[Docere]

Originally Posted by edale

Exactly. Obviously LA and the IE are one big metro area, even if the census keeps them as separate MSAs. Same with SF and San Jose. DC and Baltimore are separate cities. They are separate media markets, have their own sports teams, urban culture, architectural vernacular, cultural institutions, etc. They've somewhat sprawled together at this point, but it's a totally different situation than LA and Riverside, which is all just one big sprawled region with shared TV, radio, and newspapers, same regional rail provider, etc. LA is the urban center for the IE. The downtown areas of Riverside and San Bernardino feel like the commercial centers of small towns, not a metro of 4 million people.

There's a methodology involved (commuting patterns) but "MSA" doesn't capture the distinction. There's definitely a difference between LA/Riverside and San Franciscco/San Jose vs. DC/Baltimore.

I find most CSAs too extensive but when I provide stats I combine LA/Riverside and San Francisco/San Jose.