Bloglanta links to a survey by CommonCensus, asking just how big the reach of America's cities are.

As Robert notes, the question is very simple:

On the level of North America as a whole, what major city do you feel has the most cultural and economic influence on your area

It doesn't matter what the census says about where you are. It's a psychological question. To which city do you point?

Under this system, the entire country is in some city or another, no matter how many stars you see at night. Folks as distant as North Dakota think of themselves as having a connection to Denver, Colorado. The psychological reach of Salt Lake City extends into the suburbs of Butte, Montana.

What about Atlanta? As you can see from the picture, Atlanta's psychological profile is quite large indeed. The only other Georgia cities that really "exist" psychologically are Savannah and Augusta. Folks on St. Simons think first of Jacksonville, those near Vidalia think of Tallahassee, and those in the far northwest corner of the state think of Chattanooga.

But the psychological reach of Atlanta goes practically to Auburn, Alabama, and into sections of South Carolina and North Carolina as well.