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

Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area
(CBSA 16620)
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This section is no longer being updated.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/cbsa16620.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 Charleston, WV MSA metro changed from 226,895 in 2010 to 222,824 in 2015, a change of -6,281 (-2.8%). Among all 917 metros, this metro was ranked number 194 in 2010 and 200 in 2015, based on total population. Annual net migration was -720 (2011), 44 (2012), -692 (2013), -1,354 (2014), -1,354 (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 232,301. The projected population change from 2010 to 2020 is 5,301 (2.3%). The population ages 65 years and over is projected to change from 38,439 (2010) to 55,187 (2020), a change of 16,748 (43.6%). See more about population projections.

Based on per capita personal income (PCPI), this metro was ranked number 200 in 2008 and 245 in 2014. among the 917 metros for which personal income was estimated.The PCPI changed from $38,130 in 2008 to $42,046 in 2014, a change of $3,916 (10.3%). 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 148 among the 381 metros based on 2014 GDP. The GDP (millions of current dollars) changed from $12,789 in 2009 to $14,642 in 2014 a change of $1,853 (14.49%). Real GDP (millions of real, inflation adjusted, dollars) changed from $12,789 in 2009 to $13,121 in 2014, a change of $332 (2.6%). 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 64 tracts covering the metro wall-to-wall. View, rank, compare demographic-economic attributes of these tracts using the interactive tables. Use the CBSA code 16620; 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.
  •   Charleston

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
  Charleston, WV (5414600) 51,400 51,327 51,040 50,983 50,828 50,404 -923 -1.80
  South Charleston, WV (5475292) 13,450 13,502 13,414 13,410 13,340 13,214 -288 -2.10
  St. Albans, WV (5471212) 11,044 11,035 10,978 10,979 10,933 10,835 -200 -1.80

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 226,895 100.0 225,783 100.0 225,735 100.0 224,654 100.0 222,824 100.0 220,614 100.0
  Boone County (54005) 24,585 10.8 24,446 10.8 24,371 10.8 24,077 10.7 23,734 10.7 23,372 10.6
  Clay County (54015) 9,371 4.1 9,390 4.2 9,262 4.1 9,204 4.1 8,939 4.0 8,910 4.0
  Kanawha County (54039) 192,939 85.0 191,947 85.0 192,102 85.1 191,373 85.2 190,151 85.3 188,332 85.4

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.
  Kanawha County, WV

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 224,727 223,371 -1,356 -0.60
  One race 212,859 218,015 5,156 2.42
    White 202,050 200,036 -2,014 -1.00
    Black/African American 202,050 200,036 -2,014 -1.00
    American Indian/Alaska Native 175 446 271 154.86
    Asian alone 1,810 1,940 130 7.18
    Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0 0 0...
    Some other race alone 760 496 -264 -34.74
  Two or more races 11,868 5,356 -6,512 -54.87
  Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 2,398 950 -1,448 -60.38
Population 25 years and over 160,283 160,127 -156 -60.38
  % high school graduate or higher 88.0 85.6 -2.4 -2.73
  % bachelor's degree or higher 22.8 21.3 -1.5 -6.58
Total Households 95,251 93,385 -1,866 -6.58
  Median household income ($) 45,251 42,761 -2,490 -5.50
  Mean household income ($) 61,816 59,235 -2,581 -4.18
  Item20132014Change
2013-14
%Change
2013-14
Total Population: Gender & Age 224,727 223,371 -1,356 -0.60
  Male 108,664 108,537 -127 -4.18
  Female 116,063 114,834 -1,229 -4.18
  Under 5 years 13,664 12,635 -1,029 -4.18
  5 to 9 years 12,313 13,323 1,010 8.20
  10 to 14 years 12,731 12,059 -672 -5.28
  15 to 19 years 12,605 12,223 -382 -3.03
  20 to 24 years 13,131 13,004 -127 -0.97
  25 to 34 years 27,422 27,405 -17 -0.06
  35 to 44 years 27,964 27,760 -204 -0.73
  45 to 54 years 31,528 30,073 -1,455 -4.61
  55 to 59 years 18,616 19,000 384 2.06
  55 to 59 years 18,616 19,000 384 2.06
  60 to 64 years 15,480 15,810 330 2.13
  65 to 74 years 22,077 22,700 623 2.82
  75 to 84 years 11,838 12,908 1,070 9.04
  85 years and over 5,358 4,471 -887 -16.55
  Median age 42.5 43.1 0.6 1.41
  18 years and over 177,724 177,486 -238 -0.13
  21 years and over 171,346 169,714 -1,632 -0.95
  62 years and over 49,057 49,381 324 0.66
  65 years and over 39,273 40,079 806 2.05

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 108,260 108,250 108,197 108,090 107,957 108,024 -226 -0.21

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 107,637 107,528 -109 -0.10
  1-unit, detached 71,941 72,833 892 1.24
  1-unit, attached 2,271 2,460 189 8.32
  2 units 2,838 2,695 -143 -5.04
  3 or 4 units 6,041 3,772 -2,269 -37.56
  5 to 9 units 3,343 4,332 989 29.58
  10 to 20 units 1,467 1,941 474 32.31
  20 or more units 4,212 4,023 -189 -4.49
  Item20132014Change
2013-14
%Change
2013-14
Housing Units: Occupancy & Tenure 107,637 107,528 -109 -0.10
  Occupied Housing Units 95,251 93,385 -1,866 -1.96
    Owner 67,313 65,297 -2,016 -2.99
    Renter 27,938 28,088 150 0.54
  Vacant Housing Units 12,386 14,143 1,757 14.19
  Homeowner vacancy rate 2.30 2.20 -0.10...
  Rental vacancy rate 8.00 8.00 0.00...
Average household size; owner-occ 2.35 2.41 0.06 2.55
Average household size; renter-occ 2.25 2.21 -0.04 -1.78
Median Value $ owner occupied 102,600 97,800 -4,800 -4.68
Median Rent $ renter occupied 644 699 55 8.54

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 16 18 33 16 9 18 4 26 19 19 23 18
  in 1 unit bldgs 4 10 7 6 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 7
  in 2 unit bldgs 4 0 2 0 6 0 0 2 2 0 2 0
  in 3-4 unit bldgs 8 8 3 4 0 3 0 4 3 3 3 0
  in 5+ unit bldgs 0 0 21 6 0 12 0 15 9 10 12 11
  Bldgs with 5+ units 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1
  Percent Coverage 97 97 97 97 97 97 97 97 95 95 95 95
Value ($000), Total Units 1,895 1,655 3,367 2,124 1,439 1,557 1,454 2,348 1,876 1,898 2,289 1,732
  1 unit structures 675 775 1,514 1,494 779 572 1,454 836 841 1,065 1,065 1,041
  2 unit structures 740 0 266 0 660 0 0 266 265 0 265 0
  3-4 unit structures 480 880 182 190 0 182 0 243 205 205 205 0
  5+ unit structures 0 0 1,405 440 0 803 0 1,003 565 628 754 691

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
    162.09 165.46 165.62 166.08 169.87
    Quarter-to-Quarter/Year Percent Change:2015Q3-2015Q42015Q4-2016Q12016Q1-2016Q22016Q2-2016Q32015Q3-2016Q3
  2.08 0.10 0.28 2.28 4.80
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 8,884,856 9,057,438 8,909,814 9,117,174 9,274,332 389,476 4.4
  Net earnings 1/ 5,340,624 5,376,644 5,184,089 5,234,146 5,254,508 -86,116 -1.6
  Personal current transfer receipts 2,254,425 2,312,931 2,365,595 2,476,958 2,575,689 321,264 14.3
    Income maintenance 2/ 217,737 215,921 214,144 216,250 218,370 633 0.3
    Unemployment insurance compensation 46,995 46,486 40,747 27,092 29,207 -17,788 -37.9
    Retirement and other 1,989,693 2,050,524 2,110,704 2,233,616 2,328,112 338,419 17.0
  Dividends, interest, and rent 3/ 1,289,807 1,367,863 1,360,130 1,406,070 1,444,135 154,328 12.0
  Population 4/ 225,783 225,735 224,654 222,824 220,614 -5,169 -2.3
  Per capita personal income 39,351 40,124 39,660 40,916 42,039 2,688 6.8
  Per capita net earnings 23,654 23,818 23,076 23,490 23,818 164 0.7
  Per capita personal current transfer receipts 9,985 10,246 10,530 11,116 11,675 1,690 16.9
    Per capita income maintenance 964 957 953 970 990 26 2.7
    Per capita unemployment insurance compensation 208 206 181 122 132 -76 -36.5
    Per capita retirement and other 8,812 9,084 9,395 10,024 10,553 1,741 19.8
  Per capita dividends, interest, and rent 5,713 6,060 6,054 6,310 6,546 833 14.6
  Earnings by place of work 7,546,009 7,605,337 7,417,344 7,491,958 7,525,091 -20,918 -0.3
    Wages and salaries 5,422,206 5,441,154 5,320,182 5,393,953 5,411,918 -10,288 -0.2
    Supplements to wages and salaries 1,323,563 1,387,456 1,362,310 1,303,373 1,321,345 -2,218 -0.2
      Employer cont. for empl. pension & insur. funds 6/ 908,224 968,780 956,383 889,884 905,071 -3,153 -0.3
      Employer cont. for government social insurance 415,339 418,676 405,927 413,489 416,274 935 0.2
    Proprietors' income 800,240 776,727 734,852 794,632 791,828 -8,412 -1.1
      Nonfarm proprietors' income -536 -144 -216 -620 -644 -108...
      Farm proprietors' income 800,776 776,871 735,068 795,252 792,472 -8,304 -1.0
Total full-time and part-time employment 144,435 144,338 142,202 141,007 139,656 -4,779 -3.3
  Wage and salary jobs 125,279 125,004 122,496 121,940 120,091 -5,188 -4.1
  Number of proprietors 19,156 19,334 19,706 19,067 19,565 409 2.1
    Number of nonfarm proprietors 7/ 339 323 321 315 310 -29 -8.6
    Number of farm proprietors 18,817 19,011 19,385 18,752 19,255 438 2.3
Average earnings per job (dollars) 52,245 52,691 52,161 53,132 53,883 1,638 3.1
  Average wages and salaries 43,281 43,528 43,431 44,234 45,065 1,784 4.1
  Average nonfarm proprietors' income 42,556 40,864 37,919 42,409 41,157 -1,399 -3.3
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 12,789 13,337 14,159 13,478 13,569 14,642 1,853 14.49
Real Gross Domestic Product, millions of real dollars 12,789 12,952 13,289 12,438 12,334 13,121 332 2.60

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 6,549 182,603 859 6,498 185,000 849
 Total, all industries - Fed Govt 124 3,552 1,413 121 3,566 1,223
 Total, all industries - St Govt 144 18,670 846 144 18,948 827
 Total, all industries - Local Govt 205 17,128 691 205 17,357 826
 Total, all industries - Private 6,076 143,254 867 6,028 145,130 846
    Goods-producing 730 18,854 1,288 717 19,818 1,258
      Natural resources and mining 132 6,376 1,579 123 6,305 1,469
      Construction 467 6,703 1,009 465 7,657 1,082
      Manufacturing 131 5,775 1,297 129 5,856 1,259
    Service-providing 5,346 124,400 802 5,311 125,312 781
      Trade, transportation & utilities 1,378 32,180 780 1,367 32,151 741
      Information 79 2,926 1,148 80 2,935 1,061
      Financial activities 595 ...... 594 ......
      Professional & business services 1,059 22,686 932 1,053 ......
      Education and health services 824 34,364 864 812 34,533 918
      Leisure and hospitality 580 ...... 578 ......
      Other services 824 5,928 569 823 6,022 585
      Unclassified 7 13 414 4 9 322

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 9.6 8.4 9.3 9.6 9.7 11.2 11.3 10.6 9.8 8.8 9.2 8.3 8.4
Unemployment 802 687 771 800 803 926 932 864 806 717 777 698 702
Employment 7,564 7,511 7,550 7,510 7,454 7,357 7,321 7,307 7,411 7,470 7,694 7,710 7,631
Labor Force8,3668,1988,3218,3108,2578,2838,2538,1718,2178,1878,4718,4088,333

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
Boone County SchoolsMadison 54000904254005WV 4,527 24,224 4,066
Clay County SchoolsClay 54002404254015WV 2,060 9,244 1,554
Kanawha County SchoolsCharleston 54006002254039WV 28,548 191,275 28,459

Number of districts: 3 ... Total enrollment: 35,135
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
BridgeValley Community & Technical College South Charleston, WV4849323 2,344 1,155 0 0
Carver Career Center Charleston, WV4307954 259 237 0 0
Charleston School of Beauty Culture Charleston, WV2373034 121 121 0 0
Everest Institute-Cross Lanes Cross Lanes, WV2376043 63 63 0 0
University of Charleston Charleston, WV2373129 1,549 1,355 562 540
West Virginia Junior College-Charleston Charleston, WV2379873 162 141 0 0
West Virginia State University Institute, WV2378997 2,836 1,950 48 28

  Number of institutions: 7 ... Total undergraduate enrollment: 7,334
  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