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ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE
February
22, 2005
OMB BULLETIN
NO. 05-02
TO THE HEADS
OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND ESTABLISHMENTS
SUBJECT:
Update of Statistical Area Definitions and Guidance on Their Uses
1.
Purpose: This bulletin updates and supersedes OMB Bulletin No.
04-03, issued on February 18, 2004. The attachment to the bulletin provides the detailed information on the update of statistical
areas since that time. These changes to the statistical areas take effect
immediately. The bulletin also provides guidance to Federal agencies that
use the definitions of these statistical areas for program administrative
and fund allocation purposes.
2.
Background: Pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 3504(e)(3) and 31 U.S.C. 1104(d)
and Executive Order No. 10253 (June 11, 1951), the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) defines Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan
Statistical Areas, Combined Statistical Areas, and New England City and
Town Areas for use in Federal statistical activities. These areas, as
well as principal cities, are updated annually to reflect changes in population
estimates.
3.
Update of Statistical Areas: This bulletin provides the definitions
of all Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Metropolitan Divisions, Micropolitan
Statistical Areas, Combined Statistical Areas, and New England City and
Town Areas in the United States and Puerto Rico based on the standards
published on December 27, 2000, in the Federal Register (65 FR
82228 - 82238) and Census 2000 data as well as Census Bureau population
estimates for 2002 and 2003. The attachment highlights updates to the
statistical areas and principal cities. The appendix
to this bulletin provides complete listings of all statistical areas that
are recognized under the standards.
4.
Guidance on Uses of Statistical Area Definitions: All agencies
that conduct statistical activities to collect and publish data for Metropolitan,
Micropolitan, and Combined Statistical Areas, and New England City and
Town Areas, should use the most recent definitions of these areas established
by OMB.
OMB establishes
and maintains the definitions of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical
Areas, Combined Statistical Areas, and New England City and Town Areas
solely for statistical purposes. This classification is intended to provide
nationally consistent definitions for collecting, tabulating, and publishing
Federal statistics for a set of geographic areas. The Metropolitan and
Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards do not equate to an urban-rural
classification; many counties included in Metropolitan and Micropolitan
Statistical Areas, and many other counties, contain both urban and rural
territory and populations.
Nonstatistical
Program Uses of the Statistical Area Definitions. In periodically
reviewing and revising the definitions of these areas, OMB does not take
into account or attempt to anticipate any nonstatistical uses that may
be made of the definitions, nor will OMB modify the definitions to meet
the requirements of any nonstatistical program. Thus, OMB cautions that
Metropolitan Statistical Area and Micropolitan Statistical Area definitions
should not be used to develop and implement Federal, state, and local
nonstatistical programs and policies without full consideration of the
effects of using these definitions for such purposes. These areas are
not intended to serve as a general-purpose geographic framework for nonstatistical
activities, and they may or may not be suitable for use in program funding
formulas.
OMB recognizes
that some legislation specifies the use of Metropolitan Statistical Areas
for program purposes, including the allocation of Federal funds, and will
continue to work with the Congress to clarify the foundations of these
definitions and the resultant, often unintended consequences of their
use for nonstatistical purposes.
In cases
where there is no statutory requirement and an agency elects to use the
Metropolitan, Micropolitan, or Combined Statistical Area definitions in
nonstatistical programs, it is the sponsoring agency's responsibility
to ensure that the definitions are appropriate for such use. When an agency
is publishing for comment a proposed regulation that would use the definitions
for a nonstatistical purpose, the agency should seek public comment on
the proposed use.
An agency
using the statistical definitions in a nonstatistical program may modify
the definitions, but only for the purposes of that program. In such cases,
any modifications should be clearly identified as deviations from the
OMB statistical area definitions in order to avoid confusion with OMB’s
official definitions of Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Combined Statistical
Areas.
Federal agencies
that use the statistical area definitions for nonstatistical program purposes
should note that the 2000 standards changed the terminology used for classifying
the areas. Under the 1980 and 1990 standards there were two types of areas:
(1) Metropolitan Statistical Areas and (2) Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical
Areas that consisted of Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The terms
“Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area” and “Primary
Metropolitan Statistical Area” are now obsolete.
Under the
2000 standards, “Metropolitan Statistical Area” and “Micropolitan
Statistical Area” are the terms used for the basic set of county-based
areas defined under this classification. In addition, the term “Metropolitan
Division” is used to refer to a county or group of counties within
a Metropolitan Statistical Area that has a population core of at least
2.5 million. A Metropolitan Division is most generally comparable in concept,
and equivalent to, the now obsolete Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area.
While a Metropolitan
Division is a subdivision of a larger Metropolitan Statistical Area, it
often functions as a distinct social, economic, and cultural area within
the larger region. Metropolitan Divisions retain their separate statistical
identities. Federal agencies will continue to provide detailed data for
each Metropolitan Division, just as they did in the past for the Primary
Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
If Federal
agencies have been using the Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas for
program administrative and fund allocation purposes, they should now consider
using the Metropolitan Division definitions, the comparable geographic
units of the classification based on the 2000 standards. Research and
analyses that previously used data for Primary Metropolitan Statistical
Areas should now use data for Metropolitan Divisions. Data users and analysts
interested in demographic and economic patterns, trends, and processes
within large Metropolitan Statistical Areas should consider data for specific
Metropolitan Divisions when conducting analyses.
Users making
comparisons with areas defined under the 1990 standards should note that
when the 2000 standards were applied, the result, in some cases, was to
create several areas from an existing Metropolitan Statistical Area. The
resulting reconfigured areas may also qualify under the 2000 standards
to form a complementary Combined Statistical Area, while retaining their
separate designations as Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Areas.
In these situations, the Combined Statistical Area may be the approximate
geographic equivalent of the previous Metropolitan Statistical Area, and
thus may be the more appropriate geographic unit for analytic and program
purposes.
Federal agencies
will be making economic and demographic data available for Metropolitan
and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, Metropolitan Divisions, New England
City and Town Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas. Because of sample
sizes and associated data quality and confidentiality issues, there may
be instances where agencies will produce data only at the level of Combined
Statistical Areas.
5.
Electronic Availability of Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Combined Statistical
Areas and New England City and Town Area Definitions: This bulletin
is available electronically from the OMB web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/OMB
-- go to “Bulletins” or “Statistical Programs and Standards.”
The 2000 Standards for Defining Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical
Areas are available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/metroareas122700.pdf.
(Historical definitions of Metropolitan Statistical Areas are available
from the Census Bureau’s web site at: http://www.census.gov.)
6.
Inquiries: Inquiries concerning the Metropolitan and Micropolitan
Statistical Area Standards and the statistical uses of their definitions
should be directed to Suzann Evinger (202-395-3093). Inquiries about uses
of the statistical area definitions in program administration or regulation
should be directed to the appropriate agency.
|
Joshua B. Bolten
Director |
Attachments:
Attachment
- Updates to Statistical Areas (2 pages, 19 kb)
Appendix - Lists of Statistical Areas (146 pages, 1,204 kb)