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

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.

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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