New market ranks based on the 2010 US Census have been issued by Arbitron; a few days after Nielsen did the same for its TV DMAs. No market moved into or out of the top 10 or top 20 in the Arbitron re-rankings.
By far the biggest moves were by markets which qualified for a metro redefinition under the new rules that Arbitron announced in March. Portland, ME was the big mover, up 78 positions to market rank #90. New Orleans, LA moved up five slots to market #47, putting the hurricane ravaged market back into the top 50. Des Moines, IA moved up 18 positions to market #73; Corpus Christi, TX 26 to #111; Ft. Smith, AR 15 to #160; Amarillo, TX 24 to #169; Bryan-College Station, TX 35 to #198; Jonesville, AR 55 to #229; and Albany, GA 21 to #241.
New to the list, New York’s Hudson Valley checked in at #39.
Absent any metro redefinition, the biggest moves were eight spaces. Killeen-Temple, TX moved up eight to #143 and Fargo, ND-Moorhead, MN gained eight to #207. Going the other direction, Flagstaff-Prescott, AZ dropped eight to #154 and Bend, OR was down eight to #213.
In the biggest markets, Atlanta dropped two slots to #9 as Philadelphia and Washington, DC each moved up one to #7 and #8, respectively. Tampa-St. Pete and Denver flipped spots, to #19 and #20, respectively. Likewise for the next two markets, with Baltimore now #21 and St. Louis #22.
Down at the bottom of the list, Casper, WY moved up six spots to #284. That’s because there are six fewer markets ranked by Arbitron than a year ago.
The new rankings reflect the 2010 US Census, but most of the population changes aren’t that dramatic, since Arbitron tries to track demographic and population changes on an annual basis – so much of the information in the new Census data was already built in.
The new Arbitron market ranks are available on this page. (8-page pdf)
