The U.S. state of Washington has 29 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated six combined statistical areas, 13 metropolitan statistical areas, and ten micropolitan statistical areas in Washington. [1] As of 2023, the largest of these is the Seattle-Tacoma, WA CSA, anchored by Washington's largest city, Seattle and including its capital, Olympia.
The state historically had three metropolitan areas: Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. Seattle and Tacoma were eventually merged, while other metropolitan areas were added in the 1970s and 1980s. [2] There are 13 metropolitan areas that include areas in Washington; the largest is Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, which includes half of the state's population. [3]
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated more than 1,000 statistical areas for the United States and Puerto Rico. [4] These statistical areas are important geographic delineations of population clusters used by the OMB, the United States Census Bureau, planning organizations, and federal, state, and local government entities.
The OMB defines a core-based statistical area (commonly referred to as a CBSA) as the county or counties (or county-equivalents) surrounding at least one densely-settled core of at least 10,000 population, [4] "plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core". [4] The OMB further divides core-based statistical areas based on population into metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for those with at least 50,000 and micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs) for those with 10,000 to 49,999 people. [4]
The OMB defines a combined statistical area (CSA) as two or more adjacent core-based statistical areas where the employment interchange rate (% commuting from A to B plus % commuting from B to A) is at least 15%. [4] The primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area.
The following table provides the in-state population ranking of each CBSA along with its rate of population change over time.
2023 rank | Core-based statistical area [1] | Population | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 estimate [5] | Change | 2020 Census [6] | Change | 2010 Census [7] | ||
1 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA | 4,044,837 | +0.65% | 4,018,762 | +16.83% | 3,439,809 |
2 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA MSA | 600,292 | +2.48% | 585,784 | +13.80% | 514,752 |
3 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA (WA) | 533,790 | +3.58% | 515,347 | +18.08% | 436,429 |
4 | Kennewick-Richland, WA MSA | 314,253 | +3.50% | 303,622 | +19.85% | 253,340 |
5 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA MSA | 299,003 | +1.43% | 294,793 | +16.86% | 252,264 |
6 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA MSA | 277,658 | +0.74% | 275,611 | +9.75% | 251,133 |
7 | Yakima, WA MSA | 256,643 | −0.03% | 256,728 | +5.55% | 243,231 |
8 | Bellingham, WA MSA | 231,919 | +2.24% | 226,847 | +12.78% | 201,140 |
9 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA MSA | 131,417 | +1.46% | 129,523 | +10.80% | 116,901 |
10 | Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA MSA | 124,795 | +2.28% | 122,012 | +10.04% | 110,884 |
11 | Longview-Kelso, WA MSA | 112,864 | +1.93% | 110,730 | +8.12% | 102,410 |
12 | Moses Lake, WA μSA | 102,678 | +3.59% | 99,123 | +11.22% | 89,120 |
13 | Oak Harbor, WA μSA | 86,267 | −0.68% | 86,857 | +10.64% | 78,506 |
14 | Centralia, WA μSA | 86,154 | +4.88% | 82,149 | +8.87% | 75,455 |
15 | Port Angeles, WA μSA | 77,616 | +0.60% | 77,155 | +8.05% | 71,404 |
16 | Aberdeen, WA μSA | 77,290 | +2.19% | 75,636 | +3.90% | 72,797 |
17 | Shelton, WA μSA | 68,389 | +4.05% | 65,726 | +8.28% | 60,699 |
18 | Walla Walla, WA MSA | 61,568 | −1.62% | 62,584 | +6.47% | 58,781 |
19 | Pullman, WA μSA | 48,012 | +0.08% | 47,973 | +7.14% | 44,776 |
20 | Ellensburg, WA μSA | 45,508 | +2.64% | 44,337 | +8.36% | 40,915 |
21 | Port Townsend, WA μSA | 33,714 | +2.23% | 32,977 | +10.39% | 29,872 |
22 | Lewiston, ID-WA MSA (WA) | 22,549 | +1.18% | 22,285 | +3.06% | 21,623 |
23 | Othello, WA μSA | 20,820 | +1.00% | 20,613 | +10.07% | 18,728 |
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA | 2,508,050 | −0.19% | 2,512,859 | +12.89% | 2,226,009 | |
Lewiston, ID-WA MSA | 65,536 | +1.80% | 64,375 | +5.73% | 60,888 |
The following table provides the in-state population ranking of each CSA along with its rate of population change over time.
2023 rank | Combined statistical area [1] | Population | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 estimate [5] | Change | 2020 Census [6] | Change | 2010 Census [7] | ||
1 | Seattle-Tacoma, WA CSA | 4,993,725 | +0.81% | 4,953,421 | +15.88% | 4,274,767 |
2 | Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA CSA (WA) | 646,654 | +3.29% | 626,077 | +16.19% | 538,839 |
3 | Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID CSA | 600,292 | +2.48% | 585,784 | +13.80% | 514,752 |
4 | Kennewick-Richland-Walla Walla, WA CSA | 375,821 | +2.63% | 366,206 | +17.33% | 312,121 |
5 | Moses Lake-Othello, WA CSA | 123,498 | +3.14% | 119,736 | +11.02% | 107,848 |
6 | Pullman-Moscow, WA-ID CSA (WA) | 48,012 | +0.08% | 47,973 | +7.14% | 44,776 |
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA CSA | 3,286,669 | +0.18% | 3,280,736 | +12.30% | 2,921,408 | |
Pullman-Moscow, WA-ID CSA | 89,313 | +2.08% | 87,490 | +6.67% | 82,020 | |
Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID CSA | 785,302 | +3.72% | 757,146 | +15.91% | 653,246 |
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