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.
A core-based statistical area (CBSA) is a U.S. geographic area defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It contains a large population nucleus, or urban area, and adjacent communities that have a high degree of integration with that nucleus.
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 U.S. State of Wyoming currently has ten statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated two metropolitan statistical areas and eight micropolitan statistical areas in Wyoming. The most populous of these statistical areas is the Cheyenne, WY Metropolitan Statistical Area with a 2020 Census population of 100,512.
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 New York currently has 34 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated seven combined statistical areas, 13 metropolitan statistical areas and 14 micropolitan statistical areas in New York. As of 2023, the largest of these is the New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA, which includes New York City and its surrounding suburbs; with over 21 million people, it is the largest primary statistical area in the United States.
The U.S. State of New Jersey currently has nine statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated three combined statistical areas and six metropolitan statistical areas in New Jersey. As of 2023, the largest of these is the New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA, which includes New Jersey's largest city, Newark, and capital, Trenton.
The U.S. State of Wisconsin currently has 36 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On March 6, 2020, the OMB delineated nine combined statistical areas, 15 metropolitan statistical areas, and 12 micropolitan statistical areas in Wisconsin.
The U.S. State of Hawaiʻi currently has four statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated two metropolitan statistical areas and two micropolitan statistical areas in Hawaiʻi. As of 2023, the most populous of these is the Urban Honolulu, HI MSA, anchored by Hawaiʻi's capital and largest city, Honolulu, on the island of Oahu.
The U.S. State of Montana currently has seven statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated five metropolitan statistical areas and two micropolitan statistical areas in Montana. As of 2023, the largest of these is the Billings, MT MSA, comprising the area surrounding Montana's largest city of Billings.
The U.S. State of Virginia currently has 19 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, 11 metropolitan statistical areas, and four micropolitan statistical areas in Virginia. As of 2023, the largest of these is the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA CSA, comprising Washington, D.C. and its suburbs.
The U.S. State of West Virginia currently has 20 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated five combined statistical areas, 10 metropolitan statistical areas, and five micropolitan statistical areas in West Virginia.
The U.S. State of Missouri currently has 31 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On March 6, 2020, the OMB delineated six combined statistical areas, seven metropolitan statistical areas, and 18 micropolitan statistical areas in Missouri. As of 2023, the largest of these is the St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL CSA, comprising the area around St. Louis.
The U.S. State of North Carolina currently has 48 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated nine combined statistical areas, 15 metropolitan statistical areas, and 24 micropolitan statistical areas in North Carolina. As of 2023, the largest of these is the Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA, comprising the state's largest city of Charlotte and its suburbs.
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico currently has 15 statistical areas that have been delineated by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On March 6, 2020, the OMB delineated three combined statistical areas, eight metropolitan statistical areas, and four micropolitan statistical areas in Puerto Rico.
The city of Portland, Maine, is the hub city of a metropolitan area in southern Maine. The region is commonly known as Greater Portland or the Portland metropolitan area. For statistical purposes, the U.S. federal government defines three different representations of the Portland metropolitan area. The Portland–South Portland, Maine, metropolitan statistical area is a region consisting of three counties in Maine, anchored by the city of Portland and the smaller city of South Portland. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 551,740. A larger combined statistical area (CSA), the Portland–Lewiston–South Portland combined statistical area, is defined as the combination of this metropolitan statistical area (MSA) with the adjacent Lewiston–Auburn MSA. The CSA comprises four counties in southern Maine. The Portland–South Portland metropolitan New England city and town area is defined on the basis of cities and towns rather than entire counties. It consists of most of Cumberland and York counties plus the town of Durham in Androscoggin County. The Greater Portland area has emerged as an important center for the creative economy, which is also bringing gentrification.
The Berlin Micropolitan Statistical Area is the core-based statistical area centered on the urban cluster associated with the city Berlin, New Hampshire, in the United States. As defined by the Office of Management and Budget using counties as building blocks, the area consists of two counties – Coös County in New Hampshire, which contains the city of Berlin, and the adjacent Essex County in Vermont.
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 2023, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defined and delineated 393 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and 542 micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs) in the United States and Puerto Rico. Many of these 935 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 2023, 582 metropolitan and micropolitan areas are components of the 184 defined CSAs. A collective term for MSAs, μSAs, and CSAs is primary statistical areas (PSAs), though that term is not used by OMB.
In the United States, a principal city is the largest incorporated place with a population of at least 10,000 in a core-based statistical area (CBSA) or New England city and town area (NECTA), or if no incorporated place of least 10,000 population is present in the CBSA or NECTA, the largest incorporated place or census designated place (CDP) in the CBSA or NECTA. Additional places that meet specific criteria are also identified as principal cities. The title of each metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area consists of the names of up to three of its principal cities and the name of each state into which the metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area extends.
