Search

About the FRED Blog

These brief articles use data and graphing features in FRED®, our free data service. They illustrate timely economic concepts and best practices for using data. Views expressed are not necesarily those of the St. Louis Fed or Federal Reserve System.

The takeaway

FRED is updating its metropolitan statistical area (MSA) maps to reflect the US Census Bureau's July 2023 core-based statistical area delineations. Here's what's changing and why it matters for users of FRED's geographic data tools.

Micropolitan areas are being removed

The most significant change is that FRED's MSA maps will no longer include micropolitan statistical areas. Previously, these smaller areas—urban clusters with populations between 10,000 and 50,000—peppered the map with gray shading wherever data weren't available for them. Dropping micro areas from the MSA map will make it visually cleaner and easier to read, with less gray "no data" territory throughout.

58 MSAs have been renamed

Along with structural updates, almost 60 MSAs have been renamed to reflect updated Census Bureau delineations. For example, "Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX" is now labeled "Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX," and "Birmingham-Hoover, AL" has been simplified to just "Birmingham, AL." Users searching for a familiar name might need to adjust their search terms if it no longer returns results.

12 new MSAs have appeared

In addition to renaming, a dozen MSAs are new to the 2023 delineations. Three of these are entirely new metropolitan areas that didn't exist under the prior standards, including "Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA" and "Waterbury-Shelton, CT." The remaining nine represent areas that graduated from micropolitan to metropolitan status, such as Eagle Pass, TX, Bozeman, MT, and Traverse City, MI. These updates ensure FRED's geographic tools stay aligned with the latest official statistical area definitions, even as they change the visual footprint of the maps you're used to seeing.

How this map was created: In FRED, search for “Resident Population in St. Louis, MO-IL (MSA).” Click on “View Map.”

Suggested by Diego Mendez-Carbajo and Maria Arias.

About the FRED Blog

These brief articles use data and graphing features in FRED®, our free data service. They illustrate timely economic concepts and best practices for using data. Views expressed are not necesarily those of the St. Louis Fed or Federal Reserve System.