D.C. Sqeaks By Atlanta In 2009 Census Estimates

Decatur Metro | March 24, 2010

Looks like Atlanta got just a little too comfortable in its #8 spot among the cities largest metro areas.

In what is barely receiving a mention in ATL’s major dailies, Atlanta was upset by Washington D.C. in the latest Census estimates, with the District of Columbia registering a mere 1,000 more people than “the city too busy to care about urban planning”.  The stealth estimating maneuver by the nation’s capitol knocked the city formerly known as Marthasville back into the #9 slot.

And instead of linking you to a ridiculous Excel doc, here’s the current Metro Top 10 for 2009.

  1. New York City – 19,069,796
  2. Los Angeles – 12,874,797
  3. Chicago – 9,580,567
  4. Dallas-Fort Worth – 6,447,615
  5. Philadelphia – 5,968,252
  6. Houston – 5,867,489
  7. Miami – 5,547,051
  8. Washington D.C. – 5,476,241
  9. Atlanta – 5,475,213
  10. Boston – 4,588,680
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9 Responses to “D.C. Sqeaks By Atlanta In 2009 Census Estimates”

  1. cubalibre says:
    March 24, 2010 at 11:34 am

    These aren’t final numbers, though– correct? Gotta wonder if DC pulled ahead of us b/c Georgia has so many folks who’re on the “I-ain’t-a-gonna-let-thuh-Comminist-gubmint-count-MY-scalp” bandwagon…

    • Decatur Metro says:
      March 25, 2010 at 10:20 am

      Yeah, this whole story is weird and slightly deceiving in my opinion.

      Not only are we talking about 2009 ESTIMATES, and not the official 2010 census (obviously), but many of the local news orgs took the angle that Atlanta’s ranking improved from 11th to 9th from 2000 to 2009.

      Maybe that’s because they wanted to compare to the last official census, but it’s odd to hype growth that we already knew about last year, while downplaying the fact that we’re down vs. 2008.

  2. Diane says:
    March 24, 2010 at 1:09 pm

    Well, they didn’t HAVE a gummint census head-count last year, so I gotta assume that this estimate is based on some other data, such as housing starts, school enrollment, voter registration, car licenses, birth records, etc. etc.

    • Flaka says:
      March 24, 2010 at 6:41 pm

      I guess the number might come from the same source as the info on this sign along Peachtree St:

      http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=90622e4a-f756-411e-98a2-deba915cdf7f

  3. PMcG says:
    March 24, 2010 at 1:32 pm

    Hmm, who’s right?
    http://www.bing.com/maps/explore/#/yjqxjwgltmy1k6oq
    :)

  4. Cat says:
    March 24, 2010 at 1:41 pm

    DC will soon be #1: that’s where the wanna-be biggest employer has set up shop.

  5. JB says:
    March 24, 2010 at 6:17 pm

    Other than NYC/LA/Chicago, the rest seem pretty close in population