I have no idea what someone means when they say they live in city like this. What makes a city tier 1? What's the difference between tier 3 and tier 4? What's worst tier? When does something move from "not-a-city" to the worst tier?
Generally I go by desirability (which includes jobs, amenities, etc.) then population size, but as others have pointed out it's a loose metric that doesn't measure anything objective. To give some very subjective examples:
Tier 1: LA, NYC, SF, Chicago, Seattle
Tier 2: Denver, DC, Austin, Minneapolis, San Diego, Houston, Philadelphia
I'm in Madison, WI which is barely a city but ranks high in desirability pretty consistently and has housing prices to match.
It’s an amalgamation of income/wealth potential, population size, and relative desirability amongst the general populace to (reflected in land/housing prices).
Obviously, there is no objectively true ranking, just people’s opinions.
