3 ms·
> These cities may as well be "coastal" relative to their regions. IF KC and Pittsburgh aren't "middle america", then the term ceases to have much of a meaning
by thrmsforbfast 8y ago
> These cities may as well be "coastal" relative to their regions.
IF KC and Pittsburgh aren't "middle america", then the term ceases to have much of a meaning and we might as well stick with "rural".
- brandonmenc 8y agoKC and Pittsburgh metro areas have populations over 2M. There are a lot of smaller metro areas that are far rural, but aren't big cities - for example, my hometown - Erie, PA, which has a metro population of just over 275k - is very much a city - but is too far from Pittsburgh to benefit from their economic growth. Pittsburgh is fine, but Erie is in decline. If "middle america" refers to every non-rural city between the coasts, then it is a meaningless term. There is too much economic variation to lump them all together for a single analysis.