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Situation & Outlook Report

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area
(CBSA 42020)
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This section is no longer being updated.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/cbsa42020.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 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA MSA metro changed from 269,905 in 2010 to 279,116 in 2015, a change of 11,496 (4.3%). Among all 917 metros, this metro was ranked number 169 in 2010 and 165 in 2015, based on total population. Annual net migration was 983 (2011), 2,945 (2012), 1,292 (2013), 2,250 (2014), 2,250 (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 289,205. The projected population change from 2010 to 2020 is 19,345 (7.2%). The population ages 65 years and over is projected to change from 42,314 (2010) to 62,766 (2020), a change of 20,452 (48.3%). See more about population projections.

Based on per capita personal income (PCPI), this metro was ranked number 161 in 2008 and 136 in 2014. among the 917 metros for which personal income was estimated.The PCPI changed from $39,202 in 2008 to $45,947 in 2014, a change of $6,745 (17.2%). 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 167 among the 381 metros based on 2014 GDP. The GDP (millions of current dollars) changed from $10,608 in 2009 to $13,121 in 2014 a change of $2,513 (23.69%). Real GDP (millions of real, inflation adjusted, dollars) changed from $10,608 in 2009 to $11,840 in 2014, a change of $1,232 (11.61%). 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 54 tracts covering the metro wall-to-wall. View, rank, compare demographic-economic attributes of these tracts using the interactive tables. Use the CBSA code 42020; 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.
  •   Arroyo Grande
  •   El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)
  •   San Luis Obispo

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
  Arroyo Grande, CA (0602868) 17,252 17,271 17,337 17,521 17,709 17,908 637 3.70
  Atascadero, CA (0603064) 28,310 28,417 28,591 28,744 29,057 29,134 717 2.50
  El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles), CA (0622300) 29,793 29,841 30,132 30,488 30,827 31,287 1,446 4.80
  Grover Beach, CA (0631393) 13,156 13,175 13,210 13,322 13,424 13,505 330 2.50
  Morro Bay, CA (0649362) 10,234 10,246 10,284 10,379 10,469 10,544 298 2.90
  San Luis Obispo, CA (0668154) 45,119 45,217 45,415 45,840 46,385 46,730 1,513 3.30

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 269,905 100.0 271,208 100.0 274,552 100.0 276,308 100.0 279,116 100.0 281,401 100.0
  San Luis Obispo County, CA (06079) 269,905 100.0 271,208 100.0 274,552 100.0 276,308 100.0 279,116 100.0 281,401 100.0

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.
  San Luis Obispo County, CA

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 276,443 279,083 2,640 0.95
  One race 267,185 270,745 3,560 1.33
    White 236,376 243,548 7,172 3.03
    Black/African American 236,376 243,548 7,172 3.03
    American Indian/Alaska Native 2,313 1,188 -1,125 -48.64
    Asian alone 10,506 11,385 879 8.37
    Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 115 0 -115 -100.00
    Some other race alone 11,527 9,046 -2,481 -21.52
  Two or more races 9,258 8,338 -920 -9.94
  Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 60,076 61,521 1,445 2.41
Population 25 years and over 182,726 183,546 820 2.41
  % high school graduate or higher 89.3 89.3 0.0 0.00
  % bachelor's degree or higher 31.5 33.9 2.4 7.62
Total Households 104,669 102,645 -2,024 7.62
  Median household income ($) 58,158 63,474 5,316 9.14
  Mean household income ($) 76,395 83,940 7,545 9.88
  Item20132014Change
2013-14
%Change
2013-14
Total Population: Gender & Age 276,443 279,083 2,640 0.95
  Male 140,836 141,338 502 9.88
  Female 135,607 137,745 2,138 9.88
  Under 5 years 13,189 14,396 1,207 9.88
  5 to 9 years 15,299 13,422 -1,877 -12.27
  10 to 14 years 12,516 13,827 1,311 10.47
  15 to 19 years 21,875 23,130 1,255 5.74
  20 to 24 years 30,838 30,762 -76 -0.25
  25 to 34 years 31,601 32,235 634 2.01
  35 to 44 years 29,976 29,525 -451 -1.50
  45 to 54 years 34,845 32,838 -2,007 -5.76
  55 to 59 years 21,344 21,497 153 0.72
  55 to 59 years 21,344 21,497 153 0.72
  60 to 64 years 18,038 18,199 161 0.89
  65 to 74 years 26,740 28,633 1,893 7.08
  75 to 84 years 14,253 15,096 843 5.91
  85 years and over 5,929 5,523 -406 -6.85
  Median age 40.1 38.8 -1.3 -3.24
  18 years and over 226,618 228,146 1,528 0.67
  21 years and over 206,648 204,510 -2,138 -1.03
  62 years and over 57,219 59,162 1,943 3.40
  65 years and over 46,922 49,252 2,330 4.97

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 117,315 117,397 117,837 118,112 118,508 119,143 1,746 1.49

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 118,213 119,138 925 0.78
  1-unit, detached 78,295 78,931 636 0.81
  1-unit, attached 5,925 5,869 -56 -0.95
  2 units 4,345 3,401 -944 -21.73
  3 or 4 units 5,400 6,773 1,373 25.43
  5 to 9 units 5,804 5,044 -760 -13.09
  10 to 20 units 3,569 2,852 -717 -20.09
  20 or more units 2,910 4,469 1,559 53.57
  Item20132014Change
2013-14
%Change
2013-14
Housing Units: Occupancy & Tenure 118,213 119,138 925 0.78
  Occupied Housing Units 104,669 102,645 -2,024 -1.93
    Owner 59,488 61,202 1,714 2.88
    Renter 45,181 41,443 -3,738 -8.27
  Vacant Housing Units 13,544 16,493 2,949 21.77
  Homeowner vacancy rate 0.90 1.80 0.90...
  Rental vacancy rate 1.70 3.20 1.50...
Average household size; owner-occ 2.43 2.51 0.08 3.29
Average household size; renter-occ 2.57 2.64 0.07 2.72
Median Value $ owner occupied 436,000 459,900 23,900 5.48
Median Rent $ renter occupied 1,203 1,219 16 1.33

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 30 0 28 19 27 24 31 35 30 32 37 26
  in 1 unit bldgs 30 12 28 19 27 24 29 35 30 32 33 26
  in 2 unit bldgs 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
  in 3-4 unit bldgs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
  in 5+ unit bldgs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Bldgs with 5+ units 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Percent Coverage 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 37 37 37 37
Value ($000), Total Units 12,465 4,468 11,634 7,810 11,219 9,972 12,513 14,543 12,238 13,054 14,985 10,606
  1 unit structures 12,465 4,468 11,634 7,810 11,219 9,972 12,050 14,543 12,238 13,054 13,746 10,606
  2 unit structures 0 0 0 0 0 0 463 0 0 0 0 0
  3-4 unit structures 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,239 0
  5+ unit structures 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

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
    282.24 288.18 291.34 296.45 302.31
    Quarter-to-Quarter/Year Percent Change:2015Q3-2015Q42015Q4-2016Q12016Q1-2016Q22016Q2-2016Q32015Q3-2016Q3
  2.10 1.10 1.75 1.98 7.11
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 11,526,732 12,182,700 12,579,379 13,212,298 14,034,209 2,507,477 21.8
  Net earnings 1/ 7,015,810 7,429,480 7,643,312 7,878,151 8,439,679 1,423,869 20.3
  Personal current transfer receipts 1,811,975 1,834,454 1,904,432 2,026,859 2,167,423 355,448 19.6
    Income maintenance 2/ 139,560 140,708 142,517 141,657 141,081 1,521 1.1
    Unemployment insurance compensation 98,878 75,440 56,193 31,951 28,087 -70,791 -71.6
    Retirement and other 1,573,537 1,618,306 1,705,722 1,853,251 1,998,255 424,718 27.0
  Dividends, interest, and rent 3/ 2,698,947 2,918,766 3,031,635 3,307,288 3,427,107 728,160 27.0
  Population 4/ 271,208 274,552 276,308 279,116 281,401 10,193 3.8
  Per capita personal income 42,501 44,373 45,527 47,336 49,873 7,372 17.3
  Per capita net earnings 25,869 27,060 27,662 28,225 29,992 4,123 15.9
  Per capita personal current transfer receipts 6,681 6,682 6,892 7,262 7,702 1,021 15.3
    Per capita income maintenance 515 513 516 508 501 -14 -2.7
    Per capita unemployment insurance compensation 365 275 203 114 100 -265 -72.6
    Per capita retirement and other 5,802 5,894 6,173 6,640 7,101 1,299 22.4
  Per capita dividends, interest, and rent 9,952 10,631 10,972 11,849 12,179 2,227 22.4
  Earnings by place of work 7,105,359 7,506,951 7,832,656 8,071,197 8,636,317 1,530,958 21.5
    Wages and salaries 4,379,851 4,573,507 4,756,665 4,992,177 5,384,387 1,004,536 22.9
    Supplements to wages and salaries 1,420,227 1,423,715 1,494,525 1,553,845 1,627,929 207,702 14.6
      Employer cont. for empl. pension & insur. funds 6/ 1,107,570 1,096,499 1,156,821 1,197,469 1,250,157 142,587 12.9
      Employer cont. for government social insurance 312,657 327,216 337,704 356,376 377,772 65,115 20.8
    Proprietors' income 1,305,281 1,509,729 1,581,466 1,525,175 1,624,001 318,720 24.4
      Nonfarm proprietors' income 80,905 155,516 178,313 80,736 119,252 38,347 47.4
      Farm proprietors' income 1,224,376 1,354,213 1,403,153 1,444,439 1,504,749 280,373 22.9
Total full-time and part-time employment 151,175 155,853 159,481 164,488 169,905 18,730 12.4
  Wage and salary jobs 106,810 111,351 113,837 117,565 121,554 14,744 13.8
  Number of proprietors 44,365 44,502 45,644 46,923 48,351 3,986 9.0
    Number of nonfarm proprietors 7/ 2,147 2,112 2,122 2,143 2,145 -2 -0.1
    Number of farm proprietors 42,218 42,390 43,522 44,780 46,206 3,988 9.4
Average earnings per job (dollars) 47,001 48,167 49,113 49,069 50,830 3,829 8.1
  Average wages and salaries 41,006 41,073 41,785 42,463 44,296 3,290 8.0
  Average nonfarm proprietors' income 29,001 31,947 32,240 32,256 32,566 3,565 12.3
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 10,608 11,140 11,496 11,926 12,557 13,121 2,513 23.69
Real Gross Domestic Product, millions of real dollars 10,608 10,958 10,994 11,178 11,548 11,840 1,232 11.61

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 9,932 186,695 806 9,991 192,400 794
 Total, all industries - Fed Govt 39 859 1,167 39 884 981
 Total, all industries - St Govt 267 13,899 1,144 266 14,158 1,142
 Total, all industries - Local Govt 218 18,574 1,023 218 18,897 1,016
 Total, all industries - Private 9,408 153,363 747 9,468 158,462 736
    Goods-producing 1,665 29,997 847 1,678 31,345 854
      Natural resources and mining 352 8,186 564 348 9,096 593
      Construction 894 10,383 980 904 10,726 1,020
      Manufacturing 419 11,427 937 426 11,522 909
    Service-providing 7,743 123,366 723 7,790 127,117 706
      Trade, transportation & utilities 1,469 33,484 919 1,479 33,779 860
      Information 97 2,453 1,128 100 2,442 1,112
      Financial activities 793 6,751 1,131 804 6,935 1,063
      Professional & business services 1,284 20,357 780 1,310 21,489 806
      Education and health services 2,129 22,739 804 2,126 22,996 792
      Leisure and hospitality 945 27,319 354 980 28,956 367
      Other services 595 8,946 389 607 9,462 420
      Unclassified 431 1,318 594 384 1,058 549

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 4.7 4.2 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3 3.9 3.5 4.5 4.7 4.6
Unemployment 6,639 5,991 6,299 6,458 6,298 6,292 6,218 6,152 5,658 5,104 6,586 6,803 6,514
Employment 133,794 135,204 136,860 136,724 134,200 136,166 138,158 138,220 138,835 139,867 140,574 138,221 135,982
Labor Force140,433141,195143,159143,182140,498142,458144,376144,372144,493144,971147,160145,024142,496

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
Atascadero UnfAtascadero 06033002306079CA 4,784 36,692 5,477
Cayucos ElemCayucos 06078403106079CA 217 2,949 288
Coast UnfCambria 06000494106079CA 762 7,124 788
Lucia Mar UnfArroyo Grande 06230801306079CA 10,566 76,824 11,988
Paso Robles Joint UnfPaso Robles 06000481306079CA 6,601 41,252 7,179
Pleasant Valley Joint Union ElemSan Miguel 06310204206079CA 126 901 133
San Luis Coastal UnfSan Luis Obispo 06348001306079CA 7,535 93,222 8,136
San Miguel Joint UnionSan Miguel 06350104206079CA 746 5,170 944
Shandon Joint UnfShandon 06364504206079CA 308 1,917 400
Templeton UnfTempleton 06390002306079CA 2,360 10,686 1,982

Number of districts: 10 ... Total enrollment: 34,005
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
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA1104227 19,246 18,578 940 728
Central California School San Luis Obispo, CA4191834 385 385 0 0
Cuesta College San Luis Obispo, CA1131934 9,221 3,723 0 0

  Number of institutions: 3 ... Total undergraduate enrollment: 28,852
  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.

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