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I always thought that Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill (cities) anchor the Research Triangle area generally, and the Research Triangle Park is located between those cities. It also happens that each of these cities hosts one Tier-1 Research University; one is a top 7 national university, and another is a top 22 national (top 4 public) research university. NCSU is a top 28 national university. The Research Triangle area is considered to be a top 5 Life Science hub in the United States, and a top 10 tech hub as well.
Researchers from UNC-CH, Duke University and NCSU often collaborate with each other, and many spin-offs are produced as a result. The area is one of the top 5 or 6 largest recipients of NSF research funding grants in the country. This is what I thought, until now.
Thank you for pointing out that other cities have hospitals (with beds) --- just like Chapel Hill does. I need to get out and venture around the State of NC more. Who knew?
The Universities do anchor it, but RTP is much bigger than just the three cities where those Universities are.
Wake County population is over 1.1 million but Raleigh is about 488K. So less than half of the Wake County population. Most of Durham counties population is actually in the city. But Orange has about 150k where Chapel Hill is only about 63k of that.
Not to mention RTP's jobs also has influence in Chatham, Johnston, Harnett, Franklin, Granville, Person counties among others. That is what I meant by RTP is more of a NC thing, It supports much more than 3 cities. Its also not just a research thing either, it is as much an office park/job park as anything. The State has a number of offices located there now.
The Universities do anchor it, but RTP is much bigger than just the three cities where those Universities are.
Wake County population is over 1.1 million but Raleigh is about 488K. So less than half of the Wake County population. Most of Durham counties population is actually in the city. But Orange has about 150k where Chapel Hill is only about 63k of that.
Not to mention RTP's jobs also has influence in Chatham, Johnston, Harnett, Franklin, Granville, Person counties among others. That is what I meant by RTP is more of a NC thing, It supports much more than 3 cities. Its also not just a research thing either, it is as much an office park/job park as anything. The State has a number of offices located there now.
We just see things differently. And that's ok.
To your point, the medical school built in Greenville has made the town the primary economic engine of Eastern North Carolina. But, without it, Greenville would be a sleepy college town.
It is the chicken or the egg situation: If Chapel Hill didn't have UNC-CH, it wouldn't be part of the Research Triangle, but it does, and it is. Same with Durham and Raleigh, and this is hardly unique. Look at Boston and the Bay Area as other examples.
RTP has become more of a Life Sciences hub vs a tech hub, although it is both (Apple wanted to be located in RTP for example; Google is in Durham). And many of these jobs are located outside of RTP proper, as you mentioned, for a number of reasons; Durham has the Durham Innovation District for example, and Chapel Hill is building its own Innovation district; Morrisville, Cary etc. have lots of jobs. Then of course, you have NCSU's Centennial Campus. Heck, even Raleigh's North Hills is building an Innovation District. They are popping up like mushrooms. All of this is forcing Research Triangle Park to reinvent itself, by moving towards a "live-work-play" environment: Hub RTRP as an example. Other examples are Amgen and Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies; both in Holly Springs adjacent to RTP proper. Johnston County has created a vibrant life sciences cluster. Still, the bulk of this activity remains in Wake, Durham and Orange counties. Not really "an NC thing".
In terms of relevance and importance to the state? You can measure "importance" and "relevance" by a number of factors that matter to you; for me it's a combination of economy, cultural weight, influence on the state, etc...
I think there's unanimous agreement that Charlotte and Raleigh are the Top 2 cities here, so feel free to exclude them if you choose. This thread doesn't need to be a debate about whichever is #1 to you, though. Those are the Top 2 in whatever order...
So what about the rest? I reserve the right to change my rankings upon further review lol...
Interesting fact. North Carolina is one of only a few states where not one of its 15 largest cities lost population. By comparison, only 3 of Georgia's top 15 grew, the rest lost population.
I know its not on the list, but I am sooooooo glad I moved to Morganton in 2016. It has all the ingredients for a great future.
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