What we do and how we do it can vary tremendously based on the specific opportunities near our base of operations.?ÿ Some here work from a base where the general population within a 25 mile radius of the office might be 10 million while for some others that number might be under 10,000.?ÿ What is a rough guess as to the general population within a 25 mile radius of your base of operations?
under 10,000
10,000 to 50,000
50,000 to 100,000
100,000 to 250,000
250,000 to 500,000
500,000 to 1,000,000
over 1,000,000
In my case that number would be under 50,000 but closer to 35,000 with about 20,000 of those being in the donut between 20 and 25 miles out and only about 15,000 within 20 miles ( the donut hole).
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My 20 to 25 mile radius is a little lopsided.?ÿ To the north the OKC metro area has about 1.3 million people.?ÿ To the south, east and west is less, with a few little hamlets of 700 or less spattered about.?ÿ
When I raised my kids the closest town had less than 400 people. I thought that was a wee bit small.?ÿ Over the years I've grown to admire towns of about 2500 to 7500 people with the next town being around ten miles distant.?ÿ?ÿ
I live in a suburb of Houston, TX. The estimated population of Houston is 2.4 million for 2019. The bulk of my work comes from adjacent counties and my busiest county has a population of 21k.
7 County Sacramento region about 2.7 million
Sacramento urban area about 1-1/2 million
25,000 maybe, but I don't understand the 25 mile radius, that surely isn't the general diameter of most surveyor's working area.?ÿ
What is the purpose of the 25 mile radius? I think I have worked on one job within that radius in the last 4 years.
What is the purpose of the 25 mile radius? I think I have worked on one job within that radius in the last 4 years.
There is something on the order of 2.4 million people in the greater Portland area. Including a couple hundred PLSs supported by probably thousands of techs.
What is more important than population numbers is the rate of growth. That is very strong around here.?ÿ The population of Oregon is growing 40,000 per year with about half coming into Portland.?ÿ?ÿ
One downside of all that population is that to get to a site 25 miles from my office might be an hour and a half drive.?ÿ
25 miles was purely arbitrary. Just something halfway simple to guess at. Some might work exclusively within such a radius while others might never work that close to base. But, the 25 mile radius is indicative of metropolitan, urban, suburban, rural, very rural. Work opportunities likely vary with population. I will never work around skyscrapers. Some will never be more than a few blocks from a Starbucks.
I hear that, Mark. Meanwhile I can get to many locations 25 miles away in 25 minutes.
Rate of growth is an indicator of current opportunities, especially with construction-related work, while general population numbers are an indicator of long term opportunities in boundary surveying.
As we communicate on this and similar forums with other surveyors we need to keep in mind our differences.?ÿ It helps when we know a bit more about the people involved.?ÿ This comes over time from reading many different threads.?ÿ We have participants of all ages, experience levels, education levels and incomes.?ÿ Recommendations on business practices, for example, tend to be based on the poster's experience.?ÿ How that experience translates into practical usage by someone else may depend greatly on the age, experience level, education level and/or (see what I did there) income of the reader.?ÿ What may be great advice to someone in a situation similar to the poster may be bad advice to someone in a different situation.
Puyallup sits in a sort of narrow corridor; mountains to the east; Puget Sound to the west. So it's more of a Maple Bar than a donut...
Probably close to a million; within an hours drive (25 miles). And Mark is right; Tacoma is one of the fastest growing areas in the Nation. And with the number of licensed surveyors in Pierce County either retiring or dying; this leaves a lot of work for Dougie ;`)
According to the figures, the 2018 population estimate specifically for Puyallup was 41,886, an increase of 883 from 2017. Only Tacoma saw a greater increase in Pierce County, with 2,849 new residents moving in over the past year.
May 23, 2019
I'm based about 15 miles from downtown Sacramento, but I rarely work on that side of the Sacramento River.?ÿ Most of my work is within a few miles of my adopted home town (population about 70k), though I occasionally take on a large-scale project that exceeds Holy Cow's 25-mile criterion.
I'm located in a fairly rural area about 60 miles south of Rochester NY.?ÿ That probably puts me in the 10,000-50,000 population bracket.?ÿ I probably spend 95% of my time within 45 minutes of home base.?ÿ I never see a traffic light most days.
Licensed Land Surveyor
Finger Lakes Region, Upstate New York
Using a 25 mile radius:
- I lose about 1/3 of the land area to the south due to being near the Kentucky/Tennessee border and having never bothered to get my Tennessee license.
- I lose about 1/3 of the land area to the west due to that area being a national recreation area.
- I lose the largest "population center" to the east because I have no desire to work in that area and deal with their planning entity.
If I included the population center to the east, the number would be around 104,000.?ÿ Since I do not work over there, the number is closer to 34,000 within the 25 miles area I actually will cover.?ÿ However, I am fortunate enough as to usually work within my home county (pop. 14,000) with very few projects outside the county.
