In the United States, a principal city is the largest incorporated place with a population of at least 10,000 in a

core-based statistical area A core-based statistical area (CBSA) is a U.S. geographic area defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It contains a large population nucleus, or urban area, and adjacent communities that have a high degree of integration with t ...

(CBSA) or New England city and town area (NECTA), or if no incorporated place of least 10,000 population is present in the CBSA or NECTA, the largest incorporated place or census designated place (CDP) in the CBSA or NECTA. Additional places that meet specific criteria are also identified as principal cities. The title of each metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area consists of the names of up to three of its principal cities and the name of each state into which the metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area extends. 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 ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

identifies principal cities for each

(CBSA) and New England city and town area (NECTA). Principal cities are used primarily for naming CBSAs and NECTAs, as well as combined statistical areas and combined NECTAs.

Definition

The largest

incorporated place The United States Census Bureau defines a place as a concentration of population which has a name, is locally recognized, and is not part of any other place. A place typically has a residential nucleus and a closely spaced street pattern, and it f ...

in a CBSA with a population of at least 10,000, or if no such incorporated place exists, the largest incorporated place or

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the CBSA is designated as the largest principal city. Additional principal cities can be included if they satisfy certain criteria depending on their population. These additional principal cities are: (a) incorporated or census-designated places that have a population of at least 250,000 in which the number of workers is 100,000 or more; (b) places with a population between 50,000 and 250,000 where the number of workers working in the place exceeds the number of working residents; and (c) places with a population between 10,000 and 50,000 where the number of workers working in the place exceeds the number of working residents and are at least one-third the population of the largest principal city. Principal cities encompass both

s and

s (CDPs). In addition to identifying the more significant places in each CBSA or NECTA in terms of population and employment, principal cities also are used in titling metropolitan divisions, combined statistical areas, NECTA divisions, and combined NECTAs. The names of up to three principal cities are used in determining the title of the CBSA and NECTA. The first principal city named in the title is identified as the first principal city of the area. Most recently on February 28, 2013, the

identified from one to 19 principal cities (in the Los Angeles metropolitan area) for each of the 929 CBSAs and 38 NECTAs of the United States and Puerto Rico. A principal city must be incorporated under state law, but it need not be classified as a city under state law; for example, Kiryas Joel is listed by the OMB as the largest principal city of the

Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area The Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, is an area consisting of two counties in New York (state), New York's Hudson Valley, with the municipalit ...

, despite the fact that under New York state law it is classified as a village not a city.

References

External links

United States Government

United States Census Bureau
*
2010 United States Census
*

United States Office of Management and Budget
*
OMB Bulletins
- includes OMB Bulletin No. 13-01, which lists principal cities for each CBSA and NECTA. {{USPopulousPSA Demographics of the United States Geography of Puerto Rico

Definition

See also

References

External links