1H

A question for our American brethren, do all town welcome signs have the population for the town on or is this particular to certain towns or states?

A lot of them do, especially small towns. Large cities...not so much. I had to go check to see if Battle Creek has one anywhere. It has one at the west side coming from Kalamazoo and further west from Chicago but not from the East coming from Detroit. I remember our little town in Florida where I grew up, Plant City, had this information on all the signs coming into the town from the major highways.

I would also say a lot of them do but some don't.

Carol, above and beyond the call of duty... :)

>4 Sergeirocks: I couldn't remember if I saw them or just thought I had. Turns out I was right either way.

>5 Carol420: :D

A lot of them do. They’re not often on the “welcome sign” but usually on a municipal sign somewhere either entering the town or near the civic center. In my hometown of 7,014 people, it’s inside the city limits close to the courthouse

Found this: The population of Perkasie PA in 1900 was 1,803; in 1910, 2,779 people lived in Perkasie. The population was 8,511 at the 2010 census. Estimate (2016) 8,479

More info about population signs:
“Is it a legal requirement?”

It's generally set by state law. Here in Colorado, towns are required to display elevation rather than population on town signs. I guess that's because it's more of a point of civic pride, but really it makes more sense; the elevation, of course, is not really as likely to change.
posted by koeselitz at 1:34 PM on March 24, 2010

Aside from any legal requirement, it seems like a good idea for towns that aren't generally known (i.e. most towns) because it's an implicit announcement: "Hey, we're a real, full-fledged town -- you can actually stop and do stuff here i.e. give us money."
posted by Jaltcoh at 1:52 PM on March 24, 2010

It's not just limited to small towns.

While nobody needs to know this information, it's still nice to know a little bit about the areas you're passing through.

If you're worried about the costs of replacing signs every 10 years, as you can see from that LA limits sign, you can just put a patch over what you need to replace.
posted by hwyengr at 2:11 PM on March 24, 2010

I could have sworn this was asked on MeFi recently, but I can't find it. Anyway, the consensus wherever I read this is that it's a combination of civic pride and giving people some idea of what services are available in a town.

For what it's worth, the information on signs varies by state. Massachusetts town line signs (another flickr group) have the date of founding of the town. This makes sense, because many Massachusetts towns are more proud of their age (old!, at least by US standards) than their size (small). I think Pennsylvania and New Jersey town line signs don't have any random facts on them, just the name of the town.
posted by madcaptenor at 2:57 PM on March 24, 2010 1 favorite

MCMikeNamara: are you saying that there's a minimum size a town needs to be to have a speed trap? That actually makes sense, though -- to have a speed trap you might have to be large enough to afford your very own police officer.
posted by madcaptenor at 2:58 PM on March 24, 2010

I've lived in the US my entire life, and cannot ever recall seeing such a sign, apart from in a movie or on TV...
posted by schmod at 3:08 PM on March 24, 2010

Schmod, it's more common out west. On the other hand, I don't remember ever seeing one in New England.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:25 PM on March 24, 2010

It is more common once you cross the Mississippi. I live in Arkansas and cities I live in and near are extremely proud of the population figures. In Virginia, where I grew up, the big thing is founding date. You'll see it for cities, towns, and counties. Personally, I find them pretty neat.
posted by Atreides at 4:31 PM on March 24, 2010

It's America.
We like to measure things.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:32 PM on March 24, 2010 4 favorites

Huh, I see them on almost all town/city signs (except for hamlets) as well as regional municipalities in Ontario. They are changed every ten years or so (after the census).
posted by saucysault at 5:20 PM on March 24, 2010

It's also a good indicator of whether you're entering a town where everybody knows everybody and you're going to stand-out, or a larger town where you just blend in.

>8 EadieB: I like that statement, ‘It’s America, we like to measure things’. Perhaps I should be an American! I love putting numbers on things.

Thanks for this information and always been interested. Not something you see in the U.K.

I agree as well Carol going out to check is above and beyond the call of duty! 👍👏

>10 Andrew-theQM: I didn't have all that far to go. About 12 miles east and 8 miles west. I've seen one of or the other of those signs several times a week but never paid much mind to what they said other than "Battle Creek". We have little townships spaced out between so some of the signs specify the townships.

I think it's quaint in small town but pointless in bigger ones. We drive through a tiny town called Crisp on our way to play golf. They have a population of 4,735. But if the population is 4,39,785 it's not as cute.

>9 Andrew-theQM: Yes, that would make you a great American! But you would have to brush up on your inches, feet, yards and miles. Reminds me of that book, Measuring the World by Daniel Kehlmann

>9 Andrew-theQM: That’s okay I was educated at a time where you had to know both these and the metric. To be honest UK is still focused on miles not Kilometres!

>14 Andrew-theQM: That's great! Now you are already 1/2 American. All you have to do now is like the President or he won't let you in. lol

>15 EadieB: Is That i’ve Got to like him, or he’s got to like me. I get the impression it would have to be that way round. Let’s hope he doesn’t impose a big import tax on me! 😂

>15 EadieB: I'll TWEET him and tell him that you would be a great asset and I'm sure he will let you in for FREE!

>14 Andrew-theQM: I wonder if we can revert to lbs and ozs once Brexit takes place? Kgs and gms are sooo European!

>18 Sergeirocks: >14 Andrew-theQM: That's great that you learned both measurements for Europe and America.