CV XE GIS Home Page
Decision-Making Information

  ProximityOne
  information resources & solutions
  (888) DMI-SOLN
  (888) 364-7656








Put data to work more effectively.
Certificate in Data Analytics




Data Analytics Blog
Power of Combining Maps with Data

Support & Technical Assistance
help using these resources



Metro in Regional Context




Situation & Outlook Report

Athens-Clarke County, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area
(CBSA 12020)
Geographic-Demographic-Economic Characteristics -- access other areas
See about updates.

This section is no longer being updated. Access the permanent replacement section at http://proximityone.com/cbsa/1/cbsa12020.htm. Please bookmark this new URL.

Access 2018 S&O Reports, featuring county and metro projections to 2030, via the interactive table at http://proximityone.com/metros.htm. The 2018 reports are similar but have been greatly expanded and updated.

Contents of this Report
This document is organized into these sections:
1. Recent Trends & Outlook
2. Overview & Updates
3. Reference & Thematic Pattern Maps
3.1. Lay of the Land
3.2. Neighborhood Patterns of Economic Prosperity
4. Population Characteristics & Trends
4.1. Component City Characteristics
4.2. Component County Characteristics
4.2.1. RDEMS Component County Characteristics
4.3. General Demographic Characteristics
5. Housing Characteristics & Trends
5.1. Total Housing Units
5.2. General Housing Characteristics
5.3. Residential Construction; Housing Units Authorized & Value
5.4. Housing Price Index
6. Economic Characteristics & Trends
6.1. Economic Profile
6.2. Cost of Living Indexes
6.3. Cost of Doing Business Indexes
6.4. Consumer Price Index
6.5. Gross Domestic Product
6.6. Establishments, Employment & Earnings by Type of Business
6.7. Labor Market Characteristics & Trends
7. Education Infrastructure
7.1. Component School District Characteristics
7.2. Component Higher Education Institution Characteristics
8. GeoPolitics
  Terms of Use
  Related Resources
  Using this Document
  Updates
  About Metros & Principal Cities
  Glossary


1. Recent Trends & Outlook
Summary of recent business, demographic, economic trends; year-ahead & 5-year outlook.
- the Recent Trends & Outlook section, updated quarterly, covers topics about this metro such as .. assessing the implications of next jobs report .. impact of Fed''s interest rate action .. which sectors are expanding or contracting .. housing market conditions .. insights to help your planning and decision-making. The Recent Trends & Outlook section is available in the subscription edition.

2. Overview & Update
The total population of the Athens-Clarke County, GA MSA metro changed from 193,451 in 2010 to 199,029 in 2015, a change of 9,738 (5%). Among all 917 metros, this metro was ranked number 220 in 2010 and 219 in 2015, based on total population. Annual net migration was 135 (2011), 763 (2012), 558 (2013), 225 (2014), 225 (2015). View annual population estimates and components of change table. See more about population characteristics below.

This metro is projected to have a total population in 2020 of 217,331. The projected population change from 2010 to 2020 is 23,855 (12.3%). The population ages 65 years and over is projected to change from 20,053 (2010) to 32,336 (2020), a change of 12,283 (61.3%). See more about population projections.

Based on per capita personal income (PCPI), this metro was ranked number 680 in 2008 and 720 in 2014. among the 917 metros for which personal income was estimated.The PCPI changed from $29,782 in 2008 to $33,414 in 2014, a change of $3,632 (12.2%). Per capita personal income (PCPI) is a comprehensive measure of individual economic well-being. Use the interactive table to compare PCPI in this metro to other metros. See more about PCPI in Economic Characteristics section below.

282 metropolitan statistical areas, of the total 381, experienced an increase in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between 2009 and 2014. This metro ranked number 226 among the 381 metros based on 2014 GDP. The GDP (millions of current dollars) changed from $6,686 in 2009 to $7,648 in 2014 a change of $962 (14.39%). Real GDP (millions of real, inflation adjusted, dollars) changed from $6,686 in 2009 to $6,929 in 2014, a change of $243 (3.63%). GDP is the most comprehensive measure of metro economic activity. GDP is the sum of the GDP originating in all industries in the metro. See more about GDP in Economic Characteristics section below.

Attributes of driil-down, small area geography within the metro ... metros account for 65,744 of the national scope 73,056 census tracts (others are in non-metro areas). This metro is comprised of 46 tracts covering the metro wall-to-wall. View, rank, compare demographic-economic attributes of these tracts using the interactive tables. Use the CBSA code 12020; see table usage details below the table.

3. Lay of the Land & Neighborhood Patterns of Economic Prosperity   go top

3.1. Lay of the Land go top
Lay of the Land. The following map shows the metro with bold boundary.
Counties are labeled with county name and state-county FIPS code.

 
  View developed with CV XE GIS software.   See this section to learn about making custom metro maps.

3.2. Patterns of Economic Prosperity by Neighborhood go top

Median household income by census tract (see color/data legend at left of map).

 
  View developed with CV XE GIS software.   See this section to learn about making custom metro maps.

4. Population Characteristics & Trends go top
Updated monthly, quarterly, annually. Housing market conditions and extended detail Available in subscription edition.

4.1. Component City Characteristics go top
Principal Cities (about principal cities); Click link to view city profile.
  •   Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance)

Cities 10,000 population and over; click link to view city profile.
  AreaCensus
2010
July 1
2010
July 1
2011
July 1
2012
July 1
2013
July 1
2014
Change
2010-14
%Change
2010-14
  Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance), GA (1303440) 115,452 116,229 117,251 119,003 119,925 119,648 3,419 2.90

All places interactive tables General Demographics | Social | Economic | Housing
All places time series population estimates interactive table.

4.2. Component County Characteristics   go top
Updated periodically, annually. General demographics, social characteristics and extended detail Available in subscription edition.

Metropolitan areas are defined as one or more contiguous counties based on a set of demographic-economic criteria. Counties comprising the metro are shown below. For multi-county metros, this section provides insights into how the population is changing by county. Many metros changed geographic composition (counties included in the metro) between the Census 2010 vintage and the current vintage. These changes, if any, are also shown below (county is marked with **). See projections in related section.Click county code link to view county components of change.

  AreaJuly 1
2010
PctJuly 1
2011
PctJuly 1
2012
PctJuly 1
2013
PctJuly 1
2014
PctJuly 1
2015
Pct
Metro Summary ... more details 193,451 100.0 194,618 100.0 196,397 100.0 197,892 100.0 199,029 100.0 203,189 100.0
  Clarke County (13059) 117,469 60.7 118,462 60.9 120,217 61.2 121,121 61.2 120,814 60.7 123,912 61.0
  Madison County (13195) 28,146 14.5 28,109 14.4 28,046 14.3 28,176 14.2 28,388 14.3 28,441 14.0
  Oconee County (13219) 32,929 17.0 33,262 17.1 33,536 17.1 34,088 17.2 35,147 17.7 35,965 17.7
  Oglethorpe County (13221) 14,907 7.7 14,785 7.6 14,598 7.4 14,507 7.3 14,680 7.4 14,871 7.3

All counties interactive tables General Demographics | Social | Economic | Housing
All counties population estimates & components of change time series interactive table.

4.2.1. RDEMS County Characteristics
Updated quarterly. For more information, see RDEMS Main.
Links open HSG1 Housing & New Residential Construction section. Select other sections from list above table.
  Clarke County, GA

4.3. General Demographic Characteristics
Updated annually. For more information, detail & to compare areas use interactive table.
  Item20132014Change
2013-14
%Change
2013-14
Total Population: Race/Origin 197,357 197,268 -89 -0.05
  One race 193,674 193,836 162 0.08
    White 144,240 142,872 -1,368 -0.95
    Black/African American 144,240 142,872 -1,368 -0.95
    American Indian/Alaska Native 392 242 -150 -38.27
    Asian alone 6,923 7,530 607 8.77
    Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0 0 0...
    Some other race alone 3,370 4,725 1,355 40.21
  Two or more races 3,683 3,432 -251 -6.82
  Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 15,675 16,277 602 3.84
Population 25 years and over 115,535 116,699 1,164 3.84
  % high school graduate or higher 86.2 86.5 0.3 0.35
  % bachelor's degree or higher 31.6 35.9 4.3 13.61
Total Households 71,847 71,814 -33 13.61
  Median household income ($) 38,227 41,761 3,534 9.24
  Mean household income ($) 56,594 57,531 937 1.66
  Item20132014Change
2013-14
%Change
2013-14
Total Population: Gender & Age 197,357 197,268 -89 -0.05
  Male 95,382 95,758 376 1.66
  Female 101,975 101,510 -465 1.66
  Under 5 years 10,622 10,350 -272 1.66
  5 to 9 years 11,881 10,882 -999 -8.41
  10 to 14 years 10,804 11,612 808 7.48
  15 to 19 years 19,254 22,228 2,974 15.45
  20 to 24 years 29,261 25,497 -3,764 -12.86
  25 to 34 years 26,575 25,629 -946 -3.56
  35 to 44 years 23,317 25,185 1,868 8.01
  45 to 54 years 23,740 21,291 -2,449 -10.32
  55 to 59 years 9,814 10,957 1,143 11.65
  55 to 59 years 9,814 10,957 1,143 11.65
  60 to 64 years 9,477 10,445 968 10.21
  65 to 74 years 13,350 14,566 1,216 9.11
  75 to 84 years 6,493 5,617 -876 -13.49
  85 years and over 2,769 3,009 240 8.67
  Median age 31.0 32.1 1.1 3.55
  18 years and over 157,999 157,701 -298 -0.19
  21 years and over 138,081 134,296 -3,785 -2.74
  62 years and over 27,823 29,244 1,421 5.11
  65 years and over 22,612 23,192 580 2.57

5. Housing Characteristics & Trends go top
Updated monthly, quarterly, annually. Housing market conditions and extended detail Available in subscription edition.

5.1. Total Housing Units
Updated Annually. Independent annual model-based estimates. For more information, detail & to compare areas use interactive table.
  ItemCensus
2010
July 1
2010
July 1
2011
July 1
2012
July 1
2013
July 1
2014
Change
2010-2014
%Change
2010-2014
  Total Housing Units 81,719 81,738 81,746 81,864 82,276 83,147 1,409 1.72

5.2. General Housing Characteristics
Updated Annually. For more information, detail & to compare areas use interactive table.
  Item20132014Change
2013-14
%Change
2013-14
Housing Units: Units in Structure 81,293 83,470 2,177 2.68
  1-unit, detached 45,105 47,811 2,706 6.00
  1-unit, attached 3,140 4,045 905 28.82
  2 units 6,602 6,348 -254 -3.85
  3 or 4 units 2,750 3,397 647 23.53
  5 to 9 units 4,507 3,744 -763 -16.93
  10 to 20 units 5,834 3,795 -2,039 -34.95
  20 or more units 5,288 5,622 334 6.32
  Item20132014Change
2013-14
%Change
2013-14
Housing Units: Occupancy & Tenure 81,293 83,470 2,177 2.68
  Occupied Housing Units 71,847 71,814 -33 -0.05
    Owner 37,014 36,924 -90 -0.24
    Renter 34,833 34,890 57 0.16
  Vacant Housing Units 9,446 11,656 2,210 23.40
  Homeowner vacancy rate 1.90 4.10 2.20...
  Rental vacancy rate 6.50 10.70 4.20...
Average household size; owner-occ 2.71 2.66 -0.05 -1.85
Average household size; renter-occ 2.48 2.51 0.03 1.21
Median Value $ owner occupied 154,500 153,200 -1,300 -0.84
Median Rent $ renter occupied 746 815 69 9.25

5.3. Residential Construction; Housing Units Authorized & Value
Updated Monthly. 12 most recent months. For more information, detail & to compare areas use interactive table.
  ItemAug15Sep15Oct15Nov15Dec15Jan16Feb16Mar16Apr16May16Jun16Jul16
Total Residential Units 38 35 39 26 194 49 56 47 51 85 48 39
  in 1 unit bldgs 36 31 39 26 46 49 56 47 38 40 42 19
  in 2 unit bldgs 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 6 0 0
  in 3-4 unit bldgs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  in 5+ unit bldgs 0 0 0 0 148 0 0 0 5 39 6 20
  Bldgs with 5+ units 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 0 1 1 1 4
  Percent Coverage 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89
Value ($000), Total Units 9,323 9,442 8,909 5,444 27,567 10,414 12,582 10,790 10,820 14,184 9,551 7,466
  1 unit structures 9,023 8,962 8,909 5,444 12,043 10,414 12,582 10,790 8,860 9,597 9,143 6,106
  2 unit structures 300 480 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,360 828 0 0
  3-4 unit structures 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  5+ unit structures 0 0 0 0 15,524 0 0 0 600 3,759 408 1,360

5.4. Housing Price Index go top
Updated quarterly. All transactions; not seasonally adjusted. See related Housing Price Index (HPI) interactive table.
See related 5-Digit ZIP Code HPI interactive table.

    Housing Price Index:2015Q32015Q42016Q12016Q22016Q3
    177.54 176.69 179.68 185.66 189.96
    Quarter-to-Quarter/Year Percent Change:2015Q3-2015Q42015Q4-2016Q12016Q1-2016Q22016Q2-2016Q32015Q3-2016Q3
  -0.48 1.69 3.33 2.32 7.00
6. Economic Characteristics & Trends go top

6.1. Economic Profile go top
The Economic Profile shows shows derivation and key components of total personal income. Data are organized by place of residence and place of work. The place of residence profile includes estimates of total personal income, population, and per capita personal income. The place of work profile includes estimates of total earnings, total employment and average earnings per job. Updated annually. See related interactive table.

  Item20112012201320142015Change
2011-2015
%Change
2011-2015
Personal income 5,904,969 6,113,231 6,294,573 6,710,821 7,029,432 1,124,463 19.0
  Net earnings 1/ 3,509,371 3,715,247 3,843,714 4,111,498 4,314,546 805,175 22.9
  Personal current transfer receipts 1,194,355 1,179,364 1,220,625 1,274,826 1,345,190 150,835 12.6
    Income maintenance 2/ 154,450 159,267 163,443 161,881 167,991 13,541 8.8
    Unemployment insurance compensation 43,291 33,441 22,696 9,745 7,948 -35,343 -81.6
    Retirement and other 996,614 986,656 1,034,486 1,103,200 1,169,251 172,637 17.3
  Dividends, interest, and rent 3/ 1,201,243 1,218,620 1,230,234 1,324,497 1,369,696 168,453 14.0
  Population 4/ 194,618 196,397 197,892 199,029 203,189 8,571 4.4
  Per capita personal income 30,341 31,127 31,808 33,718 34,596 4,255 14.0
  Per capita net earnings 18,032 18,917 19,423 20,658 21,234 3,202 17.8
  Per capita personal current transfer receipts 6,137 6,005 6,168 6,405 6,620 483 7.9
    Per capita income maintenance 794 811 826 813 827 33 4.2
    Per capita unemployment insurance compensation 222 170 115 49 39 -183 -82.4
    Per capita retirement and other 5,121 5,024 5,228 5,543 5,754 633 12.4
  Per capita dividends, interest, and rent 6,172 6,205 6,217 6,655 6,741 569 9.2
  Earnings by place of work 4,432,106 4,662,025 4,826,208 5,007,115 5,322,055 889,949 20.1
    Wages and salaries 3,207,727 3,307,956 3,372,971 3,512,456 3,787,866 580,139 18.1
    Supplements to wages and salaries 942,596 962,533 1,005,266 991,434 1,018,265 75,669 8.0
      Employer cont. for empl. pension & insur. funds 6/ 727,951 742,535 781,081 758,993 771,174 43,223 5.9
      Employer cont. for government social insurance 214,645 219,998 224,185 232,441 247,091 32,446 15.1
    Proprietors' income 281,783 391,536 447,971 503,225 515,924 234,141 83.1
      Nonfarm proprietors' income 32,772 89,960 123,958 142,857 132,978 100,206 305.8
      Farm proprietors' income 249,011 301,576 324,013 360,368 382,946 133,935 53.8
Total full-time and part-time employment 109,134 110,418 112,871 114,320 117,382 8,248 7.6
  Wage and salary jobs 86,194 87,473 89,516 90,200 92,542 6,348 7.4
  Number of proprietors 22,940 22,945 23,355 24,120 24,840 1,900 8.3
    Number of nonfarm proprietors 7/ 1,389 1,350 1,346 1,307 1,288 -101 -7.3
    Number of farm proprietors 21,551 21,595 22,009 22,813 23,552 2,001 9.3
Average earnings per job (dollars) 40,612 42,222 42,759 43,799 45,340 4,728 11.6
  Average wages and salaries 37,215 37,817 37,680 38,941 40,931 3,716 10.0
  Average nonfarm proprietors' income 11,554 13,965 14,722 15,797 16,260 4,706 40.7
Dollar items are in current dollars (not adjusted for inflation). Per capita items in dollars; other dollar items in thousands of dollars.
See related notes.

6.2. Cost of Living Indexes   go top
Updated periodically. Available in subscription edition.

6.3. Cost of Doing Business Indexes   go top
Updated periodically. Available in subscription edition.

6.4. Consumer Price Index   go top
Updated monthly. Available in subscription edition.

6.5. Gross Domestic Product by Sector   go top
Updated quarterly, annually. For more information, detail & to compare areas use interactive table. Additional detail in subscription edition.
  Item200920102011201220132014Change
2009-14
%Change
2009-14
Gross Domestic Product, millions of current dollars 6,686 6,771 6,899 7,171 7,358 7,648 962 14.39
Real Gross Domestic Product, millions of real dollars 6,686 6,687 6,674 6,755 6,794 6,929 243 3.63

6.6. Establishments, Employment & Earnings by Detailed Type of Business go top
Updated quarterly. For more information, detail & to compare areas use interactive table.
  SectorEstablishments
2015Q1
Employment
2015Q1
Avg Weekly Wages
2015Q1
Establishments
2015Q2
Employment
2015Q2
Avg Weekly Wages
2015Q2
 Total, all industries 4,982 132,073 793 4,977 134,424 776
 Total, all industries - Fed Govt 58 1,995 1,381 58 1,745 1,290
 Total, all industries - St Govt 72 21,483 978 70 21,994 936
 Total, all industries - Local Govt 79 12,178 728 78 12,180 762
 Total, all industries - Private 4,773 96,418 748 4,771 98,505 732
    Goods-producing 634 15,554 1,097 641 15,512 988
      Natural resources and mining 67 824 1,097 67 882 788
      Construction 392 3,550 815 404 3,590 908
      Manufacturing 175 11,180 1,187 170 11,040 1,031
    Service-providing 4,139 80,863 681 4,130 82,993 684
      Trade, transportation & utilities 966 23,711 631 971 23,947 611
      Information 70 916 828 71 927 781
      Financial activities 513 5,778 1,394 519 5,859 1,147
      Professional & business services 802 11,240 674 823 11,737 855
      Education and health services 648 19,971 877 646 20,192 883
      Leisure and hospitality 490 15,475 260 503 16,513 266
      Other services 394 3,348 585 394 3,438 629
      Unclassified 256 424 732 203 382 655

Notes: cell value of '...' indicates value suppressed to maintain confidentiality.

Use the following links to access detailed establishment and employment data by type of business (CSV files).
  .. see notes on using these files.
  2013Q1 .. 2013Q2 .. 2013Q3 .. 2013Q4 .|. 2014Q1 .. 2014Q2 .. 2014Q3 .. 2014Q4 .|. 2015Q1 .. 2015Q2 .. 2015Q3 .. 2015Q4 .. 2016Q1 .. 2016Q2
 
6.7. Labor Market Characteristics & Trends go top
Updated monthly. Available in subscription edition.
For more information, detail & to compare areas use interactive table.
Table shows 13 most recent months.
  ItemAug15Sep15Oct15Nov15Dec15Jan16Feb16Mar16Apr16May16Jun16Jul16Aug16
Unemplymnt Rate 6.0 5.6 5.5 5.1 5.0 5.1 5.4 5.2 4.9 4.7 6.1 5.6 5.4
Unemployment 3,358 3,212 3,144 2,907 2,898 2,931 3,123 3,013 2,835 2,706 3,603 3,301 3,186
Employment 52,797 53,809 53,954 54,471 54,758 54,210 54,617 55,207 55,015 55,161 55,313 55,438 55,546
Labor Force56,15557,02157,09857,37857,65657,14157,74058,22057,85057,86758,91658,73958,732

7. Education Infrastructure   go top

7.1. Component School District Characteristics   go top
Districts in this metro. Updated periodically. See related School District interactive table.
District NameCity Name District
Code
Locale
Code
CountyState2012-13
Enrollment
2013 Total
Population
Grade Relevant
Pop Ages 5-17
Clarke CountyAthens 13011701213059GA 12,682 121,265 14,077
Madison CountyDanielsville 13034804213195GA 4,748 28,057 5,019
Oconee CountyWatkinsville 13039604113219GA 6,686 34,035 7,290
Oglethorpe CountyLexington 13039904213221GA 2,262 14,548 2,405

Number of districts: 4 ... Total enrollment: 26,378
All school districts interactive tables General Demographics | Social | Economic | Housing
All school districts enrollment & adminstratively reported data interactive table.

7.2. Component Higher Education Institution Characteristics   go top
2014-15 School Year. Extended detail Available in subscription edition.
  Institution City Name Code LevelTotal UG EnrollmentFulltime UG EnrollmentTotal Grad EnrollmentFulltime Grad Enrollment
Athens Technical College Athens, GA2468134 4,336 1,115 0 0
University of Georgia Athens, GA1399599 26,882 25,371 8,315 6,497

  Number of institutions: 2 ... Total undergraduate enrollment: 31,218
  Levels: 3-Assoc degree, 4-at least 2, but < 4 years, 5-Bach degree, 6-Postbacc cert, 7 Masters degree, 8 Post-masters cert, 9 Doctors degree

8. GeoPolitics   go top
Updated periodically. Voting patterns, citizen voting age population, state legislative districts, congressional districts .. in this metro.
Available in subscription edition.

Notes
  • All data are for current vintage county and metro definition.
  • Developed by ProximityOne -- Metro Reports (888-364-7656)
  • Data sources: ProximityOne, Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Housing Finance Agency,
    National Center for Education Statistics.

Updates go top
The subscription edition updates frequently. Selected items are listed below. Register to receive update notifications.
  • Overview lead narrative; quarterly & annual/March.
  • Housing Price Index (section 5.4) quarterly.
  • Establishments, employment & earnings (section 6.6) quarterly.
  • Economic profile and personal income (section 6.1) annual/November.
  • Labor market situation (section 6.7) monthly.
  • Residential construction; units authorized & value (section 5.3.) monthly.
  • Population by county; annual series 2010-2016 (section 4.2.) annual/July.
  • Population by county; links for individual counties (section 4.2.) annual/July.
      -- includes annual data 2010-2016.
      -- includes components of change; race/origin; single year of age; age group summaries.
  • Total population and components of change; annual/March.
  • Census tracts overview section; annual/December.
  • General Demographics section updated/extended; annual/December.
  • Gross Domestic Product section; annual/September.
  • Higher education institutions; annual/February.
  • Metro & county demographic component detailed annual estimates; annual/March.
  • School districts in metro & K-12 enrollment; annual/August.
More about schedule and upcoming events ... Calendar ... Upcoming Events ... Find Event

Terms of Use go top
Situation & Outlook Reports are a proprietary resource developed by ProximityOne. There is no warranty of any type associated with any aspect of this report. The user of this document is solely responsible to any use, direct or indirect, that might be made of this document.

Related Resources go top
  • Metros main page
  • Current estimates and projections: states to 2030, counties & metros to 2020 by age, counties & states to 2060.
  • Making Custom Metropolitan Area Maps
  • Rental Market Conditions by Metropolitan Area
  • Metro Gross Domestic Product
  • Housing Price Index
  • Establishments, Employment & Earnings
  • Regional Economic Information System
  • ACS 2014 1-year General Demographics ... Social Characteristics ... Economic Characteristics ... Housing Characteristics

Using this Document go top
The Situation & Outlook Report, a component of the Situation & Outlook, is a core ProximityOne information resource providing insights into characteristics and trends of counties, metropolitan areas, states and the U.S. The Report also provides a gateway to drill-down demographic, economic and business data for smaller geographic areas.

Metropolitan areas include approximately 94 percent of the U.S. population -- 85 percent in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and 9 percent in micropolitan statistical areas (MISAs).

About Metropolitan Areas & Principal Cities -- scroll section go top
Metropolitan Areas are designated by OMB ("Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas") based mainly on Census Bureau-sourced data. Metropolitan areas are defined as Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) and Micropolitan Statistical Areas (MISA). MSAs and MISAs are also referred to a Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs). Contiguous CBSAs are defined as Combined Statistical Areas (CSA).

By definition, metropolitan areas are comprised of one or more contiguous counties. Metropolitan areas are not single cities and typically include many cities. Metropolitan areas are comprised of urban and rural areas and often have large expanses of rural territory. A business and demographic-economic synergy exists within each metro; metros often interact with adjacent metros. The demographic-economic make-up of metros vary widely and change often. See more about metros.

Principal Cities. The largest city in each metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area is designated a "principal city." Principal cities are designated by OMB based on Census-sourced data. Additional cities qualify as principal cities if specified requirements are met concerning population size and employment. The title of each metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area consists of the names of up to three of its principal cities and the name of each state into which the metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area extends. Titles of metropolitan divisions also typically are based on principal city names but in certain cases consist of county names.

One or more principal cities are designated within each Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and Micropolitan Statistical Area (MISA). The term "principal city" is defined in the OMB "Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas." A principal city is an OMB designation applied to one or more incorporated places and/or census designated places (CDPs). The OMB standards designate a Principal City (or Cities) of a Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA) as determined by:
  a) The largest incorporated place with a 2010 Census population of at least 10,000 in the CBSA or,
        if no incorporated place of at least 10,000 population is present in the CBSA,
        the largest incorporated place or census designated place in the CBSA; and
  b) Additional places with 2010 Census population of at least 250,000 or in which 100,000 or more persons work; and
  c) Additional places with 2010 Census population of 50,000-250,000,
        and number of workers working in the place meets or exceeds the number of workers living in the place; and
  d) Additional places with 2010 Census population of 10,000-50,000, and at least one-third the population size of the largest place,
        and in which the number of workers working in the place meets or exceeds the number of workers living in the place.

ProximityOne User Group go top
Join the ProximityOne User Group to keep up-to-date with new developments relating to metros and component geography decision-making information resources. Receive updates and access to tools and resources available only to members. Use this form to join the User Group.

Support Using these Resources go top
Learn more about accessing and using demographic-economic data and related analytical tools. Join us in a Data Analytics Lab session. There is no fee for these one-hour Web sessions. Each informal session is focused on a specific topic. The open structure also provides for Q&A and discussion of application issues of interest to participants.

Additional Information go top
ProximityOne develops geographic-demographic-economic data and analytical tools and helps organizations knit together and use diverse data in a decision-making and analytical framework. We develop custom demographic/economic estimates and projections, develop geographic and geocoded address files, and assist with impact and geospatial analyses. Wide-ranging organizations use our tools (software, data, methodologies) to analyze their own data integrated with other data. Follow ProximityOne on Twitter at www.twitter.com/proximityone. Contact us (888-364-7656) with questions about data covered in this section or to discuss custom estimates, projections or analyses for your areas of interest.

  Copyright © 2018 ProximityOne