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The U.S. State of North Carolina currently has 48 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated nine combined statistical areas, 15 metropolitan statistical areas, and 24 micropolitan statistical areas in North Carolina.[1] As of 2023, the largest of these is the Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA, comprising the state's largest city of Charlotte and its suburbs.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated more than 1,000 statistical areas for the United States and Puerto Rico.[2] These statistical areas are important geographic delineations of population clusters used by the OMB, the United States Census Bureau, planning organizations, and federal, state, and local government entities.
The OMB defines a core-based statistical area (commonly referred to as a CBSA) as the county or counties (or county-equivalents) surrounding at least one densely-settled core of at least 10,000 population,[2] "plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core".[2] The OMB further divides core-based statistical areas based on population into metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for those with at least 50,000 and micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs) for those with 10,000 to 49,999 people.[2]
The OMB defines a combined statistical area (CSA) as two or more adjacent core-based statistical areas where the employment interchange rate (% commuting from A to B plus % commuting from B to A) is at least 15%.[2] The primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area.
Primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area. Of the 48 statistical areas of North Carolina, 16 are PSAs comprising nine combined statistical areas, three metropolitan statistical areas and four micropolitan statistical areas.
| 2020 rank | Primary statistical area[1] | Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 estimate[3] | Change | 2020 Census[4] | Change | 2010 Census[5] | ||
| 1 | Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA (NC) | 2,948,354 | +4.48% | 2,821,806 | +13.91% | 2,477,251 |
| 2 | Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC CSA | 2,368,947 | +5.65% | 2,242,324 | +21.02% | 1,852,813 |
| 3 | Greensboro–-Winston-Salem–-High Point, NC CSA | 1,736,099 | +2.41% | 1,695,306 | +6.68% | 1,589,200 |
| 4 | Fayetteville-Lumberton-Pinehurst, NC CSA | 693,299 | +1.93% | 680,187 | +1.28% | 671,594 |
| 5 | Asheville-Waynesville-Brevard, NC CSA | 513,720 | +2.33% | 502,001 | +9.62% | 457,948 |
| 6 | Wilmington, NC MSA | 467,337 | +10.59% | 422,598 | +16.64% | 362,315 |
| 7 | Rocky Mount-Wilson-Roanoke Rapids, NC CSA | 288,366 | −0.13% | 288,747 | −6.98% | 310,416 |
| 8 | Greenville-Washington, NC CSA | 219,600 | +2.19% | 214,895 | −0.47% | 215,907 |
| 9 | Jacksonville, NC MSA | 213,676 | +4.45% | 204,576 | +15.08% | 177,772 |
| 10 | New Bern-Morehead City, NC CSA | 193,830 | +2.09% | 189,854 | −1.77% | 193,271 |
| 11 | Virginia Beach-Chesapeake, VA-NC CSA (NC) | 132,627 | +4.91% | 126,416 | +5.08% | 120,305 |
| 12 | Goldsboro, NC MSA | 118,686 | +1.15% | 117,333 | −4.31% | 122,623 |
| 13 | North Wilkesboro, NC μSA | 66,013 | +0.07% | 65,969 | −4.86% | 69,340 |
| 14 | Forest City, NC μSA | 65,507 | +1.65% | 64,444 | −4.96% | 67,810 |
| 15 | Kinston, NC μSA | 54,895 | −0.41% | 55,122 | −7.35% | 59,495 |
| 16 | Boone, NC μSA | 54,748 | +1.22% | 54,086 | +5.89% | 51,079 |
| Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA | 3,387,115 | +4.79% | 3,232,206 | +14.90% | 2,813,116 | |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake, VA-NC CSA | 1,866,723 | +0.49% | 1,857,542 | +5.04% | 1,768,441 | |
- An out-of-state area and its population are displayed in green. An area that extends into more than one state is displayed in purple. A purple population number over a black population number show the total population versus the in-state population. The state's abbreviation is also shown next to the in-state total.
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