3 ms·

Is dividing up the bay area really that meaningful? Seems like every article does a different division. Why is San Mateo county, or parts there of, sometimes gr

Is dividing up the bay area really that meaningful? Seems like every article does a different division. Why is San Mateo county, or parts there of, sometimes grouped with San Francisco and sometimes with Silicon Valley? I generally consider most of San Mateo the same continuous sprawl with Silicon Valley and San Francisco somewhat separate. Is Facebook really a San Francisco company rather than a Silicon Valley one? Or Sun before it? Where does Oakland end and Silicon Valley start? Fremont? Milpitas? I would generally prefer the entire by area considered as one population center unless the division is really, really meaningful and not just an excuse to fudge the data a little bit...

jmccree 12y ago
It's the difference between a census "combined statistical area" and "metropolitan statistical area". The CSA combines all the metro/micro statistical areas in a general area. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose-San_Francisco-Oakland,_CA_Combined_Statistical_Area http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose-San_Francisco-Oakland,... .
- danans 12y ago
  What's odd is that the Bay Area's "metropolitan statistical areas" in the article don't align with those listed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistica... The wiki page suggests that these are based on social and employment connections that are inferred in part from commute patterns. Perhaps the pairing of SF and San Mateo reflects growing social and economic links between the Peninsula and SF in a way that eclipses SF and San Mateo's historical affinities with Oakland and San Jose respectively.
ovb 12y ago
The divisions used in the article are Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), which are defined by the Census Bureau. According to the standards they use for delineating MSAs (metropolitan areas containing a core city of at least 50k inhabitants) and µSAs (metro areas with a core city of between 10k and 50k inhabitants): http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/fedreg_2010/06282010_metro_standards-Complete.pdf http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/fed... Two adjacent CBSAs will merge to form one CBSA if the central county or counties (as a group) of one CBSA qualify as outlying to the central county or counties (as a group) of the other CBSA using the measures and thresholds stated in 3(a) and 3(b) above. [CBSA is the umbrella term for MSAs and µSAs] 3(a) and 3(b) are: A county qualifies as an outlying county of a CBSA if it meets the following commuting requirements: (a) At least 25 percent of the workers living in the county work in the central county or counties of the CBSA; or (b) At least 25 percent of the employment in the county is accounted for by workers who reside in the central county or counties of the CBSA. So it sounds like if 25% of San Francisco County residents work in Santa Clara County, or 25% of SF jobs are taken by Santa Clara County residents, they would merge the two MSAs. Presumably this is not the case, and thus the MSAs are separate. The Census does have a higher-order concept called a "Combined Statistical Area". The whole Bay Area is lumped into one CSA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose-San_Francisco-Oakland,_CA_Combined_Statistical_Area http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose-San_Francisco-Oakland,....
brownbat 12y ago
Gerrymander's Corollary: Any spot in the country can be considered part of one of the best performing regions of 2014, given judicious division of territory.

jmccree 12y ago

It's the difference between a census "combined statistical area" and "metropolitan statistical area". The CSA combines all the metro/micro statistical areas in a general area. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose-San_Francisco-Oakland,_CA_Combined_Statistical_Area http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose-San_Francisco-Oakland,... .

danans 12y ago
What's odd is that the Bay Area's "metropolitan statistical areas" in the article don't align with those listed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistica... The wiki page suggests that these are based on social and employment connections that are inferred in part from commute patterns. Perhaps the pairing of SF and San Mateo reflects growing social and economic links between the Peninsula and SF in a way that eclipses SF and San Mateo's historical affinities with Oakland and San Jose respectively.

ovb 12y ago

The divisions used in the article are Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), which are defined by the Census Bureau. According to the standards they use for delineating MSAs (metropolitan areas containing a core city of at least 50k inhabitants) and µSAs (metro areas with a core city of between 10k and 50k inhabitants): http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/fedreg_2010/06282010_metro_standards-Complete.pdf http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/fed... Two adjacent CBSAs will merge to form one CBSA if the central county or counties (as a group) of one CBSA qualify as outlying to the central county or counties (as a group) of the other CBSA using the measures and thresholds stated in 3(a) and 3(b) above. [CBSA is the umbrella term for MSAs and µSAs] 3(a) and 3(b) are: A county qualifies as an outlying county of a CBSA if it meets the following commuting requirements: (a) At least 25 percent of the workers living in the county work in the central county or counties of the CBSA; or (b) At least 25 percent of the employment in the county is accounted for by workers who reside in the central county or counties of the CBSA. So it sounds like if 25% of San Francisco County residents work in Santa Clara County, or 25% of SF jobs are taken by Santa Clara County residents, they would merge the two MSAs. Presumably this is not the case, and thus the MSAs are separate. The Census does have a higher-order concept called a "Combined Statistical Area". The whole Bay Area is lumped into one CSA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose-San_Francisco-Oakland,_CA_Combined_Statistical_Area http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose-San_Francisco-Oakland,....

brownbat 12y ago

Gerrymander's Corollary: Any spot in the country can be considered part of one of the best performing regions of 2014, given judicious division of territory.