A New England city and town area (NECTA) was a geographic and statistical entity defined by the U.S. federal government for use in the six-state New England region of the United States. NECTAs are analogous to metropolitan statistical areas and micropolitan statistical areas and are defined using the same criteria, except that they are defined on the basis of New England towns instead of entire counties. NECTAs are classified as either metropolitan or micropolitan NECTAs. A micropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000, whereas a metropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 50,000. Tabulations of census information by NECTA was discontinued effective July 2023. [1]
In New England, towns (which are classified by the United States Census Bureau as minor civil divisions) are a much more important level of government than counties. Because towns are smaller than counties, a NECTA usually provides a much closer approximation to the real metropolitan area than a metropolitan statistical area does.
Large NECTAs (with population greater than 2.5 million) may be subdivided into smaller groupings known as NECTA Divisions. Adjacent NECTAs that have a high degree of employment interchange may also be combined to form Combined NECTAS (or CNECTAs). NECTAs that are part of a CNECTA retain their separate identities.
The following is a list of metropolitan and micropolitan NECTAs as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. Definitions are as of September 2018. [2]
Rank | NECTA | State(s) | 2010 Pop | 2000 Pop | Δ Pop |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Boston – Cambridge – Quincy | MA-NH | 4,703,187 | 4,503,683 | +4.43% |
2 | Providence – Fall River – Warwick | RI-MA | 1,301,595 | 1,292,942 | +0.67% |
3 | Hartford – East Hartford – Middletown | CT | 1,121,463 | 1,059,878 | +5.81% |
4 | Bridgeport – Stamford – Norwalk | CT | 926,465 | 892,283 | +3.83% |
5 | Springfield | MA-CT | 683,800 | 660,837 | +3.47% |
6 | New Haven | CT | 597,172 | 571,310 | +4.53% |
7 | Worcester | MA-CT | 577,537 | 539,828 | +6.99% |
8 | Portland – South Portland – Biddeford | ME | 357,412 | 333,624 | +7.13% |
9 | Norwich – New London | CT-RI | 278,598 | 265,288 | +5.02% |
10 | Barnstable Town | MA | 239,675 | 244,257 | -1.88% |
11 | Waterbury | CT | 204,451 | 195,540 | +4.56% |
12 | Burlington – South Burlington | VT | 198,627 | 187,105 | +6.16% |
13 | Manchester | NH | 187,596 | 176,663 | +6.19% |
14 | New Bedford | MA | 175,502 | 170,161 | +3.14% |
15 | Danbury | CT | 163,260 | 155,304 | +5.12% |
16 | Rochester – Dover | NH-ME | 149,471 | 135,367 | +10.42% |
17 | Leominster – Fitchburg – Gardner | MA | 147,818 | 143,905 | +2.72% |
18 | Bangor | ME | 135,632 | 124,906 | +8.59% |
19 | Lewiston – Auburn | ME | 106,216 | 101,778 | +4.36% |
20 | Portsmouth | NH-ME | 73,274 | 71,232 | +2.87% |
21 | Pittsfield | MA | 72,051 | 73,297 | -1.70% |
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.
Greater New Haven is the metropolitan area whose extent includes those towns in the U.S. state of Connecticut that share an economic, social, political, and historical focus on the city of New Haven. It occupies the south-central portion of the state, in a radius around New Haven.
Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas. The most stringent definition of the region consists of most of the eastern third of mainland Massachusetts, excluding the Merrimack Valley and most of Southeastern Massachusetts.
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.
Greater Hartford is a region located in the U.S. state of Connecticut, centered on the state's capital of Hartford. It represents the only combined statistical area in Connecticut defined by a city within the state, being bordered by the Greater Boston region to the northeast and New York metropolitan area to the south and west. Sitting at the southern end of the Metacomet Ridge, its geology is characterized by land of a level grade along the shores of Connecticut River Valley, with loamy, finer-grained soil than other regions in the state. Greater Hartford, had a total population of 1,213,531 at the 2020 United States census.
Stamford-Bridgeport-Norwalk is a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The area is located in Southwestern Connecticut. In its most conservative form the area consists of the city of Bridgeport and five surrounding towns—Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Stratford, and Trumbull. This definition of the Stamford area has a population of more than 305,000 and is within the Stamford -Bridgeport-Norwalk-Danbury metropolitan statistical area, which consists of all of Fairfield County, Connecticut. The estimated 2015 county population was 948,053. The area is numbered as part of the New York-Newark Combined Statistical Area NY-NJ-CT-PA by the United States Census Bureau.
The American Woolen Company is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of men’s and women’s worsted and woolen fabrics. Based in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, the company operates from the 160-year-old Warren Mills, which it acquired from Loro Piana SpA in June 2014.
The U.S. State of Illinois currently has 43 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On March 6, 2020, the OMB delineated 11 combined statistical areas, 13 metropolitan statistical areas, and 19 micropolitan statistical areas in Illinois.
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 March 6, 2020, the OMB delineated seven combined statistical areas, 14 metropolitan statistical areas, and 13 micropolitan statistical areas in New York.
The U.S. State of New Hampshire currently has eight 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, two metropolitan statistical areas, and four micropolitan statistical areas in New Hampshire.
The U.S. State of Rhode Island currently has two statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH Combined Statistical Area. All five counties of Rhode Island are a part of both the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area and the more extensive Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH Combined Statistical Area.
The Providence metropolitan area is a region extending into eight counties in two states. Its core is in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and it is the 38th largest metropolitan area in the United States. The largest city in the Providence MSA is Providence, Rhode Island, with an estimated population of 1,622,520, exceeding that of Rhode Island by slightly over 60%. The MSA covers all of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts, with an average population density of 2300 per mi2.
The Burlington metropolitan area is a metropolitan area consisting of the three Vermont counties of Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle. The metro area is anchored by the principal cities of Burlington, South Burlington, St. Albans, Winooski, and Essex Junction; and the towns of Colchester, Essex and Milton. According to 2020 U.S. Census, the metro area had a population of 225,562, approximately one third of Vermont's total population.
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 Springfield metropolitan area, also known as Greater Springfield, is a region that is socio-economically and culturally tied to the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines the Springfield, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as consisting of three counties in Western Massachusetts. As of April 1, 2020, the metropolitan area's population was estimated at 699,162, making it the 88th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.
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.