In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the region. Such regions are not legally incorporated as a city or town would be and are not legal administrative divisions like counties or separate entities such as states. As a result, sometimes the precise definition of a given metropolitan area will vary between sources. The statistical criteria for a standard metropolitan area were defined in 1949 and redefined as a metropolitan statistical area in 1983.
The Louisville metropolitan area is the 43rd largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States. It had a population of 1,395,855 in 2020 according to the latest official census, and its principal city is Louisville, Kentucky.
Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of Arkansas. With an estimated 2020 population of 748,031, it is the most populated area in Arkansas. Located at the convergence of Arkansas's other geographic regions, the region's central location make Central Arkansas an important population, economic, education, and political center in Arkansas and the South. Little Rock is the state's capital and largest city, and the city is also home to two Fortune 500 companies, Arkansas Children's Hospital, and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
Combined Statistical Area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 U.S. states and the territory of Puerto Rico that can demonstrate economic or social linkage. CSAs were first designated in 2003. OMB defines a CSA by various combinations of adjacent metropolitan and micropolitan areas with economic ties measured by commuting patterns. CSAs retain their own designations as metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas in their respective larger combined statistical areas.
The Jonesboro Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties – Craighead and Poinsett – in northeast Arkansas, anchored by the city of Jonesboro. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 121,026. It is also part of the larger Jonesboro-Paragould Combined Statistical Area.
The Fort Smith Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a five-county area including three Arkansas counties and two Oklahoma counties, and anchored by the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas. The total MSA population in 2000 was 273,170 people, estimated by the Bureau to have grown to 289,693 people by 2007.
The Memphis–Clarksdale-Forrest City Combined Statistical Area, TN–MS–AR (CSA) is the commercial and cultural hub of the Mid-South or Ark-Miss-Tenn. The census-defined combined statistical area covers eleven counties in three states, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. As of 2020 census, the Memphis metropolitan area had a population of 1,389,905 The Forrest City, Arkansas Micropolitan area was added to the Memphis area in 2012 to form the Memphis–Forrest City Combined Statistical area. In 2023 the Clarksdale, Mississippi Micropolitan area was also added to form the new Memphis-Clarksdale-Forrest City Combined Statistical Area which as of 2023 had a population of roughly 1.4 million people according to census estimates.
Pennsylvania has 14 U.S. Census Bureau-designated metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and four combined statistical areas (CSAs). As of 2020, Philadelphia, the seventh-largest United States metropolitan area, is the state's largest metropolitan area followed by Pittsburgh and Allentown.
The Lexington-Fayette metropolitan area is the 109th-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States. It was originally formed by the United States Census Bureau in 1950 and consisted solely of Fayette County until 1980 when surrounding counties saw increases in their population densities and the number of their residents employed within Lexington-Fayette, which led to them meeting Census criteria to be added to the MSA.
The Lexington-Fayette–Richmond–Frankfort combined statistical area, created by the United States Bureau of the Census in 2020, is the 71st largest Combined Statistical Area (CSA) of the United States. It consists of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Micropolitan Statistical Areas of Frankfort, Kentucky, Mount Sterling, and Richmond-Berea.
The Jonesboro–Paragould Combined Statistical Area is made up of three counties in northeastern Arkansas. The CSA consists of the Jonesboro Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Paragould Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the CSA had a population of 163,116.
The Knoxville metropolitan area, commonly known as Greater Knoxville, is a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) centered on Knoxville, Tennessee, the third largest city in Tennessee and the largest city in East Tennessee. It is the third largest metropolitan area in Tennessee. In 2020, the Knoxville metro area had a population of 879,773, and a population of 903,300 including Grainger County. The Knoxville–Morristown–Sevierville Combined Statistical Area (CSA) had a population of 1,156,861 according to the census bureau in 2020.
The Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties in north-central Illinois, anchored by the city of Rockford. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 349,431. The Rockford MSA abuts the southern portions of the Janesville-Beloit MSA and the Chicago MSA. It forms the main part of the larger Rockford–Freeport–Rochelle Combined Statistical Area.
The Dothan–Enterprise–Ozark Combined Statistical Area was a CSA made up of five counties in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. The once statistical area includes one metropolitan area and originally one micropolitan area which then was split off as two. As of the 2010 census, the CSA had a population of 245,838. Currently an updated area called the Dothan-Ozark Combined Statistical area is used instead and Enterprise micropolitan area is now split as its own statistical area.
The Madison, Wisconsin, metropolitan area, also known as Greater Madison, is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Madison, Wisconsin. Madison is the state capital of Wisconsin and is Wisconsin's second largest city, and the metropolitan area is also the state's second largest which the Madison MSA borders to its east.
The San Juan metropolitan area is a United States Census Bureau defined metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in northeastern Puerto Rico centered around the city of San Juan. A July 1, 2009, Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 2,617,089, a 4.31% increase over the 2000 census figure of 2,509,007.
The United States federal government defines and delineates the nation's metropolitan areas for statistical purposes, using a set of standard statistical area definitions. As of 2020, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defined and delineated 392 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and 547 micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs) in the United States and Puerto Rico. Many of these 939 MSAs and μSAs are, in turn, components of larger combined statistical areas (CSAs) consisting of adjacent MSAs and μSAs that are linked by commuting ties; as of 2020, 551 metropolitan and micropolitan areas are components of the 175 defined CSAs. A collective term for MSAs, μSAs, and CSAs is primary statistical areas (PSAs), though that term is not used by OMB.
