Can anyone confirm?

368 points · 110 comments · view on lemmy.world

110 Comments

TheTechnician27@lemmy.world · 34 pts · 14d (7 replies)

San Francisco easily takes it imo.

Distant 17th by population but more than makes up for it through business, technological, and cultural influence. (Edit: Especially since the wider San Francisco Bay Area can be credibly lumped together to form such a populous combined statistical area.)

Hideakikarate@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 14d (5 replies)

California already has one. What about Seattle?

TheTechnician27@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 14d (1 reply)

Seattle definitely isn't the #4 most major city or CSA. It's a great city and has major businesses, but Seattle probably sits behind Dallas–Fort Worth. All jokes about fairness aside: California gets to have this one.

yakko@feddit.uk · 9 pts · 14d

I'm from Seattle and I'm not even mad. I wish it was further down the list, my town was more fun when it was broke and unimportant. A boomtown that only gets fun on the downswing, that's my Seattle.

alternategait@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 14d (1 reply)

Something like 1 out of 5 people in the US live in California. If California seceded from the US, it would rightfully join the G7 to make it the G8 again. California can have two cities. (Obviously born and raised in California even if I'm living basically as far as one can still in the US)

KingGimpicus@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 14d

Honestly agree about the bay but what makes the bay good is the same thing that disqualifies it from the list. You cant pick one bay area city to represent all of the bay, even SF. Youre leaving out San Jose, Oakland, Richmond, the tri Valley, Walnut Creek, all that. You cant take any one of them to wholly represent the others.

LA is California enough for most people. Its like us, but worse. Any true Californian knows youre not really talking about actual Los Angeles anyways. Its a whole cluster of cities from San Diego to Anaheim and out to the actual city proper. I think we got it covered.

Big three should be LA, NYC, and DC. SF can be a floater like Philly or Atlanta or Houston. Chicago belongs in the past and we should leave it there with their goofy accents.

LodeMike@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 14d

California has an economy larger than 98% of all countries.

Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 14d

The bay area is almost one big city. As such, it would be an easy 4. But separately, not a lock.

GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 14d (1 reply)

Fourth-most important city is the one geographically closest to you. For all others, it's DC.

Kalothar@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 14d

This is the true answer imo

Casuls_Die_Thrice@lemmy.zip · 22 pts · 14d (4 replies)

I like to think that Washington DC is the fourth, seeing as it’s the national capital, the political & historical center of America, and the fact that things that happen in DC have not just national, but international effects.

Also a fair bit of personal bias tbh, seeing as I live in the metro area.

harmbugler@piefed.social · 8 pts · 14d

I live in your country but I agree. From outside, DC is more major than Chicago.

socsa@piefed.social · 3 pts · 14d (1 reply)

DC has the only decent transit system besides NYC, which pushes it over a lot of bigger cities. Realistically it's NYC, DC, SF and LA are the tier one cities. Chicago, Boston, Miami, Seattle and Denver start the tier two list. Charlotte, Minneapolis and maybe SLC also get tier two. I am specifically excluding Texas because fuck Texas, there's nothing redeemable there.

fyzzlefry@retrolemmy.com · 2 pts · 13d

Chicago is clearly top tier, you on angel dust?

exasperation@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 13d

I think there's some truth to the idea that the relative ranking depends on what context you're talking about.

Pure population? Houston.

History and politics? DC to the top, Philadelphia and Boston in the mix.

Economically? The Bay Area has tech and Houston has oil and gas.

Domestic tourists and international tourists? Certainly a conversation to be had for DC, Las Vegas. Miami maybe?

What about cultural influence domestically, and abroad? Do Nashville, Atlanta, and Miami fit in somewhere?

kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 14d (22 replies)

NY, Chicago, and LA for sure. And certainly cities like Seattle, Dallas, Denver, St. Louis, New Orleans, Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Boston would all duke it out for the notoriety of the 4th spot. But, are we going to pretend that DC doesn't edge the rest out for importance, both historically and currently, for landmarks, for cultural relevance?

gmtom@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 14d (18 replies)

I'm not American but is San Francisco not a really important city?

kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 14d (17 replies)

Yeah, it is. There are arguably many more too. Minneapolis, Pheonix, Las Vegas, San Diego, Houston, etc. I just tried to pick a smattering of places off the top of my head from a wide spread of the country.

glups@piefed.social · 2 pts · 14d (2 replies)

I'm with you on the rest, but Phoenix? I think they have the largest state college, but that's all I can think of for importance

kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 14d (1 reply)

It's the most populated state capital (5 million) and has a big tech and aerospace presence and semiconductor production. That's all I know about it really besides being hot and dry as hell.

brianary@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 14d

Didn't it have the highest murder rate in the 90s? That place is too hot to support life.

gmtom@lemmy.world · -3 pts · 14d (13 replies)

Idk, from an outsider perspective to me the big 3 are NY, LA and SF. Chicago barely registers, nevermind Minneapolis

kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 14d (12 replies)

Oh no Chicago is massive. Has Willis/Sears tower which was once the tallest in the world. Is a major financial hub for thr stock exchange. Has a massive arts and good culture. Has O'Hara International Airport with flights all over the world. Many films and TV shows at there or in its suburbs.

It doesn't have as many familiar landmarks as San Fran, maybe. And San Fran is has gotten more important with the rise of Silicon Valley which shares the bay area. But Chicago is a big deal in the US, for sure.

Minneapolis really only matters within the midwest.

KingGimpicus@sh.itjust.works · -5 pts · 14d (11 replies)

It was a big deal back when railroad connections meant something. Now, its a corrupt rat warren of institutionalized racism, corporate tax havens, and the goofiest accent north of oaklahoma. You guys dont even make good pizza.

kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 14d (10 replies)

Railroads still mean plenty. How do you think most goods get around?

KingGimpicus@sh.itjust.works · -5 pts · 14d

Boats. Have you seen boats? Big metal things that float?

fyzzlefry@retrolemmy.com · 4 pts · 13d

DC has a clear lead in monuments

prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 14d (1 reply)

Philadelphia is arguably more historically significant than DC

kryptonianCodeMonkey@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 14d

Historically, but not currently

zjti8eit@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 14 pts · 14d (5 replies)

There is no 4th because no one else has 2 baseball teams.

socsa@piefed.social · 2 pts · 14d (4 replies)

DC has the Orioles and the Nats.

jambudz@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 14d (3 replies)

Baltimore has the orioles. The fuck kind of crack you smoking?

socsa@piefed.social · 7 pts · 14d

Yeah it's a joke. The DC suburbs are a primary TV market for the Orioles. Like, you get O's blackouts on MLB.tv all the way down to Richmond.

fyzzlefry@retrolemmy.com · 2 pts · 13d (1 reply)

OK for serious, watch a Yankees game at Camden and tell me who the home team is.

jambudz@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 13d

The Os. Yankees fans are posers. If you live in ny, you root for the Mets

sheogorath@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 13d

This thread literally proves the point of the OP. People just can’t seem to agree on the 4th city lmao

daannii@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 14d (6 replies)

I'm not sure.. who would be the rotations?

Boston ?

San Francisco

Phoenix

Santa Fe

Houston Austin

Idk

inconsistent_octopus@lemmy.world · 16 pts · 14d (3 replies)

+/-

Miami/Tampa/Orlando

Seattle

Atlanta

DC

Portland

Minneapolis/St. Paul

Philly

New Orleans

Kansas City

Siethron@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 14d

Kansas City over St Louis?

ShutUpWesley@piefed.zip · 3 pts · 14d (1 reply)

I'd also add Toronto as an honorary that gets thrown in the mix sometimes just for fun.

BurntWits@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 14d

As a Canadian fuck you we aren’t American.

/s only slightly

collapse_already@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 14d (1 reply)

Dallas - Fort Worth Metro is the biggest market in Texas. Numerous random DFW suburbs are 250k+ people.

treesapx@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 14d

I dont think people understand how big the Dallas/Ft Worth metro is. Might be because there's so little to do there for a metro that large.

RickyRigatoni@piefed.zip · 11 pts · 14d (2 replies)

PHILADELPHIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

JakoJakoJako13@piefed.social · 3 pts · 14d (1 reply)

No. We're a country. Not a city.

W3dd1e@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 14d (4 replies)

Depends how you define major. The 4th city rotates by category.

Tourism? Vegas or Orlando.

Politics or history? DC, Philadelphia or Boston.

Tech? San Francisco or Seattle.

Population size? Houston

Land size? Juneau.

Music? Nashville or maybe New Orleans and Atlanta.

anomnom@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 13d (2 replies)

Music is still NYC or LA by miles.

Really specific genres come from the places you listed.

lps2@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 13d

"Specific genres" you mean hip-hop/rap and country? Some of the most popular and culture-driving genres? I think from a music perspective, they're far far more influential than LA and NYC even if some of the legacy record labels are headquartered there.

W3dd1e@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 13d

NYC and LA were already on the list! :)

GladiusB@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 13d

San Francisco is not just tech. It's known for its tech and it the mecca of tech. However it's a giant port akin to NY. If you look at the entire Bay Area like New York, there is no doubt.

njm1314@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 14d

Houston or Boston i guess.

jordanlund@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 14d (1 reply)

I mean, if you're operating purely by population, next in line is Houston.

If you're operating on power and influence, Washington D.C. is #1.

I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 14d

Yea but Houston is on lease from Hell so it doesn't count.

empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 14d

Atlanta or Seattle.

Leaning towards Atlanta these days.

neuracnu@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 6 pts · 14d (10 replies)
starik@lemmy.today · 8 pts · 14d (9 replies)

What was their conclusion?

neuracnu@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 14 pts · 14d (8 replies)

The US has a primary city (NYC), a top-3 (NYC, Chicago, LA) and a top-5 (NYC, Chicago, LA, SF & DC). Asking for top 2 or 4 is too hard to call and just asking for trouble.

starik@lemmy.today · 12 pts · 14d (3 replies)

So it’s like this:

1st tier: NY
2nd tier: Chicago & LA
3rd tier: SF & DC

(Finally learned how to do a single line break on Lemmy - put two spaces at the end of the first line, then Enter)

neuracnu@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 7 pts · 14d (1 reply)

Holy fucking shit.
It works!

agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 14d

This is
revolutionary

BurntWits@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 14d

You are
a life saver.
Why does this
have to be
so hard?

zjti8eit@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 14d (3 replies)

What in the world makes San Francisco a top city? Like maybe in the 60s...

exasperation@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 13d

San Francisco by itself, maybe not. But as an entire metro area that includes Oakland and San Jose and Silicon Valley? Yeah, it's got influence.

neuracnu@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 14d

It’s covered in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrj-p5nja7o

starik@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 14d

Silicon Valley. It’s the most expensive place to live.

zjti8eit@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 14d (2 replies)

Americans don't get this because they have no idea how the U.N. works.

PlaidBaron@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 14d (1 reply)

Thats a ridiculous assertation. They wont get this because they cant read.

LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 13d

The fuck are these random squiggly lines I keep seeing everywhere. I just learned I can hold my finger down on them, click the squares and drop them in chatgpt and do the squares again and people make more squigglies

deft@lemmy.wtf · 5 pts · 14d (5 replies)

Maybe it's just me but I don't think Chicago holds that spot idk

nomy@lemmy.zip · 8 pts · 14d (3 replies)

Chicago was historically considered the Second City, after NYC. It's a major shipping and economic hub and has something like the 6th highest GDP of any urban region in the world, over $919 billion in 2024. It has an incredibly diverse culture and is a world class city by every definition of the word.

KingGimpicus@sh.itjust.works · -9 pts · 14d (2 replies)

Its a corporate tax haven with substandard pizza and a goofy accent.

Psionicsickness@reddthat.com · 2 pts · 12d

Ooo ooo, also outclasses LA and NYC in murder!

exasperation@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 13d

If pizza quality is going to be a consideration for city tiers I'm not sure any of the other cities in this conversation are actually any better.

Does it have a distinct regional pizza style? Yes, two in fact.

Does it do other distinct regional pizza styles really well? Yes, it's gonna be way better than most other American cities.

Edges@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 13d

I was wondering if anyone else was going to call that out.

tacoplease@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 13d

NY, LA, SF, DC... Chicago is a great city but not as influential on the world stage as it used to be.

itsgroundhogdayagain@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 14d

Gotham City

farmgineer@nord.pub · 4 pts · 14d

Four's a bit of an arbitrary number and major is woefully undefined.

RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 14d (1 reply)

Miami, San Francisco, maybe Boston. The only thing DFW is good for is talking about the Cowboys.

Doublenut@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 14d

I'd say Miam, San Francisco, and Atlanta

NY gets to cover the whole NE and Miami is it's own special place. Atlanta takes care of the SE.

kungfuratte@feddit.org · 3 pts · 13d

There is also that city where the White House's East Wing used to be.

Pacattack57@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 14d (5 replies)

Houston is the 4th largest with 2.4 million. Phoenix is number 5 with 1.6 million people.

iocase@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 14d (3 replies)

Pheonix will cease to exist within a decade

jnod4@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 14d (2 replies)

The heat, the water, emigration due to socio-economical causes low birth rate or all four?

iocase@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 14d (1 reply)

Add spitting in the face of God every moment it continues to exist to the list too

LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 13d

Maybe that's their and or gods fetish

LodeMike@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 14d

These numbers change depending on how they're calculated

deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz · 1 pts · 13d

I was going to list the four NYC Burroughs... Only to have that joke spoiled by facts.

DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 14d

What's a bit odd is how many people have pondered this.

Jankatarch@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 14d (2 replies)

Alaska because it's the furthest one from the US.

MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 13d

How? It is the US

rbos@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 13d

Wouldn't that be Samoa?

SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 0 pts · 13d

NYC is definitely there.

LA is honestly debatable. They have hollywood, but other than and a few things like that (Disneyland) that their claim to fame is just population. Not to say that Hollywood isn't massive, but I just have this intuition that it's shrinking and has been for some time because of the perpetual self centered hubris and greed blowing up in their face. And like an overweight person who is eating right and exercising and being healthy, I see that as a healthy person, not a fat person. I think they do belong there, but moreso as a vestige of a passing era.

SEA is somewhat in the same boat. I'm from here, and it is nice, but all these tech companies keep fucking up and being overly greedy. We don't have the population of LA or other, even bigger massive urban sprawls, but we do have a fuckton of modern business and industry. Unfortunately, much of it has or is in various stages of imploding from their own idiocy and greed. We do, however have EDIT: nothing nice. Don't come here. Everything is terrible and expensive and awful and breaking down and dirty and conservative and liberal and too educated and there are no jobs and everyone is stupid. Awful place, 0/10 🏳️‍⚧️ zero growth it's all gentrifying and too many cars and smoke and drugs and gays and old people and freedom. Go away. 🏳️‍⚧️ Portland also sucks, don't go there terrible coffee and pizza and bookstores and zero culture. Coffee and food are all terrible and it just rains 100% of the time and everybody is miserable and dumb and unfriendly and there's no polycule and no music and no game studios it's all libtard dei wokegenda. It's hopeless. Yuck. Very unamerican. Everybody's the same and there's no public health or state benefits or bleeding edge research being done. Just an average mill, all brown old buildings from the 1800s. Borrriinnnng. Also our tacos are terrible. And the beer is all generic and bad and supports the gays. And if you're a furry you're gonna be alone, there are none of those here. And forget diversity of EDIT: uh, I'm being told to shut the fuck up. Yeah. Uh huh.

MIAMI is great. Definitely go there. Best governor, most level headed and not a cult, no corruption at all. Great benefits. Very racist. Very common sense, much Trump ⛱️

Weydemeyer@lemmy.ml · -2 pts · 14d (2 replies)

I would go with NYC, LA, San Francisco, and Miami. Those are the four cities that, internationally, everyone knows and wants to go see.

Chicago isn’t an international city like the other 4 here. It’s just… very large. And in that sense it’s like Houston, Detroit or Atlanta. Large, important cities in the US but not particularly relevant on the world stage.

(And yes I know I’m gonna get angry Chicagoans responding, I’m kinda shitposting a bit here)

Pieisawesome@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 14d

I’m not a Chicagoan, Chicago is definitely a global market, especially in the financial industry.

Obi@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 14d

Non-american with unfortunate closeness/experience with the US here, and I would agree with this. I might consider replacing SF with Seattle to have one in each corner and everyone also knows Seattle (Nirvana..). We all know SF for sure but I think mostly think of it as a smaller (but richer) place than these other ones.

KingGimpicus@sh.itjust.works · -15 pts · 14d (4 replies)

Chicago ain't shit. Its L.A. , NYC, and DC. In that order. Chicago belongs with the floaters like Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Portland, and Las Vegas.

nullspace@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 14d (3 replies)

Hard disagree and I ain't even been to Chicago.

KingGimpicus@sh.itjust.works · -9 pts · 14d (2 replies)

I cant help that you have terrible taste in pizza and goofy accents. Chicago is modern day irrelevant. It died right along side Detroit. You can only abuse them system for so long before all you have left is blood sucking lawyers and corrupt cops. LA is getting there, but our port is way better. Same for NY

cheers_queers@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 14d (1 reply)

just because you hate chicago doesnt make it irrelevant lol

KingGimpicus@sh.itjust.works · -3 pts · 14d

I don't hate Chicago. I just dont pretend anything remotely interesting has happened there since the Manhattan project. Its a boring backwaterthat blew out every dollar it ever made on anything but maintenance. Im honestly shocked every year it manages not to sink into the swamp it was built over. You people are lucky the place isnt named shittycaca