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In the United States, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has produced a formal definition of metropolitan areas, which are organized around county boundaries. These are referred to as "Metropolitan Statistical Areas" (MSAs).
See also
The following is a list of the 25 most populated metropolitan statistical areas in the United States, according to the 2000 Census:
| Rank
| Metropolitan Area
| States/Territories
| Population
| Other names*
|
| 1
| New York--Northern New Jersey--Long Island
| NY--NJ--CT
| 18,323,002
| Tri-state Area, New York area, Greater New York
|
| 2
| Los Angeles--Long Beach--Santa Ana
| CA
| 12,365,627
| The Southland, Southern California (The latter also refers to the entire southern portion of the state)
|
| 3
| Chicago--Naperville--Joliet
| IL--IN--WI
| 9,098,316
| Chicagoland, Greater Chicago, Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana (the latter refers to the eastern part extended until South Bend, Indiana)
|
| 4
| Philadelphia--Camden--Wilmington
| PA--NJ--DE--MD
| 5,687,147
| The Delaware Valley, Tri-state Area
|
| 5
| Dallas--Fort Worth--Arlington
| TX
| 5,161,634
| The Metroplex, DFW
|
| 6
| Miami--Fort Lauderdale--Miami Beach
| FL
| 5,007,564
| South Florida metropolitan area
|
| 7
| Washington--Arlington--Alexandria
| DC--VA--MD--WV
| 4,796,183
| Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area (now defunct)
|
| 8
| Houston--Baytown--Sugar Land
| TX
| 4,715,407
| Houston Metropolitan Area
|
| 9
| Detroit--Warren--Livonia
| MI
| 4,452,557
| Metro Detroit, Southeast Michigan, Southeastern Lower Michigan**
|
| 10
| Boston--Cambridge--Quincy
| MA--NH
| 4,391,344
| Greater Boston
|
| 11
| Atlanta--Sandy Springs--Marietta
| GA
| 4,247,981
| Atlanta Metropolitan Area
|
| 12
| San Francisco--Oakland--Fremont
| CA
| 4,123,740
| The Bay Area***
|
| 13
| Riverside--San Bernardino--Ontario
| CA
| 3,254,821
| Inland Empire
|
| 14
| Phoenix--Mesa--Scottsdale
| AZ
| 3,251,876
| The Valley of the Sun
|
| 15
| Seattle--Tacoma--Bellevue
| WA
| 3,043,878
| Greater Puget Sound
|
| 16
| Minneapolis--St. Paul--Bloomington
| MN--WI
| 2,968,806
| The Twin Cities
|
| 17
| San Diego--Carlsbad--San Marcos
| CA
| 2,813,833
|
|
| 18
| St. Louis
| MO--IL
| 2,698,687
| Greater St. Louis
|
| 19
| San Juan--Caguas--Guaynabo
| PR
| 2,579,248
|
|
| 20
| Baltimore--Towson
| MD
| 2,552,994
|
|
| 21
| Pittsburgh
| PA
| 2,431,087
|
|
| 22
| Tampa--St. Petersburg--Clearwater
| FL
| 2,395,997
| Tampa Bay Area
|
| 23
| Denver--Aurora
| CO
| 2,196,028
|
|
| 24
| Cleveland--Elyria--Mentor
| OH
| 2,148,143
| Greater Cleveland, Northeast Ohio
|
| 25
| Cincinnati--Middletown
| OH--KY--IN
| 2,009,632
|
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* Not necessarily equivalent to the Census definition of the metropolitan area.
** This is the metropolitan area of Detroit within US borders. A larger metropolitan area containing the Windsor, Ontario area is used internationally.
*** The Bay Area is a much larger area than the OMB's rather limited MSA, corresponding more closely to the San Jose - San Francisco - Oakland Combined Statistical Area
For a complete list, see List of United States metropolitan statistical areas by population.
See also
External links
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