to the city. You sound a tab bitter that Atlanta doesn't win this category to be honest.

[spencer114]

The reality is that it doesn't matter how ones sees him/herself. Objectivity isn't possible. Atlanta isn't a "destination" because those who don't live there don't see it as such.

[diablo234]

Atlanta is undisputably a "regional" tourist destination though especially for residents in the surrounding area such as Birmingham, Savannah, Greenville, Knoxville, Nashville, etc who will go there to visit Six Flags, go visit the various museums and other cultural attractions not found in their own cities, pick up something at Ikea, etc. In this sense Atlanta is no different than Chicago or Philadelphia in this regard since those cities also serve the same function/purpose in their respective regions as far as tourism is concerned.

Originally Posted by annie_himself

A forum's purpose is for people to gather and post, often engaging in non-violent arguments, such was what we just had about Atlanta.

Us city nerds are keen on more things than the normal person is, tourism to the average person has a connotation of a weekend getaway destination (NO, Gulf Shores, Santa Monica, Daytona, SF, NYC, etc). That does not describe Atlanta or cities similar to it in that regard. If it were such a tourist draw, you wouldn't have to prove it.

It's not a big deal, just because you live in Atlanta doesn't allow you some deeper insight to the city. You sound a tab bitter that Atlanta doesn't win this category to be honest.

You lost all credibility when you grouped in Gulf Shores and Daytona Beach with those other cities.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by diablo234

Atlanta is undisputably a "regional" tourist destination though especially for residents in the surrounding area such as Birmingham, Savannah, Greenville, Knoxville, Nashville, etc who will go there to visit Six Flags, go visit the various museums and other cultural attractions not found in their own cities, pick up something at Ikea, etc. In this sense Atlanta is no different than Chicago or Philadelphia in this regard since those cities also serve the same function/purpose in their respective regions as far as tourism is concerned.



You lost all credibility when you grouped in Gulf Shores and Daytona Beach with those other cities.

Agree with everything you said. Gulf Shores and Daytona are packed during the summer, as many beach towns are, but their economies are largely depended on tourism.

[Pan-Afro-Man]

Fayetteville, NC

1980 59,507 11.2%
1990 75,695 27.2%
2000 121,015 59.9%
2010 200,564 65.7%

I know y'all see the "Dark Blue"!!!!

I see FAY metro reaching +350k(City) overall 600k (Metro) by 2030

[JaguarReign]

I have always been floored by some of the areas they place in Orlando's metro. Why is flagler county in Oralndo's metro? Why is Daytona there?