United States metropolitan area

In the United States, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has produced a formal definition of metropolitan areas, which are organized around county boundaries (except in New England, where cities and towns are more significant than counties as geographical and political units.) These are referred to as "Metropolitan Statistical Areas" (MSAs). If an MSA is large enough and can be subdivided into meaningful sub-metropolitan areas, then the MSA is considered a "Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area" (CMSA), with each subdivision called a "Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area" (PMSA). The largest MSAs in the United States are all CMSAs.

In 2003, further adjustments were made to the definition of metro areas, information about it is available on the core based statistical area entry.

The following is a list of the top metropolitan areas in the United States, according to the 2000 census:

Metropolitan Area States Type Population Other names

New York--Northern New Jersey--Long Island NY--NJ--CT--PA CMSA 21,199,865 Tri-state Area, New York area, Greater New York
Los Angeles--Riverside County--Orange County CA CMSA 16,373,645 The The Southland, Southern California (The latter also refers to the entire southern portion of the state)
Chicago--Joliet--Naperville--Gary--Kenosha IL--IN--WI CMSA 9,157,540 Chicagoland
Washington--Baltimore DC--MD--VA--WV CMSA 7,608,070 Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
San Jose--San Francisco--Oakland CA CMSA 7,039,362 The Bay Area
Philadelphia--Wilmington--Atlantic City PA--NJ--DE--MD CMSA 6,188,463 The Delaware Valley
Boston--Worcester--Lawrence MA--NH--ME--CT CMSA 5,819,100 Greater Boston
Detroit--Ann Arbor--Flint MI CMSA 5,456,428 Metro Detroit
Dallas--Fort Worth--Arlington TX CMSA 5,221,801 The Metroplex
Houston--Galveston--Brazoria--Baytown--Sugar Land TX CMSA 4,669,571 Houston Metropolitan Area
Atlanta GA MSA 4,112,198 Atlanta Metropolitan Area
Miami--Ft. Lauderdale FL CMSA 3,876,380
Seattle--Tacoma--Bremerton WA CMSA 3,554,760 Greater Puget Sound
Phoenix--Mesa AZ MSA 3,251,876 The Valley of the Sun
Minneapolis--St. Paul MN, WI MSA 2,968,806 The Twin Cities

Metropolitan Area	States	Type	Population	Other names
New York--Northern New Jersey--Long Island	NY--NJ--CT--PA	CMSA	21,199,865	Tri-state Area, New York area, Greater New York
Los Angeles--Riverside County--Orange County	CA	CMSA	16,373,645	The The Southland, Southern California (The latter also refers to the entire southern portion of the state)
Chicago--Joliet--Naperville--Gary--Kenosha	IL--IN--WI	CMSA	9,157,540	Chicagoland
Washington--Baltimore	DC--MD--VA--WV	CMSA	7,608,070	Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
San Jose--San Francisco--Oakland	CA	CMSA	7,039,362	The Bay Area
Philadelphia--Wilmington--Atlantic City	PA--NJ--DE--MD	CMSA	6,188,463	The Delaware Valley
Boston--Worcester--Lawrence	MA--NH--ME--CT	CMSA	5,819,100	Greater Boston
Detroit--Ann Arbor--Flint	MI	CMSA	5,456,428	Metro Detroit
Dallas--Fort Worth--Arlington	TX	CMSA	5,221,801	The Metroplex
Houston--Galveston--Brazoria--Baytown--Sugar Land	TX	CMSA	4,669,571	Houston Metropolitan Area
Atlanta	GA	MSA	4,112,198	Atlanta Metropolitan Area
Miami--Ft. Lauderdale	FL	CMSA	3,876,380
Seattle--Tacoma--Bremerton	WA	CMSA	3,554,760	Greater Puget Sound
Phoenix--Mesa	AZ	MSA	3,251,876	The Valley of the Sun
Minneapolis--St. Paul	MN, WI	MSA	2,968,806	The Twin Cities

United States metropolitan area

External Resources