The Milwaukee metropolitan area (also known as Metro Milwaukee or Greater Milwaukee) is a major

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

located in Southeastern

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, consisting of the city of

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and some of the surrounding area. There are several definitions of the area, including the Milwaukee–Waukesha–West Allis metropolitan area and the Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha combined statistical area. It is the largest metropolitan area in Wisconsin, and the 39th largest metropolitan area in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Definitions

Metropolitan area

The U.S. Census Bureau defines the Milwaukee Metropolitan area as containing four counties in southeastern Wisconsin:

and the three WOW counties: Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha. The Metropolitan population of Milwaukee was 1,575,179 in the Census Bureau's 2019 estimate, making it the 39th largest in the United States. The city of Milwaukee is the hub of the metropolitan area. The eastern parts of Racine County, eastern parts of Waukesha County, southern part of Ozaukee County, southeastern part of Washington County, and remainder of Milwaukee County are the most urbanized parts of the outlying counties. The character of the area varies widely. Mequon, Brookfield, and the North Shore ( Fox Point, Whitefish Bay, River Hills, Shorewood, Glendale, Brown Deer, and Bayside) are more white-collar, while West Milwaukee, West Allis, and St. Francis are more blue-collar. Metro Milwaukee draws commuters from outlying areas such as Madison,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and the Fox Cities. It is part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis containing an estimated 54 million people.

Combined statistical area

The Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha Combined Statistical Area is made up of the Milwaukee–Waukesha–West Allis Metropolitan Statistical Area (Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee counties), the Racine Metropolitan Statistical Area ( Racine County), the Beaver Dam Micropolitan Statistical Area ( Dodge County), the Watertown-Fort Atkinson Micropolitan Area ( Jefferson County), and the Whitewater-Elkorn Micropolitan Area ( Walworth County) according to the U.S. Census. Updated definitions released in February 2013 added Dodge, Jefferson and Walworth Counties to the Milwaukee CSA. Kenosha, despite being just 32 miles from

and 50 miles from

, is included as part of the Chicago CSA, as Kenosha has more residents who commute to the Chicago area. As of the 2019 census estimates, the Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha Combined Statistical Area population was 2,047,966, the largest in Wisconsin and the 33rd largest in the United States. The Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha CSA shares an eastern border with the Madison MSA the Janesville- Beloit MSA which in turn are both a part of the Madison CSA.

Counties

There are eight

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the U.S. Census Bureau's Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha Combined statistical area.
/sup> * Dodge County, Wisconsin, Dodge * Jefferson *

* Ozaukee * Racine *

Walworth Walworth ( ) is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the ...

* Washington * Waukesha ISS030-E-223828

Cities (combined statistical area)

Primary

Other principal cities

* Racine * Waukesha

Metro area cities and villages with more than 10,000 inhabitants

Beaver Dam A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers; it creates a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, alligators, cougars, foxes, eagles, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify th ...

* Brookfield * Brown Deer * Burlington *

Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the forested region in the central and western Scottish Highlands, particularly stretching through parts of what are now Lochaber, Badenoch, Strathspey, and possibly as ...

* Cedarburg * Cudahy * Delavan * Elkhorn * Fort Atkinson * Franklin * Germantown * Glendale * Grafton * Greendale * Greenfield *

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

* Menomonee Falls * Mequon * Mount Pleasant * Muskego * New Berlin * Oak Creek * Oconomowoc * Pewaukee * Port Washington * Richfield * Shorewood * South Milwaukee *

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

* Watertown * Wauwatosa * West Allis * West Bend * Whitefish Bay *

Whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...

Metro area cities, towns and villages with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants

* Addison * Barton * Bayside *

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

* Big Bend * Bohners Lake * Brookfield (town) * Browns Lake * Brownsville * Butler *

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

(part) * Chenequa * Clyman * Columbus (part) * Darien * Delafield (city) * Delafield (town) * Dousman *

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

* Eagle Lake * East Troy * Elkhorn * Elm Grove * Elmwood Park * Erin * Farmington * Fox Lake * Fox Point * Franksville * Fredonia * Genesee * Germantown (town) * Hales Corners * Hartland * Herman * Horicon * Hustisford * Ixonia * Iron Ridge * Jackson * Jefferson * Johnson Creek * Juneau * Kekoskee * Kewaskum * Lac La Belle * Lake Geneva * Lake Mills * Lannon * Leroy *

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

* Lomira * Lowell * Mayville * Merton * Mukwonago * Nashotah * Neosho * Newburg * North Bay * North Prairie *

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

* Oconomowoc Lake * Okauchee Lake *

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...

* Pewaukee(village) * Polk * Randolph *

Raymond Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

* Reeseville * River Hills * Rochester * Rubicon * Saukville *

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

* Slinger * St. Francis * Sturtevant * Sullivan *

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

* Theresa * Thiensville * Trenton * Union Grove * Vernon *

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

* Waterloo * Waupun (part) * Wayne * West Milwaukee * Williams Bay * Wind Lake * Wind Point * Yorkville

Unincorporated Communities and Census Designated Places

* Allenton * Boltonville * Cheeseville * Colgate * Ebenezer * Farmersville * Fillmore * Genesee Depot * Herman Center * Hubertus * Kansasville * Kohlsville * Lake Church * Lakefield * Myra * Nabob * Nenno * North Cape * Oak Hill * Pipersville * Pike Lake * Rockfield * Saint Michaels * Saylesville * Saylesville * Stone Bank * Thompson * Tichigan * Ulao * Waubeka *

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

Debate over metropolitan government

Although each county and its various municipalities are self-governing, there is some cooperation in the metropolitan area. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is a state-chartered government agency which serves 28 municipalities in the five counties. At the same time, some in the area see the need for more consolidation in government services. The Kettl Commission and former Wisconsin Governor Scott McCallum have supported initiatives to do this. However, full consolidation has faced unsubstantiated criticism as a means of diluting minority voting power.

References

Metro Milwaukee Portal

External links

2003 article on consolidation of area governments
*https://web.archive.org/web/20170118134056/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/bulletins/2013/b-13-01.pdf {{Coord, 43, 15, N, 88, 10, W, region:US-WI_scale:750000, display=title Metropolitan areas of Wisconsin