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