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Rating

Small-to-Midsize City Fit

Scale56-100

Higher values are better.

About This Ranking

Goal

Highlight city-scale communities, strongest around 75,000–150,000 residents, while using civic status and built-up-area evidence to distinguish cities from similarly populated non-city places.

Sources

Data behind the rating

4 sources

U.S. Census Vintage 2025 City & Town Population Estimates

2020–2025 estimates; released May 14, 2026
Data
July 1, 2025 resident population estimates for incorporated places and other local governmental units, used as the primary place-population source.
What it tells us
Provides the latest annual incorporated-place population used to compare community size; it does not describe metro scale or day-to-day population present.

2020–2024 U.S. Census ACS 5-Year — Population Fallback

2020–2024 estimates; released January 29, 2026
Data
Place-level total resident population used when no matching incorporated-place row is available in the Population Estimates Program.
What it tells us
Extends population-size coverage to Census-designated and other places that PEP does not publish, with the usual uncertainty of a five-year survey estimate.
Data
Census place land area used with current resident population to estimate population density.
What it tells us
Adds a place-density signal that helps distinguish dense urban fabric from lower-density suburbs, outskirts, and rural places.

2020 U.S. Census Urban Areas and Place Relationships

2020 Census definitions; list updated July 2023
Data
Official urban-area names, populations, and land-overlap relationships with Census places, used as evidence that a place anchors a distinct built-up center.
What it tells us
An exact name-bearing relationship supports an independent-center signal; it does not by itself prove a historic downtown or cultural small-town character.

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Ranked by Small-to-Midsize City Fit.

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Population scale, urban/suburban/small-to-midsize-city/small-town fit, state or region preference, transportation, airport access, and proximity to a target place.