WSJ Article

Granbury, Texas
Isn't a Rural Town:
It's a 'Micropolis'

Census Bureau Adopts Term
For Main Street America,
And Marketers Take Note
Beans, Ribs and Starbucks

The  June 3, 2004 issue of the Wall Street Journal featured Granbury to describe what the Census Bureau sees as a growing trend that the bureau now calls a "micropolitan" area. To qualify, a locale must have at least one town of 10,000 to 49,999 people -- and it can have several of these -- and proportionally few of its residents commuting outside the area. The government figured there were 567 such micropolises in the continental U.S. More than 28 million people, or one in 10 Americans, reside in them.

"Marketers and demographers are starting to pay attention to places like Granbury: growing population centers far removed from the nearest large city, often 100 miles or more. They are drawing refugees both from rural America and suburbia, offering some of the cultural attractions and conveniences of cities without all the expenses and liabilities of urban sprawl," the front-page article by Michael J. McCarthy stated.

Between 1990 and 2000, the population of Granbury and surrounding Hood County increased 40%, to 48,000.

"A sparkling lake, affordable housing and the promise of a quieter life have drawn many people to Granbury, out in cattle country some 70 miles southwest of Dallas," McCarthy wrote.

The complete article is available by logging in to the Wall Street Journal website and searching for Granbury, Texas.