Miami Florida's Largest City!

[cityboy05]

LOL. Cheaters do win!

[Florida]

so are we reaching a consensus that all consolidated cities are cheaters, despite the fact that they consolidate for reasons other than numbers.

[bobliocatt]

No the only people who get worked up over consolidated city population comparisons are the members on these urban forums. The general public could care less.

[Florida]

But how do you measure the "Urban Service Area" population of a city such as Jax... does it have municipal boundaries? I notice upon entry into Duval I'm in Jax so it seems it would be difficult to do this.

[Viper]

Census tracts, blocks or even zip codes are/can used to determine the boundaries of the urban areas. Qualifications probably are limited to a specific population density and the urbanification of its roads (full sewage, sidwalks, lighting, etc..).

[gjoseph]

JACKSONVILLE IS STILL FLORIDA'S SMALLEST MAJOR CITY

MIAMI # 1

Orlando # 2

Tampa # 3

[Viper]

JACKSONVILLE IS STILL FLORIDA'S SMALLEST MAJOR CITY

MIAMI # 1

Orlando # 2

Tampa # 3

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you are using metro figures:

1. Miami

2. Tampa

3. Orlando

If you are using city figures, it's:

1. Jax

2. Miami

3. Tampa

[bic]

And according to CNN, it's:

1. Miami - 1,637,1000

2. Ft. Lauderdale - 792,959

3. Jacksonville - 789,093

4. Orlando - 773,856

5. Tampa - 690,356

[Viper]

Does CNN state it's source? It's sampling? No.

I'm using Census.

[bic]

Actually, they do cite their source. Here's an excerpt:

"Also, a note on the definition of "place:" In assembling this list, we examined data from the zip codes that correspond to a place name designated by the postal service.

We do this because we can get more and better -- that is, more accurate -- data about an area using zip codes than by using Census designations or by looking only at an incorporated area, which often is a small part of what most people would consider a "place."

That's why our list gives an area population and not just the population of a municipality. In a few cases, in fact, there is no incorporated municipality corresponding to the place name."

Rest of Article

But I just posted the CNN numbers to show that all of these population figures are more or less trivial, as one can manipulate the boundaries and numbers to prove anything they want. I'm sure most people would agree that Miami is the undisputed largest city in the state, but after that it's almost a crapshoot to determine the runner-up between Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Ft. Lauderdale.

[bobliocatt]

The most accurate measure of a true city's size is using urban area statistics. I don't have access to the actual numbers right now, but Jax is 4th on the list behind Miami, Tampa and Orlando. Maybe this will help gjoseph sleep better tonight.

[Florida]

Does CNN state it's source?  It's sampling?  No. 

I'm using Census.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah... metro census... which doesn't make JAX Florida's smallest major city... but major metro.

[RiversideGator]

A large population doesnt make a place nice anyway. For example, LA is much bigger than San Francisco, but SF is a much nicer place. I think people can get too wrapped up in this numbers game.

[depechecureguyorl]

To true, Riverside! People will get themselves all wrapped up in inane hyperbole. Some rely on just the census, others go by the zip codes, others simply go by satellite pictures and relate the size of urban development to the size of the city. We can all blame Florida lawmakers years ago repressing city's rights to Annex, leaving the mess we have now w/incorporate vs unincorporated and county vs. city legal battles.

It seems to me the most accurate population to rely on would be the MSA population. Let's face it, when people are driving into a new city they've never been to, does one HONESTLY think those people are concerned which city's limits they're in? Example, say I've never been to Miami before and I'm driving there. When I arrive closer to Miami and see development all around me, I'm thinking I'm in the Miami area. I'm not concerning myself with the fact that I could actually be in Boca Raton, Davie, Coral Gables, Pinecrest, kendall, etc. I STILL think I'm IN Miami.

[Viper]

^Good point and one I agree upon.

The differences are more political than anything. Miami doesn't have to worry about fire and police protection 20 miles from downtown Miami where as Jacksonville does.

[Florida]

I totally agree with the one who says numbers aren't everything. Look at NYC, sure its big and has tons, but if you compare it to say Savannah, which has a more livable appeal?

[Aessotariq]

Miami doesn't have to worry about fire and police protection 20 miles from downtown Miami where as Jacksonville does.

The city may not but the county does.

There are 35 municipalities in Miami-Dade County but there are only 6 fire departments. The cities of Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, and Hialeah, and the village of Key Biscayne have their own fire departments. The entire unincorporated area and the other 30 municipalities are served by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

Miami-Dade Police has to provide police protection to about 1.2 million residents.

[Lunican]

just to anger some people...

City Budgets

Miami: $445 million

source

Jax: $880 million

source

[Lunican]

NYC $47 billion

[Aessotariq]

Miami-Dade County $6.3 billion (source), 30,000 employees, 45 departments

FY 2005-2006 proposed $6.8 billion (source)

With Miami-Dade's Metro government, some services provided are "functionally consolidated," meaning the City is no longer responsible for them and the responsibility is taken over by the County.

[bic]

After reading about Miami's and Jax's budgets, I became curious as to the Orange County budget. Here it is:

$2.62 billion for FY 2004-2005 as of 3-31-05

$2.51 billion proposed for FY 2005-2006

Source

[Florida]

just to anger some people...

City Budgets

Miami: $445 million

source

Jax: $880 million

source

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tallahassee: $615.4 Million (2006)

Source

[paulwade]

I went to the cnn web site and it said that the population included the surrounding areas not just the population inside the city limits.

[Viper]

I was poitning out that they didn't for Jacksonville because the population given not only doesn't include surrounding areas but is actually less than the city population itself.

[Aessotariq]

Someone said earlier that the numbers were done by zip code, so whatever city name corresponded to that respective zip code, that was where the population was counted. Florida zip codes rarely extend into more than one county, and there are none that do so among the most populated counties.