Lehigh Valley/Philadelphia demarcation line? (Allentown, Reading: homes, employment, salary)

[julian17033]

I see your point here.

I live in South Allentown and Quakertown is only 13.5 miles from my door.

Quakertown to Philadelphia proper is 48 miles.

If distance traveled dictates affiliation then Quakertown is influenced by the Lehigh Valley as a general rule.

Just throwing that out there.

Originally Posted by rainrock

The Philadephia area has a much greater force of energy though, gravitational pull if you will. Its 6x- 7x the size of the LV. By that fact alone I would say Quakertown area gets sucked into the Philadelphia metro.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by julian17033

I see your point here.

I live in South Allentown and Quakertown is only 13.5 miles from my door.

Quakertown to Philadelphia proper is 48 miles.

If distance traveled dictates affiliation then Quakertown is influenced by the Lehigh Valley as a general rule.

Just throwing that out there.

But Quakertown is also just 13 miles from Doylestown which is the county seat of Bucks County and a major hub in the Philadelphia metro.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by rainrock

But Quakertown is also just 13 miles from Doylestown which is the county seat of Bucks County and a major hub in the Philadelphia metro.

I agree that that's how it would appear, but it's simply not how it is. It's surprising how non-Philadelphia this area feels. And apparently there's not enough pull on paper to make the LV officially part of the Philadelphia metro area. At least not yet.

[mancat100]

Watch out, Lehigh Valley. We're gonna getcha!!!!!

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by mancat100

Don't all of the "official" people/agencies consider ALL of Bucks and Montgomery counties to be part of The Philadelphia metro?

There are very strict rules about what can be called a Metropolitan Statistical Agency. And it is a government decision, and it doesn't really matter about the opinions of anyone on this forum or elsewhere.

The MSA standards for 2010 were published in the federal register, and a decision will be made in 2013. At that time, the Lehigh Valley (formally the ABE MSA which includes Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon, and Warren County NJ) will or won't be determined to be part of the Philadelphia Combined Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA).

I suspect the answer will be to keep it separate MSA. If anything more people work in New York City or Jersey City than work in Philadelphia.

Pike is the only PA county that is considered part of the New York CMSA. I suspect that what is more likely change, is that Monroe county will be joined with the NY CMSA.

[Rachel125]

This has been an interesting discussion to read. The fact that the Lehigh Valley is within striking distance of both Philly and NYC is a major draw for me when thinking about moving, as I'd be able to take advantage of being near both big cities. However, while I won't say outright that you couldn't pay me enough to live in either of those places, there would have to be some exceedingly large sums involved. I like a balance. The fact that the Lehigh Valley has the proximity to Philly/NYC but isn't overcrowded itself is huge for me. On the flip side, being within striking distance of the Poconos if I want to get away is also fantastic. For me, I see the potential for the best of all worlds.

I've lived in a large metro area before, but not in the megalopolis sense that the NE has. If it felt as crowded as I used to think it would before I visited the area, there'd be no way I'd contemplate living there. Fortunately it doesn't, but I have gotten the sense that a lot of cities and development in the region do just run together. It's rather odd when you're not used to it, and I have never lived anywhere where there wasn't a good hour or so of nothing much around whatever the main city/metro area was located.

[DarkWolf]

The Allentown - Bethlehem - Easton MSA will merge with the Greater Reading MSA by 2030 , which will merge with the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington and New York - Newark - Bridgeport - Poughkeepsie - New Brunswick MSA by 2040. Harrisburg - Canarsie - Lebanon will merge with York - Hanover MSA by 2020 creating PA's 3rd largest Urban area. Most people who do Population Projections see all 3 of PA's Urban areas merging by 2040. Along with Washington-Baltimore MSA joining Philly Metros and Harrisburg Metros by 2050 if current growth stays on track. The Population of the Northeastern Megapolis is 55 Million , by 2025 that will grow to 58 or 60 Million , by 2040 the population will be between 78 Million and 80 Million , by 85 or 90 Million by 2050.... With 35-40 Million living in the NYC Metro....

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

The Allentown - Bethlehem - Easton MSA will merge with the Greater Reading MSA by 2030 ....

The official metro areas are right next to one another. The census bureau will determine when they are combined (like when they merged Washington and Baltimore).

I expect after this census that Monroe county will no longer be considered officially rural. It is the only county around here that is not urban. The light green on the map is because it is considered micropolitan.




Schuykill county (Pottsville) is rapidly decreasing in population. Overall in Pennsylvania about 25% of the counties peaked between 1910-1940. The rate is accelerating so that by 2010 over half of the counties have peaked in the 20th century and have been dropping in population. Still the state continues to grow in population because of the Southeast. But the growth rate does not equal the rest of the country. Hence PA loses congressional districts each census.

[rainrock]

One thing to keep in mind to those who downplay Philadelphia areas influence. The wealthiest 8 counties in PA(Household Median Income) are directly connected to the Philadelphia area in some capacity. Lending some credence to the power and wealth outflowing from the Philadelphia area.


Median Household Income

Chester- $85,000
Montgomery- $76,400
Bucks-$74,900
Delaware-$62,000
Northampton-$58,800
Lancaster-$54,800
Lehigh-$53,600
Berks- $53,500

[julian17033]

Yes I can see that to a certain extent except for Lancaster county which gains most of it's non farm income from south central PA.

When I lived in Lancaster I worked in Harrisburg.
The majority of commuters are found on West bound 283 in the morning along with North bound 222 to the Reading area.

You'll always have commuters to Philly from Lancaster but just to
King Of Prussia via the turnpke your looking at over 60 miles one way.

Allentown to Philly is 62 miles one way via the tolled 476 route.

If you could go by just the way places feel and their identities the Lehigh Valley feels absolutely nothing like Philly nor does Lancaster feel anything like the Lehigh Valley or Philly.

Having also lived in Lavelle (Ashland) in schuykill County the Lehigh Valley feels more like NEPA to me than any other regional part of the state.

I can be at Cabella's in Hamburg pretty fast from I-78 then it's up into the Pottsville area from there.