Pittsburgh-New Castle CMSA?

[mjcatl2]

Largest CSAs

The following is a list of the 25 most populous combined statistical areas in the United States, according to the 2000 Census:

Rank Combined Statistical Area State(s) 2000 Population 1990 Population Percent Change

1 New York-Newark-Bridgeport NY-NJ-CT-PA 21,361,797 19,710,239 8.4

2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside CA 16,373,645 14,531,529 12.7

3 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City IL-IN-WI 9,312,255 8,385,397 11.1

4 Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia DC-MD-VA-WV 7,538,385 6,665,228 13.1

5 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland CA 7,092,596 6,290,008 12.8

6 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland PA-NJ-DE-MD 5,833,585 5,573,521 4.7

7 Boston-Worcester-Manchester MA-NH 5,715,698 5,348,894 6.9

8 Detroit-Warren-Flint MI 5,357,538 5,095,695 5.1

9 Dallas-Fort Worth TX 5,346,119 4,138,010 29.2

10 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville TX 4,815,122 3,855,180 24.9

11 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville GA-AL 4,548,344 3,317,380 37.1

12 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia WA 3,604,165 3,008,669 19.8

13 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud MN-WI 3,271,888 2,809,713 16.4

14 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria OH 2,945,831 2,859,644 3.0

15 St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington MO-IL 2,754,328 2,629,801 4.7

[TheGerbil]

I don't know, but doesn't some local radio station always say they broadcast to "New Castle-Pittsburgh"? I guess there is some reason for it. It'd be interesting to know the criteria.

[mjcatl2]

That is likely a New Castle station with some signal strength near Pittsburgh.

I mean in terms of the Census Bureau, adding New Castle to the metro, I hadn't heard that before. It makes sense though.

[Evergrey]

I believe New Castle / Lawrence County was added to the CMSA 2 or 3 years ago.

The latest Census estimates for Pittsburgh-New Castle have the population just under 2.5 mil.

[globalburgh]

I believe New Castle / Lawrence County was added to the CMSA 2 or 3 years ago.

The latest Census estimates for Pittsburgh-New Castle have the population just under 2.5 mil.

I did some net research and discovered the change happened in 2003:

Revised Definitions of Metropolitan Statistical Areas

There are a number of supporting documents defining the new criteria, but I did read that commuting patterns play a significant role in the decision.

If you want to read everything, go here:

Statistical Areas Redefined