Metropolitan Statistical Area - MSA

A formal definition of metropolitan areas established by the Office of Management and Budget, a division of the U.S. Government. Metropolitan statistical areas serve to group counties and cities into specific geographic areas for the purposes of a population census and the compilation of related statistical data.



|||An earlier version of metropolitan statistical areas were known as standard metropolitan statistical areas (SMSAs). Modern MSAs are configured to represent contiguous geographic areas with a relatively high density of human population.