Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs)
There are 169 counties in the Fourth District, and 68 of these counties are located within the District’s 16 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). An MSA is an area with a large population core combined with adjacent communities that have a high degree of social and economic integration with that core.
Over 80 percent of the District’s population, labor force, and income are found within its MSAs.
Concentration of Population and Income in the MSAs
The four most populous MSAs in the District—Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus—constitute about half of the District’s total population of nearly 17 million people. These four MSAs are also responsible for about half of the District’s labor force and nearly three-fifths of its income.
10 Largest MSAs in the Fourth District
| Population (thousands) | Percent change | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan area | 2000 | 2005 | |
| Pittsburgh | 2,429 | 2,386 | -1.8 |
| Cleveland | 2,148 | 2,126 | -1.0 |
| Cincinnati | 2,014 | 2,070 | 2.8 |
| Columbus | 1,619 | 1,709 | 5.5 |
| Dayton | 848 | 844 | -0.5 |
| Akron | 696 | 702 | 0.9 |
| Toledo | 659 | 657 | -0.4 |
| Youngstown | 602 | 593 | -1.5 |
| Lexington | 409 | 430 | 5.0 |
| Canton | 407 | 410 | 0.7 |
| Fourth District | 16,749 | 16,858 | 0.7 |
| United States | 282,217 | 296,507 | 5.1 |
| SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Estimates Program. | |||
