In the US, cities are nothing without metropolitan areas, and metropolitan areas are defined by their anchor cities. In other words, someone who claims to champion undervalued burgs better know how to define what is formally known as the metropolitan statistical area.
For that, Google Gemini is here to help.
What Is a Metropolitan Statistical Area?
A metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a core area containing a large population surrounded by communities that are highly integrated economically and socially.
As defined by the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB), an MSA must have at least one urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000. The integration with surrounding communities mentioned above is typically measured by commuting patterns.
As of this writing, there are 387 MSAs in the US (50 states plus Washington, DC) and an additional six in Puerto Rico for a total of 393.
A related term that you might hear is micropolitan statistical area, defined as a region—generally more rural—whose core has a population between 10,000 and 49,999. Between the US/Puerto Rico, there are 542 of these.
In turn, a combined statistical area (CSA) includes two or more MSAs or micropolitan statistical areas with some degree of employment interchange. There’s a formal definition, but no need to get into the weeds. In any event, there are 184 of these.
What’s the Point?
MSAs are not legal or administrative entities, but they are used by various agencies for statistical purposes. One such agency (among many) is the US Census Bureau.
In addition to providing population data, such information can contain economic signals and demographic trends. It can also be used to help with regional planning.
Perhaps most importantly, the numbers provide bloggers like me something to write about.
Examples and Quirks
The MSA containing New York City is the largest in the country (population ∼20 million). The CSA that contains this MSA spans parts of four states!
As of 2020, the smallest MSA in the country (population 57,887) was centered on Eagle Pass, Texas.
Some MSAs consist of multiple core cities—think Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Minneapolis-St. Paul, etc.
The number of counties in MSAs can vary widely. As an example, while both Buffalo and Rochester in Western New York anchor MSAs with populations around 1.1 million, the Buffalo MSA has only two counties in contrast to the five counties of the Rochester MSA. Not surprisingly, the population density of the Buffalo MSA is much greater, and the “feel” is much bigger.
Given the arbitrary nature of borders, the percentage of an MSA comprised of the urban core can also vary widely. For instance, the city of Cleveland makes up 17 percent of its MSA, while the city of Oklahoma City makes up 48 percent of its MSA. As such, internet listicles which identify “Cleveland” as remarkably poor and dangerous should be qualified and sometimes ignored.
Finally, shrinking cities can be part of growing MSAs. Stated another way, internet listicles identifying so-called dying cities should be qualified and sometimes ignored.
Acknowledgement:
Thank you to the OMB for helping me fill the internet with yet another blog post.
