Nielsen 2011-12 Rankings: Washington DC, Seattle Move Up, While Atlanta and Phoenix Drop

By Merrill Knox 

The Top 20 local markets will see some changes this year, according to Nielsen. The 2011-12 list of DMAs, released today, measures Washington, DC and Seattle each moving up a rank — to 8 and 12, respectively — while Atlanta and Phoenix each drop down one spot, to 9 and 13.

In the Top 30 markets, Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham and Indianapolis all increased by one, while Baltimore fell one spot, to 27, and Charlotte fell two spots, to 25.

The biggest drops were Toledo, South Bend, Springfield-Holyoke, and Bend, OR, who each fell four spots. Jackson, TN, and El Paso both gained six spots in the rankings, making them the biggest jumps from last year.

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The Top 25 Markets for 2011-12 are:

1 New York  7,387,810
2 Los Angeles  5,569,780
3 Chicago  3,493,480
4 Philadelphia 2,993,370
5 Dallas-Ft. Worth  2,571,310
6 San Francisco-Oak-San Jose 2,506,510
7 Boston (Manchester)  2,379,690
8  Washington, DC (Hagrstwn) 2,360,180
9 -Atlanta 2,292,640
10 Houston 2,185,260
11 Detroit  1,842,650
12  Seattle-Tacoma 1,811,420
13  Phoenix (Prescott) 1,811,330
14 Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota)  1,788,240
15 Minneapolis-St. Paul 1,721,940
16 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 1,583,800
17 Denver 1,548,570
18 Cleveland-Akron (Canton) 1,514,170
19 Orlando-Daytona Bch-Melbrn 1,465,460
20 Sacramnto-Stkton-Modesto 1,388,570
21 St. Louis  1,253,920
22 Portland, OR  1,190,010
23 Pittsburgh  1,171,490
24  Raleigh-Durham (Fayetvlle) 1,143,420
25 Charlotte 1,140,900

To read the full list, click here.

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