Eddie On Everything

List of the Largest Metro Areas in the United States

June 4, 2006 on 10:52 pm | In lists, stats |

Big cities are one thing - I have a list of the largest cities in the US here. But big Metro areas area a completely different breed of animal.

There is a lot of disagreement over exactly how the measure “Metropolitan Area” should be defined. Some cities include only their immediate neighbors, while others include cities that are up to 60 miles away. (!)

I’m no expert, but as a long-time Washington, DC resident, I can tell you that it’s very misleading to include 40 mile away Baltimore City in the Washington Metro area. And it’s utterly RIDICULOUS to include ANY part of West Virginia — come on people, look at a map. West Virginia is NOT part of Washington, DC.

But that doesn’t stop the powers-that-be from including far-flung areas in their definition of “metro area.”

This list is interesting, but take it with a grain of salt.

25 Largest Metro Areas in the U.S.

Rank	Metropolitan Area	State(s)	Population
1	New York.Northern New Jersey.Long Island	NY.NJ.PA	18,709,802
2	Los Angeles.Long Beach.Santa Ana	CA	12,925,330
3	Chicago.Naperville.Joliet	IL.IN.WI	9,391,515
4	Philadelphia.Camden.Wilmington	PA.NJ.DE.MD	5,800,614
5	Dallas.Fort Worth.Arlington	TX	5,700,256
6	Miami.Fort Lauderdale.Miami Beach	FL	5,361,723
8	Washington.Arlington.Alexandria	DC.VA.MD.WV	5,139,549
9	Atlanta.Sandy Springs.Marietta	GA	4,708,297
10	Detroit.Warren.Livonia	MI	4,493,165
11	Boston.Cambridge.Quincy	MA.NH	4,424,649
12	San Francisco.Oakland.Fremont	CA	4,153,870
13	Riverside.San Bernardino.Ontario	CA	3,793,081
14	Phoenix.Mesa.Scottsdale	AZ	3,715,360
15	Seattle.Tacoma.Bellevue	WA	3,166,828
16	Minneapolis.St. Paul.Bloomington	MN	3,116,206
17	San Diego.Carlsbad.San Marcos	CA	2,931,714
18	St. Louis	MO.IL	2,764,054
19	Baltimore.Towson	MD	2,639,213
20	Tampa.St. Petersburg.Clearwater	FL	2,587,967
21	Pittsburgh	PA.WV	2,401,575
22	Denver.Aurora	CO	2,330,146
23	Cleveland.Elyria.Mentor	OH	2,137,073
24	Portland.Vancouver.Beaverton	OR.WA	2,064,336
25	Cincinnati.Middletown	OH	2,058,221

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• List of the 50 Largest Cities in the United States
• List of the World's 100 Most Populated Metro Areas
• List of the World's Most Populous Cities