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. These are referred to as "Metropolitan Statistical Areas" (MSAs).

Related Topics:
United States - Office of Management and Budget - Metropolitan area - County

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MSAs are used for official purposes but they are not the only estimates of metro area populations available. The appropriate figures for some metro areas are much debated, and in some cases reputable sources provide figures which differ by millions. The most contentious examples include Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area metro. The official definitions used for the last U.S. Census differed from those for previous censuses, making comparisons difficult even between official figures at different dates. Care should also be taken when comparing MSA figures with population figures for cities or metro areas outside the U.S., which may be based on substantially different boundary systems and definitions of terms.

Related Topics:
Greater Los Angeles - San Francisco Bay Area

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As of February 2005, there is now an additional classification, that of a ?Metropolitan Division.? The term Metropolitan Division is used to refer to a county or group of counties within a Metropolitan Statistical Area that has a population core of at least 2.5 million. While a Metropolitan Division is a subdivision of a larger Metropolitan Statistical Area, it often functions as a distinct social, economic, and cultural area within the larger region.

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The following is a list of the 25 most populated metropolitan statistical areas and Metropolitan Divisions in the United States, according to the 2000 Census:

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* Not necessarily equivalent to the Census definition of the metropolitan area.

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• This metropolitan area does not include Canadian cities. A larger metropolitan area containing the Windsor, Ontario area is used internationally.
  
• The Bay Area is often considered to include the San Jose region as well.
  
• The cities referred to as the "Twin Cities" are Minneapolis and St. Paul; Bloomington is generally considered to be a suburb of the two.
  

? The Census Bureau ranks Puerto Rican cities separately. This is where the San Juan metro area would rank if it were included with state data.

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For a complete list, see List of United States metropolitan statistical areas by population.

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United States metropolitan area: See also ►