I didn't see a topic related to the entire St. Louis Metro Area. Data, Stats, Rankings, etc. So I created one here where I plan to post a few items related to the entire St Louis MSA.
St Louis Metro Area-wide Stats, Rankings, and Notes.
St Louis Metro Area-wide Stats, Rankings, and Notes.
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I asked this question to Google Gemini AI. I think the answer shows the challenges St. Louis and Kansas City face with respect to enhancing our respective downtowns.
List the top 40 US metro areas whose downtown is against a major physical barrier, like a river, lake, mountain range, or ocean, and that barrier is a state border. Rank the list by longest distance between the metro area center of population and the core city downtown.
Ranking Methodology Summary
The ranking prioritizes metro areas where the core city's population loss or slow growth, combined with extensive growth in the opposite direction from the water barrier, has maximized the distance to the regional Center of Population (COP).
List the top 40 US metro areas whose downtown is against a major physical barrier, like a river, lake, mountain range, or ocean, and that barrier is a state border. Rank the list by longest distance between the metro area center of population and the core city downtown.
| Rank | Metropolitan Area (MSA) | Core City Downtown | State Border Barrier Type | Estimated Distance from COP |
| 1 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | Detroit, MI | Detroit River (MI/Canada) | Longest (~15–20+ miles NW) |
| 2 | St. Louis | St. Louis, MO | Mississippi River (MO/IL) | Long (~15 miles W) |
| 3 | Kansas City | Kansas City, MO | Missouri River (MO/KS) | Moderate-Long (~10–15 miles SW) |
| 4 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga | Buffalo, NY | Niagara River/Lake Erie (NY/Canada) | Moderate-Long (~10–15 miles E/S) |
| 5 | Cincinnati | Cincinnati, OH | Ohio River (OH/KY/IN) | Moderate (~10 miles N) |
| 6 | Louisville/Jefferson County | Louisville, KY | Ohio River (KY/IN) | Moderate (~8–12 miles S/E) |
| 7 | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | Ohio River (PA/OH/WV) | Moderate (~8–10 miles NE/E) |
| 8 | Memphis | Memphis, TN | Mississippi River (TN/AR) | Moderate (~8–10 miles E/SE) |
| 9 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia | Charlotte, NC | State line is a creek/line (NC/SC) | Moderate (~7–9 miles S) |
| 10 | Minneapolis-St. Paul | Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN | Mississippi River (MN/WI) | Moderate (~5–10 miles W/SW) |
| 11 | Providence-Warwick | Providence, RI | Seekonk River/Narragansett Bay (RI/MA) | Moderate (~7–10 miles N/S/W) |
| 12 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro | Portland, OR | Columbia River (OR/WA) | Moderate-Close (~5–7 miles S) |
| 13 | Davenport-Moline-Rock Island | Davenport, IA/Moline, IL | Mississippi River (IA/IL) | Close (~5–7 miles) |
| 14 | Omaha-Council Bluffs | Omaha, NE | Missouri River (NE/IA) | Close (~5–7 miles W/SW) |
| 15 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | Philadelphia, PA | Delaware River (PA/NJ/DE/MD) | Close (~3–5 miles) |
| 16 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | Washington, D.C. | Potomac River (DC/VA/MD/WV) | Very Close (~2–4 miles) |
| 17 | New York-Newark-Jersey City | New York, NY | Hudson/East Rivers (NY/NJ/PA) | Closest (~1–3 miles) |
| 18 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk | Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA | Chesapeake Bay/Rivers (VA/NC) | N/A (Polycentric) |
| 19 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | Chicago, IL | Lake Michigan (IL/IN/WI) | N/A (Lake is not state border) |
The ranking prioritizes metro areas where the core city's population loss or slow growth, combined with extensive growth in the opposite direction from the water barrier, has maximized the distance to the regional Center of Population (COP).
- Detroit (1) and St. Louis (2): These cities are classic examples of the urban donut effect and are pinned against an international border (Detroit River/Canada) and a major river/state border (Mississippi River/Illinois), respectively. Massive demographic shifts to the suburbs (northwest in Detroit, west in St. Louis) have pushed the COP far from the historic downtown.
- Kansas City (3) and Cincinnati (5): These regions have also seen significant sprawl away from their river-adjacent cores (Missouri River and Ohio River), causing the population balance point to retreat deep into the dominant state's interior counties.
- New York (17) and Washington (16): Despite their immense size, the incredibly high population density in the inner cities and immediate suburbs of these regions keeps the calculated COP much closer to the downtown core relative to the entire MSA's extent.
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Nashville! with that snake (Cumberland) River
Tampa FL with the inlets and run offs and small bays etc When the city meets the bay it looks like (on a map) that its been 'chiseled'
Tampa FL with the inlets and run offs and small bays etc When the city meets the bay it looks like (on a map) that its been 'chiseled'
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So Nashville is not on the state border. It is the Capital of its state, and very near the center. Compared to Memphis. And that river was not much of a barrier in the old days compared to the Mississippi, or the Ohio. And Nashville had the foresight to include both sides of that river in its city limits, its county, and its state.BarryGlick wrote: ↑Nov 02, 2025Nashville! with that snake (Cumberland) River
Tampa FL with the inlets and run offs and small bays etc When the city meets the bay it looks like (on a map) that its been 'chiseled'
Tampa city is not far from the center of its state and not across a border from another state, so that might be why it's not listed here. Like Chicago.
Also, due to its Country Music status, Nashville is in the national news a lot with nearly always favorable area PR. It would be nice if St. Louis could stake out a niche in the entertainment multiverse and develop a local industry and tech that could get us on national media a lot with good PR. How could our Boeing expertise in simulation and video AI translate into entertainment? And they probably have some awesome simulations and domes / goggles, etc. in National Geospatial. After all, we are city that created Jack Dorsey and Sam Altman.BarryGlick wrote: ↑Nov 02, 2025Nashville! with that snake (Cumberland) River
Tampa FL with the inlets and run offs and small bays etc When the city meets the bay it looks like (on a map) that its been 'chiseled'