In 2023, the metropolitan area of New York-Newark-Jersey City had the biggest population in the United States. Based on annual estimates from the census, the metropolitan area had around 19.5 million inhabitants, which was a slight decrease from the previous year. The Los Angeles and Chicago metro areas rounded out the top three. What is a metropolitan statistical area? In general, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a core urbanized area with a population of at least 50,000 inhabitants – the smallest MSA is Carson City, with an estimated population of nearly 56,000. The urban area is made bigger by adjacent communities that are socially and economically linked to the center. MSAs are particularly helpful in tracking demographic change over time in large communities and allow officials to see where the largest pockets of inhabitants are in the country. How many MSAs are in the United States? There were 421 metropolitan statistical areas across the U.S. as of July 2021. The largest city in each MSA is designated the principal city and will be the first name in the title. An additional two cities can be added to the title, and these will be listed in population order based on the most recent census. So, in the example of New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York has the highest population, while Jersey City has the lowest. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts an official population count every ten years, and the new count is expected to be announced by the end of 2030.

Metropolitan DivisionsThis feature layer, utilizing National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) data from the U.S. Census Bureau (USCB), displays Metropolitan Divisions within the United States. According to the USCB, "Metropolitan Divisions subdivide a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) containing a single core urban area that has a population of at least 2.5 million to form smaller groupings of counties or equivalent entities. Not all MSAs with urban areas of this size will contain Metropolitan Divisions. Not all MSAs with urban areas of this size will contain Metropolitan Divisions. Metropolitan Division are defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and consist of one or more main counties or equivalent entities that represent an employment center or centers, plus adjacent counties associated with the main county or counties through commuting ties."Data currency: This cached Esri federal service is checked weekly for updates from its enterprise federal source (Metropolitan Divisions) and will support mapping, analysis, data exports and OGC API – Feature access.Data.gov: TIGER/Line Shapefile, 2019, nation, U.S., Current Metropolitan Division NationalGeoplatform: TIGER/Line Shapefile, 2019, nation, U.S., Current Metropolitan Division NationalFor more information, please visit: Geographic LevelsFor feedback please contact: Esri_US_Federal_Data@esri.comNGDA Data SetThis data set is part of the NGDA Governmental Units, and Administrative and Statistical Boundaries Theme Community. Per the Federal Geospatial Data Committee (FGDC), this theme is defined as the "boundaries that delineate geographic areas for uses such as governance and the general provision of services (e.g., states, American Indian reservations, counties, cities, towns, etc.), administration and/or for a specific purpose (e.g., congressional districts, school districts, fire districts, Alaska Native Regional Corporations, etc.), and/or provision of statistical data (census tracts, census blocks, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, etc.). Boundaries for these various types of geographic areas are either defined through a documented legal description or through criteria and guidelines. Other boundaries may include international limits, those of federal land ownership, the extent of administrative regions for various federal agencies, as well as the jurisdictional offshore limits of U.S. sovereignty. Boundaries associated solely with natural resources and/or cultural entities are excluded from this theme and are included in the appropriate subject themes."For other NGDA Content: Esri Federal Datasets

This statistics shows the top 20 fastest growing large-metropolitan areas in the United States between July 1st, 2022 and July 1st, 2023. The total population in the Wilmington, North Carolina, metropolitan area increased by 0.05 percent from 2022 to 2023.

U.S. Core Based Statistical Areas represents geographic entities, defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for use by Federal statistical agencies, based on the concept of a core area with a large population nucleus, plus adjacent communities having a high degree of social and economic integration with that core. A Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) consists of a U.S. county or counties or equivalent entities associated with at least one urban core (urbanized area or urban cluster) with a population of at least 10,000 along with any 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. CBSAs are categorized as being either Metropolitan or Micropolitan. Each Metropolitan Statistical Area must have at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more inhabitants. Each Micropolitan Statistical Area must have at least one urban cluster with a population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000.Estimated 2018 total population is included along with many demographic attributes from the 2010 Census. CBSA features that are new since the 2010 Census have null demographic attributes values.

This data set describes metropolitan areas in the conterminous United States, developed from U.S. Bureau of the Census boundaries of Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSA) and Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA), that have been processed to extract the largest contiguous urban area within each MSA or CMSA.

The TIGER/Line shapefiles and related database files (.dbf) are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). The MTDB represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts, however, each TIGER/Line shapefile is designed to stand alone as an independent data set, or they can be combined to cover the entire nation. Metropolitan Divisions subdivide a Metropolitan Statistical Area containing a single core urban area that has a population of at least 2.5 million to form smaller groupings of counties or equivalent entities. Not all Metropolitan Statistical Areas with urban areas of this size will contain Metropolitan Divisions. Metropolitan Division are defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and consist of one or more main counties or equivalent entities that represent an employment center or centers, plus adjacent counties associated with the main county or counties through commuting ties. Because Metropolitan Divisions represent subdivisions of larger Metropolitan Statistical Areas, it is not appropriate to rank or compare Metropolitan Divisions with Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas. The Metropolitan Divisions boundaries are those defined by OMB based on the 2010 Census, published in 2013, and updated in 2017.

This statistic provides projected figures for the Gross Metropolitan Product (GMP) of the United States in 2021, by metropolitan area. Only the 100 leading metropolitan areas are shown here. In 2022, the GMP of the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area is projected to be around of about 2.16 trillion U.S. dollars.

Los Angeles metropolitan area

A metropolitan area in the U.S. is characterized by a relatively high population density and close economic ties through the area, albeit, without the legal incorporation that is found within cities. The Gross Metropolitan Product is measured by the Bureau of Economic Analysis under the U.S. Department of Commerce and includes only metropolitan areas. The GMP of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area located in California is projected to be among the highest in the United States in 2021, amounting to 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars. The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas metro area is estimated to be approximately 543 billion U.S. dollars in the same year.

The Los Angeles metro area had one of the largest populations in the country, totaling 112.99 million people in 2021. The Greater Los Angeles region has one of the largest economies in the world and is the U.S. headquarters of many international car manufacturers including Honda, Mazda, and Hyundai. Its entertainment industry has generated plenty of tourism and includes world famous beaches, shopping, motion picture studios, and amusement parks. The Hollywood district is known as the “movie capital of the U.S.” and has its historical roots in the country’s film industry. Its port, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach are aggregately one of the world’s busiest ports. The Port of Los Angelesgenerated some 506.43 million U.S. dollars in revenue in 2019.

In 2023, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro area in California was ranked first with median household income of 153,202 U.S. dollars. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area had a median household income of 121,469 U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in San Diego-Carlsbad, CA (MSA) (SDIPOP) from 2000 to 2023 about San Diego, residents, CA, population, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in St Louis, MO-IL (MSA) (STLPOP) from 1970 to 2024 about St. Louis, IL, MO, residents, population, and USA.

Core Based Statistical AreasThis feature layer, utilizing National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) data from the U.S. Census Bureau, depicts Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA). Per the USCB, "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas are together termed CBSAs and are defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and consist of the county or counties or equivalent entities associated with at least one urban core of at least 10,000 population, 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. Categories of CBSAs are: Metropolitan Statistical Areas, based on urban areas of 50,000 or more population; and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, based on urban areas of at least 10,000 population but less than 50,000 population."Kill Devil Hills, NC (Micro Area)Data currency: This cached Esri federal service is checked weekly for updates from its enterprise federal sources (Metropolitan Statistical Areas & Micropolitan Statistical Areas) and will support mapping, analysis, data exports and OGC API – Feature access.NGDAID: 84 (Series Information for Core-Based Statistical Areas National TIGER/Line Shapefiles, Current)OGC API Features Link: (Core Based Statistical Areas - OGC Features) copy this link to embed it in OGC Compliant viewersFor more information, please visit: Delineation FilesFor feedback please contact: Esri_US_Federal_Data@esri.comNGDA Data SetThis data set is part of the NGDA Governmental Units, and Administrative and Statistical Boundaries Theme Community. Per the Federal Geospatial Data Committee (FGDC), this theme is defined as the "boundaries that delineate geographic areas for uses such as governance and the general provision of services (e.g., states, American Indian reservations, counties, cities, towns, etc.), administration and/or for a specific purpose (e.g., congressional districts, school districts, fire districts, Alaska Native Regional Corporations, etc.), and/or provision of statistical data (census tracts, census blocks, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, etc.). Boundaries for these various types of geographic areas are either defined through a documented legal description or through criteria and guidelines. Other boundaries may include international limits, those of federal land ownership, the extent of administrative regions for various federal agencies, as well as the jurisdictional offshore limits of U.S. sovereignty. Boundaries associated solely with natural resources and/or cultural entities are excluded from this theme and are included in the appropriate subject themes."For other NGDA Content: Esri Federal Datasets

On July 21, 2023, OMB Bulletin No 23-01 published the planned revisions to Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas and published guidance on uses of those area.The Tennessee State Data Center created a layer of the revised delineations using the 2022 TIGER Line data from the US Census Bureau and List 1 from the OMB bulletin. Data from List 1 was published in excel format to the Census Bureau’s website in August 2023. The data were joined and new metropolitan/micropolitan areas and combined statistical areas were generated.For more info see:Federal Register: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/07/16/2021-15159/2020-standards-for-delineating-core-based-statistical-areasOMB Bulletin: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OMB-Bulletin-23-01.pdfCensus Delineation files: https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/demo/metro-micro/delineation-files.html

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in Lafayette, IN (MSA) (LAFPOP) from 2000 to 2009 about Lafayette, IN, residents, population, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (MSA) (LNAPOP) from 2010 to 2024 about Los Angeles, residents, CA, population, and USA.

This statistics shows a list of the top 20 largest-metropolitan areas in the United States in 2010, by land area. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario in California was ranked first enclosing an area of 70,612 square kilometers.

The 2020 cartographic boundary KMLs are simplified representations of selected geographic areas from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). These boundary files are specifically designed for small-scale thematic mapping. When possible, generalization is performed with the intent to maintain the hierarchical relationships among geographies and to maintain the alignment of geographies within a file set for a given year. Geographic areas may not align with the same areas from another year. Some geographies are available as nation-based files while others are available only as state-based files. Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas are together termed Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) and are defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and consist of the county or counties or equivalent entities associated with at least one urban core (urbanized area or urban cluster) of at least 10,000 population, 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. Categories of CBSAs are: Metropolitan Statistical Areas, based on urbanized areas of 50,000 or more population; and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, based on urban clusters of at least 10,000 population but less than 50,000 population. The generalized boundaries in this file are based on those defined by OMB based on the 2010 Census, published in 2013, and updated in 2020.

United States US: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 7.020 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 7.065 % for 2016. United States US: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 8.675 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.200 % in 1960 and a record low of 7.020 % in 2017. United States US: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted average;

This statistic shows the leading metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of population aged 65 years and over in the United States in 2019. In 2019, The Villages, Florida was ranked first with about 59.5 percent of its population aged 65 years and over.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in Utica-Rome, NY (MSA) (UTAPOP) from 2000 to 2023 about Utica, NY, residents, population, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Resident Population in Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI (MSA) (DWLPOP) from 2000 to 2023 about Detroit, MI, residents, population, and USA.