We are micropolitan
A new term has hit my radar which I'm kinda digging - Micropolitan area. A micropolitan city, according to the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is "that of a core area containing a substantial population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with that core." The core area must have more than 10,000 people and less than 50,000.
In short, it's a microcosm of a big city. Keene is absolutely a micropolitan city. It is the economic base engine for this region and (literally) is where all roads in the region lead. What's interesting is that given this definition (used beginning in about 2000), we can begin to compare our fair city to others like it nationally.
There are 560 micropolitan areas in the United States presently. According to Forbes, Keene is the 3rd least economically vulnerable micropolitan area. BizJournal ranks it 23rd highest quality of life.