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.
United States micropolitan statistical areas, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), are labor market and statistical areas in the United States centered on an urban cluster with a population of at least 10,000 but fewer than 50,000 people. The micropolitan area designation was created in 2003. Like the better-known metropolitan statistical areas, a micropolitan area is a geographic entity used for statistical purposes based on counties and county equivalents. On July 21, 2023, the Office of Management and Budget released revised delineations of the various CBSAs in the United States, which recognized 542 micropolitan areas in the United States, four of which are in Puerto Rico.
The Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area is a Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA) in Virginia as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As of the 2010 census, the μSA had a population of 106,561
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 State of Arkansas has a total of eight metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) that are fully or partially located in the state. Twenty of the state's 75 counties are classified by the United States Census Bureau as metropolitan.
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 Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in central Louisiana that covers two parishes – Rapides and Grant. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 152,192.
The Sarasota metropolitan area is a metropolitan area located in Southwest Florida. The metropolitan area is defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) consisting of Manatee County and Sarasota County. The principal cities listed by the OMB for the MSA are North Port, Bradenton, Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, and Venice. At the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 833,716. The Census Bureau estimates that its population was 891,411 in 2022.
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 Charleston Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in West Virginia, anchored by the city of Charleston. It is the largest metropolitan area entirely within the state of West Virginia. The Huntington Metro Area adds to the Charleston–Huntington, WV-OH-KY CSA and spans three states, while the core county of the Charleston area, Kanawha County, is more populous than the West Virginia portion of the Huntington area.
The U.S. State of Illinois currently has 47 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated 14 combined statistical areas, 12 metropolitan statistical areas, and 21 micropolitan statistical areas in Illinois. As of 2023, the largest of these is the Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI CSA, comprising the area around Illinois' largest city, Chicago.
The U.S. State of Alabama currently has 35 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
The U.S. State of Arkansas currently has 25 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated four combined statistical areas, seven metropolitan statistical areas, and 14 micropolitan statistical areas in Arkansas. As of 2023, the most populous statistical area in the state is Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR CSA, comprising the metro area of its capital and largest city, Little Rock.
The U.S. State of Delaware currently has four statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated one combined statistical area, two metropolitan statistical areas, and one micropolitan statistical area in Delaware. As of 2023, the largest statistical area in the state is the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area, which includes Delaware's largest city, Wilmington.
The U.S. State of South Dakota currently has 14 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated two combined statistical areas, three metropolitan statistical areas, and nine micropolitan statistical areas in South Dakota. As of 2023, the largest of these is the Sioux Falls, SD-MN MSA, comprising the area around the state's largest city of Sioux Falls.
The Lubbock–Plainview Combined Statistical Area consists of the Lubbock Metropolitan Area and the Plainview Micropolitan Area and comprises eight counties: in the South Plains region of west Texas. The Levelland Micropolitan Statistical Area was a separate statistical area within the CSA until 2023 when it was added to the Lubbock MSA. In the 2010 census, the CSA had a population of 350,013, though a July 1, 2019 estimate placed the population at 381,664. The CSA's principal city is Lubbock.
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 Montgomery, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in central Alabama. As of 2020, the MSA had a population of 386,047, ranking it 142nd among United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas. That number is up +3.07% from the 2010 census number of 374,536.
The Wichita, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, is an area consisting of four counties in south central Kansas, its only principal city is Wichita and its only central county is Sedgwick County. As of the 2023 American Community Survey, the MSA had a population of 652,939.
