In direct communication with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) we confirmed that this is an unusually large update because it incorporates commuting patterns from the American Community Survey five-year estimates, a policy announced in the June 2010 Federal Register (75 FR 37245).
Pending changes
- Timeline to apply geo code changes to subsystems.
- The 18-04 reference file will contain correspondences to geo codes of the 1990 and 2000 vintages.
Summary
Comparative counts of each type of CBSA and NECTA in the most recent OMB listings; when assessing the scope, avoid double-counting.
| Apr 2018 | Sep 2018 |
All types of core-based statistical area (CBSA) |
946 |
938 |
Metropolitan statistical area (MSA) |
390 |
392 |
Of which: Metro division |
31 |
31 |
Micropolitan area |
556 |
546 |
Combined statistical area (CSA) |
175 |
175 |
New England city and town area (NECTA) |
39 |
40 |
Of which: NECTA division |
10 |
11 |
Combined NECTA |
7 |
7 |
Changes by type of area
Metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
- 2 MSAs have been added.
- 0 MSAs have been removed.
- 76 MSAs changed their county definitions:
- 36 MSAs have lost counties
- 44 MSAs have gained counties
- 2 MSAs have changed names and FIPS codes, but retain the same definition.
- 33 MSAs have changes to titles, but not their FIPS codes or boundaries.
Metropolitan division
- 1 metropolitan division has been added.
- 1 metropolitan division has been removed.
- 7 metropolitan divisions changed their county definitions:
- 4 metropolitan divisions have lost counties
- 3 metropolitan divisions has gained a county
- 2 metropolitan divisions have changed names and FIPS codes, but retain the same definition.
- 5 metropolitan divisions have changes to their titles, but have not changed FIPS codes or boundaries.
Micropolitan area
- 6 micropolitan areas have been added.
- 16 micropolitan areas have been removed.
- 47 micropolitan areas have changed definitions:
- 16 micropolitan areas have lost counties
- 34 micropolitan areas have gained counties
- 4 micropolitan areas have changed names and FIPS codes, but retain the same definition.
- 5 micropolitan areas have changes to their titles, but have not changed FIPS codes or boundaries.
Combined statistical area (CSA) [Updated]
- 14 CSAs have been added.
- 14 CSAs have been removed.
- 62 CSAs have changed definitions:
- 27 CSAs have lost components
- 28 CSAs have gained components
- 19 CSA components have changed boundaries
- 1 CSAs has changed FIPS codes, but retains the same definition.
- 7 CSAs have changes to their titles, but have not changed FIPS codes or boundaries.
New England city and town area (NECTA)
- 2 NECTAs have been added:
- 1 Micropolitan NECTA has been added from Bulletin No. 15-01.
- 1 Micropolitan NECTA has been added from Bulletin No. 18-04.
- 0 NECTAs have been removed.
- 32 NECTAs have changed definitions:
- 22 NECTAs have lost Cities or Towns
- 22 NECTAs have gained Cities or Towns
- 0 NECTAs have changed names and FIPS codes, but retain the same definition.
- 0 NECTAs have changes to their titles, but have not changed FIPS codes or boundary changes.
NECTA division
- 1 NECTA division have been added.
- 0 NECTA divisions have been removed.
- 8 NECTA divisions have changed definitions:
- 8 NECTAs have lost Cities or Towns
- 8 NECTAs have gained Cities or Towns
- 0 NECTA divisions have changed names and FIPS codes, but retain the same definition.
- 1 NECTA divisions have changes to their titles, but have not changed FIPS codes or boundaries.
Combined NECTA
- 1 Combined NECTAs has been added from Bulletin No. 15-01.
- 0 Combined NECTAs have been removed.
- 2 Combined NECTAs have changed definitions:
- 0 Combined NECTAs have lost NECTAs
- 2 Combined NECTAs have gained NECTAs
- 0 Combined NECTAs have changed names and FIPS, but retain the same definition.
- 0 Combined NECTAs have changes to their titles, but have not changed FIPS codes.
Our response
When defining new geo codes, we will follow this rule set:
- New MA geo code if a new component has been added
- New MA geo code if the area has changed title and FIPS code, even if it retains the same components
- New MA geo code if the components have changed, regardless of the FIPS code
- Keep MA geo code if the FIPS code is unchanged and components are unchanged, even if the title changes
Note that FIPS codes are unique only within a single delineation, but across delineations, they are commonly reused. That is, if the "spirit" of an area is retained, even if its composition changes, OMB will preserve the name and FIPS code. Data Buffet's geo codes are more specific.
We are in communication with major U.S. government statistical agencies regarding their respective timelines to implement the new delineations. Details will be posted in articles specific to each release.
Moody's Analytics has added a "USA - Metropolitan Areas (CBSA 2010) - September 2018 (OMB Bulletin No. 18-04)" reference file. This Excel workbook contains numerous lists defining and organizing each type of CBSA defined by the OMB in September 2018. Each list contains descriptive titles, FIPS codes, and the Data Buffet geo code. It also contains the county composition of each areas.
Pending: The 18-04 file will contain correspondences to geo codes of the 1990 and 2000 vintages.
To download the reference file:
- Go to: DataBuffet.com » menu:Tools » Reference Files » Geographies » USA - Metropolitan Areas (CBSA 2010) - September 2018 (OMB Bulletin No. 18-04) [NEW]
- Direct link: IUSA_CBSA2010_1804_20190306.xlsx
Previous vintages are also available:
- Go to: DataBuffet.com » menu:Tools » Reference Files » Geographies » USA - Metropolitan Areas (CBSA 2010) - April 2018 (OMB Bulletin No. 18-03)
- Direct link: CBSA_2010Mapping.xlsx
We have created separate geo lists for the 18-03 and 18-04 delineations for each CBSA sub-type. There are 9 of each, for example:
- CBSA10_1803_METDIV.LST - CBSA 2010 (OMB 18-04) - List of Metropolitan Areas + Divisions (421)
- CBSA10_1804_X_METROWDIV.LST - CBSA 2010 (OMB 18-04)- List of Metropolitan Areas and Metropolitan Divisions excluding Metros with divisions and Puerto Rico Metropolitan Areas. (404)
References
See also
Additional details and similar geo changes:
Using geographies in Data Buffet:
Updates
- 30 Jan 2019 - Initial version
- 6 Mar - Updated counts, added reference file information, removed attachment but linked to reference files.
- 20 Mar - Updated counts for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions.
- 6 Jun - Referenced the 18-03 vs. 18-04 geo lists.
- 29 January 2020 - Updated CSA counts, and links to reference files.
- 13 May 2020 - Changed title from "OMB areas [2018]" to "OMB Bulletin No. 18-04".