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Situation & Outlook Report

Walla Walla, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area
(CBSA 47460)
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This section is no longer being updated.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/cbsa47460.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 Walla Walla, WA MSA metro changed from 63,031 in 2010 to 63,745 in 2015, a change of 1,251 (2%). Among all 917 metros, this metro was ranked number 509 in 2010 and 503 in 2015, based on total population. Annual net migration was 348 (2011), -252 (2012), 26 (2013), 32 (2014), 32 (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 66,708. The projected population change from 2010 to 2020 is 3,679 (5.8%). The population ages 65 years and over is projected to change from 9,988 (2010) to 13,510 (2020), a change of 3,522 (35.3%). See more about population projections.

Based on per capita personal income (PCPI), this metro was ranked number 320 in 2008 and 331 in 2014. among the 917 metros for which personal income was estimated.The PCPI changed from $35,342 in 2008 to $39,830 in 2014, a change of $4,488 (12.7%). 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 376 among the 381 metros based on 2014 GDP. The GDP (millions of current dollars) changed from $2,358 in 2009 to $2,582 in 2014 a change of $224 (9.5%). Real GDP (millions of real, inflation adjusted, dollars) changed from $2,358 in 2009 to $2,245 in 2014, a change of ($113) (-4.79%). 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 13 tracts covering the metro wall-to-wall. View, rank, compare demographic-economic attributes of these tracts using the interactive tables. Use the CBSA code 47460; 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.
  •   Walla Walla

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
  Walla Walla, WA (5375775) 31,731 31,793 31,990 31,890 31,857 31,910 117 0.40

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 63,031 100.0 63,528 100.0 63,429 100.0 63,593 100.0 63,745 100.0 64,282 100.0
  Columbia County, WA (53013) ** 4,106 6.5 4,016 6.3 3,994 6.3 4,018 6.3 3,974 6.2 3,944 6.1
  Walla Walla County, WA (53071) 58,925 93.5 59,512 93.7 59,435 93.7 59,575 93.7 59,771 93.8 60,338 93.9
  ** indicates this county added since Census 2010 vintage metro definition.

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.
No counties presently available for this metro.

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 63,361 63,706 345 0.54
  One race 59,914 61,630 1,716 2.86
    White 54,497 53,984 -513 -0.94
    Black/African American 54,497 53,984 -513 -0.94
    American Indian/Alaska Native 1,177 419 -758 -64.40
    Asian alone 937 761 -176 -18.78
    Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0 79 79...
    Some other race alone 2,459 5,265 2,806 114.11
  Two or more races 3,447 2,076 -1,371 -39.77
  Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 13,243 12,845 -398 -3.01
Population 25 years and over 41,692 41,493 -199 -3.01
  % high school graduate or higher 89.7 88.5 -1.2 -1.34
  % bachelor's degree or higher 28.1 26.7 -1.4 -4.98
Total Households 23,390 23,296 -94 -4.98
  Median household income ($) 43,870 50,737 6,867 15.65
  Mean household income ($) 57,666 64,196 6,530 11.32
  Item20132014Change
2013-14
%Change
2013-14
Total Population: Gender & Age 63,361 63,706 345 0.54
  Male 31,677 31,926 249 11.32
  Female 31,684 31,780 96 11.32
  Under 5 years 3,520 3,602 82 11.32
  5 to 9 years 3,817 3,890 73 1.91
  10 to 14 years 3,924 3,826 -98 -2.50
  15 to 19 years 5,693 5,018 -675 -11.86
  20 to 24 years 4,715 5,877 1,162 24.64
  25 to 34 years 7,548 7,623 75 0.99
  35 to 44 years 7,360 6,963 -397 -5.39
  45 to 54 years 8,308 7,930 -378 -4.55
  55 to 59 years 5,053 4,061 -992 -19.63
  55 to 59 years 5,053 4,061 -992 -19.63
  60 to 64 years 2,990 4,655 1,665 55.69
  65 to 74 years 5,565 5,547 -18 -0.32
  75 to 84 years 3,030 3,069 39 1.29
  85 years and over 1,838 1,645 -193 -10.50
  Median age 38.5 37.3 -1.2 -3.12
  18 years and over 49,914 50,085 171 0.34
  21 years and over 44,502 45,645 1,143 2.57
  62 years and over 11,794 12,757 963 8.17
  65 years and over 10,433 10,261 -172 -1.65

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 25,587 25,597 25,648 25,774 25,848 26,018 421 1.64

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 25,893 25,876 -17 -0.07
  1-unit, detached 16,391 18,182 1,791 10.93
  1-unit, attached 835 617 -218 -26.11
  2 units 1,169 1,182 13 1.11
  3 or 4 units 904 1,293 389 43.03
  5 to 9 units 1,204 354 -850 -70.60
  10 to 20 units 388 476 88 22.68
  20 or more units 2,232 1,363 -869 -38.93
  Item20132014Change
2013-14
%Change
2013-14
Housing Units: Occupancy & Tenure 25,893 25,876 -17 -0.07
  Occupied Housing Units 23,390 23,296 -94 -0.40
    Owner 14,177 16,075 1,898 13.39
    Renter 9,213 7,221 -1,992 -21.62
  Vacant Housing Units 2,503 2,580 77 3.08
  Homeowner vacancy rate 1.60 3.00 1.40...
  Rental vacancy rate 3.40 10.20 6.80...
Average household size; owner-occ 2.49 2.43 -0.06 -2.41
Average household size; renter-occ 2.46 2.65 0.19 7.72
Median Value $ owner occupied 171,100 190,800 19,700 11.51
Median Rent $ renter occupied 659 757 98 14.87

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 9 18 13 7 13 5 11 11 27 11 17 14
  in 1 unit bldgs 9 18 13 7 13 5 11 11 15 11 17 14
  in 2 unit bldgs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 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 0 0 0 0 12 0 0 0
  Bldgs with 5+ units 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
  Percent Coverage 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 67 67 67 67
Value ($000), Total Units 2,535 4,033 3,324 1,959 3,311 911 2,902 2,759 4,453 2,465 4,116 3,717
  1 unit structures 2,535 4,033 3,324 1,959 3,311 911 2,902 2,759 3,288 2,465 4,116 3,717
  2 unit structures 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 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 0 0 0 0 1,165 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
    203.61 203.31 208.12 210.14 216.23
    Quarter-to-Quarter/Year Percent Change:2015Q3-2015Q42015Q4-2016Q12016Q1-2016Q22016Q2-2016Q32015Q3-2016Q3
  -0.15 2.37 0.97 2.90 6.20
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 2,357,244 2,446,524 2,503,058 2,561,999 2,721,242 363,998 15.4
  Net earnings 1/ 1,388,344 1,450,866 1,461,304 1,453,019 1,596,779 208,435 15.0
  Personal current transfer receipts 511,041 518,563 527,789 583,332 585,212 74,171 14.5
    Income maintenance 2/ 60,329 58,027 56,937 55,930 56,181 -4,148 -6.9
    Unemployment insurance compensation 15,232 13,707 10,348 6,925 6,127 -9,105 -59.8
    Retirement and other 435,480 446,829 460,504 520,477 522,904 87,424 20.1
  Dividends, interest, and rent 3/ 457,859 477,095 513,965 525,648 539,251 81,392 17.8
  Population 4/ 63,528 63,429 63,593 63,745 64,282 754 1.2
  Per capita personal income 37,106 38,571 39,361 40,191 42,333 5,227 14.1
  Per capita net earnings 21,854 22,874 22,979 22,794 24,840 2,986 13.7
  Per capita personal current transfer receipts 8,044 8,175 8,299 9,151 9,104 1,060 13.2
    Per capita income maintenance 950 915 895 877 874 -76 -8.0
    Per capita unemployment insurance compensation 240 216 163 109 95 -145 -60.4
    Per capita retirement and other 6,855 7,045 7,241 8,165 8,135 1,280 18.7
  Per capita dividends, interest, and rent 7,207 7,522 8,082 8,246 8,389 1,182 16.4
  Earnings by place of work 1,619,239 1,686,417 1,717,739 1,724,331 1,870,191 250,952 15.5
    Wages and salaries 1,061,226 1,098,302 1,121,138 1,165,749 1,196,492 135,266 12.7
    Supplements to wages and salaries 306,614 314,766 318,848 333,529 329,303 22,689 7.4
      Employer cont. for empl. pension & insur. funds 6/ 205,051 211,796 216,040 224,296 219,025 13,974 6.8
      Employer cont. for government social insurance 101,563 102,970 102,808 109,233 110,278 8,715 8.6
    Proprietors' income 251,399 273,349 277,753 225,053 344,396 92,997 37.0
      Nonfarm proprietors' income 120,680 113,378 120,565 70,481 177,227 56,547 46.9
      Farm proprietors' income 130,719 159,971 157,188 154,572 167,169 36,450 27.9
Total full-time and part-time employment 35,727 36,149 36,835 37,472 37,367 1,640 4.6
  Wage and salary jobs 28,120 28,588 29,102 29,551 29,235 1,115 4.0
  Number of proprietors 7,607 7,561 7,733 7,921 8,132 525 6.9
    Number of nonfarm proprietors 7/ 1,070 1,075 1,082 1,099 1,079 9 0.8
    Number of farm proprietors 6,537 6,486 6,651 6,822 7,053 516 7.9
Average earnings per job (dollars) 45,323 46,652 46,633 46,017 50,049 4,726 10.4
  Average wages and salaries 37,739 38,418 38,524 39,449 40,927 3,188 8.4
  Average nonfarm proprietors' income 19,997 24,664 23,634 22,658 23,702 3,705 18.5
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 2,358 2,425 2,466 2,480 2,536 2,582 224 9.50
Real Gross Domestic Product, millions of real dollars 2,358 2,366 2,296 2,251 2,244 2,245 -113 -4.79

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 2,435 44,670 730 2,395 46,551 755
 Total, all industries - Fed Govt 27 2,126 1,290 27 2,130 1,312
 Total, all industries - St Govt 38 3,021 918 38 2,988 937
 Total, all industries - Local Govt 43 4,681 738 43 4,778 758
 Total, all industries - Private 2,327 34,842 679 2,287 36,655 708
    Goods-producing 636 11,843 688 620 13,153 739
      Natural resources and mining 281 4,779 484 278 5,797 499
      Construction 208 1,351 706 198 1,529 881
      Manufacturing 147 5,713 860 144 5,827 956
    Service-providing 1,691 22,999 675 1,667 23,502 690
      Trade, transportation & utilities 315 5,849 640 312 6,046 662
      Information 30 576 724 29 567 769
      Financial activities 139 1,412 922 140 1,416 858
      Professional & business services 205 1,544 750 213 1,636 761
      Education and health services 693 9,156 815 670 9,204 837
      Leisure and hospitality 174 3,350 314 172 3,489 346
      Other services 134 1,099 372 130 1,129 373
      Unclassified 1 12 183 1 15 257

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 5.3 5.6 5.8 6.2 6.8 8.0 7.5 6.9 6.8 6.3 6.1 6.5 6.0
Unemployment 91 94 99 108 116 138 131 121 119 110 106 114 105
Employment 1,622 1,588 1,613 1,621 1,585 1,589 1,608 1,629 1,629 1,646 1,637 1,635 1,644
Labor Force1,7131,6821,7121,7291,7011,7271,7391,7501,7481,7561,7431,7491,749

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
College Place School DistrictCollege Place 53014702353071WA 806 13,063 1,954
Columbia (Walla Walla) School DistrictBurbank 53015904153071WA 899 3,942 785
Dayton School DistrictDayton 53020403253013WA 459 3,754 587
Dixie School DistrictDixie 53021604253071WA 32 501 67
Prescott School DistrictPrescott 53068704253071WA 371 1,366 351
Starbuck School DistrictStarbuck 53084004353013WA 27 167 19
Touchet School DistrictTouchet 53090004253071WA 251 1,138 219
Waitsburg School DistrictWaitsburg 53093904253071WA 301 1,573 300
Walla Walla Public SchoolsWalla Walla 53094501353071WA 6,368 38,058 5,930

Number of districts: 9 ... Total enrollment: 9,514
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
Walla Walla Community College Walla Walla, WA2368873 4,851 2,751 0 0
Walla Walla University College Place, WA2368967 1,689 1,589 198 184
Whitman College Walla Walla, WA2370575 1,498 1,467 0 0

  Number of institutions: 3 ... Total undergraduate enrollment: 8,038
  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.

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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.

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