Washington (state) statistical areas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The U.S. state of Washington has 29 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated six combined statistical areas, 13 metropolitan statistical areas, and ten micropolitan statistical areas in Washington.[1] As of 2025, the largest of these is the Seattle–Tacoma, WA CSA, anchored by Washington's largest city, Seattle and including its capital, Olympia.
The state historically had three metropolitan areas: Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. Seattle and Tacoma were eventually merged, while other metropolitan areas were added in the 1970s and 1980s.[2] There are 13 metropolitan areas that include areas in Washington; the largest is Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, which includes half of the state's population.[3]
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated more than 1,000 statistical areas for the United States and Puerto Rico.[4] 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.
Statistical areas
The OMB defines a core-based statistical area (CBSA) as the county or counties (or county-equivalents) surrounding at least one densely-settled core of at least 10,000 population,[4] "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".[4] The OMB further divides a CBSA based on population into a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) for those with at least 50,000 people or a micropolitan statistical area (μSA) for those with 10,000 to 49,999 people.[4]
The OMB defines a combined statistical area (CSA) as two or more adjacent CBSAs where the employment interchange rate (percent commuting from A to B plus percent commuting from B to A) is at least 15%.[4] A primary statistical area (PSA) includes all CSAs and any CBSA that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area.
| 2025 rank | Core-based statistical area[1] | Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 estimate[5] | Change | 2020 Census[6] | Change | 2010 Census[7] | ||
| 1 | Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, WA MSA | 4,161,883 | +3.56% | 4,018,762 | +16.83% | 3,439,809 |
| 2 | Spokane–Spokane Valley, WA MSA | 608,012 | +3.79% | 585,784 | +13.80% | 514,752 |
| 3 | Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA (WA) | 544,788 | +5.71% | 515,347 | +18.08% | 436,429 |
| 4 | Kennewick–Richland, WA MSA | 324,334 | +6.82% | 303,622 | +19.85% | 253,340 |
| 5 | Olympia–Lacey–Tumwater, WA MSA | 304,261 | +3.21% | 294,793 | +16.86% | 252,264 |
| 6 | Bremerton–Silverdale–Port Orchard, WA MSA | 283,374 | +2.82% | 275,611 | +9.75% | 251,133 |
| 7 | Yakima, WA MSA | 259,185 | +0.96% | 256,728 | +5.55% | 243,231 |
| 8 | Bellingham, WA MSA | 236,392 | +4.21% | 226,847 | +12.78% | 201,140 |
| 9 | Mount Vernon–Anacortes, WA MSA | 132,975 | +2.67% | 129,523 | +10.80% | 116,901 |
| 10 | Wenatchee–East Wenatchee, WA MSA | 128,414 | +5.25% | 122,012 | +10.04% | 110,884 |
| 11 | Longview–Kelso, WA MSA | 114,885 | +3.75% | 110,730 | +8.12% | 102,410 |
| 12 | Moses Lake, WA μSA | 105,727 | +6.66% | 99,123 | +11.22% | 89,120 |
| 13 | Oak Harbor, WA μSA | 85,657 | −1.38% | 86,857 | +10.64% | 78,506 |
| 14 | Centralia, WA μSA | 88,062 | +7.20% | 82,149 | +8.87% | 75,455 |
| 15 | Port Angeles, WA μSA | 78,202 | +1.36% | 77,155 | +8.05% | 71,404 |
| 16 | Aberdeen, WA μSA | 78,144 | +3.32% | 75,636 | +3.90% | 72,797 |
| 17 | Shelton, WA μSA | 71,165 | +8.28% | 65,726 | +8.28% | 60,699 |
| 18 | Walla Walla, WA MSA | 62,361 | −0.36% | 62,584 | +6.47% | 58,781 |
| 19 | Ellensburg, WA μSA | 48,803 | +10.07% | 44,337 | +8.36% | 40,915 |
| 20 | Pullman, WA μSA | 48,512 | +1.12% | 47,973 | +7.14% | 44,776 |
| 21 | Port Townsend, WA μSA | 33,970 | +3.01% | 32,977 | +10.39% | 29,872 |
| 22 | Lewiston, ID-WA MSA (WA) | 22,545 | +1.17% | 22,285 | +3.06% | 21,623 |
| 23 | Othello, WA μSA | 21,488 | +4.24% | 20,613 | +10.07% | 18,728 |
| Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA | 2,542,282 | +1.17% | 2,512,859 | +12.89% | 2,226,009 | |
| Lewiston, ID-WA MSA | 65,450 | +1.67% | 64,375 | +5.73% | 60,888 | |
| 2025 rank | Combined statistical area[1] | Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 estimate[5] | Change | 2020 Census[6] | Change | 2010 Census[7] | ||
| 1 | Seattle–Tacoma, WA CSA | 5,127,377 | +3.51% | 4,953,421 | +15.88% | 4,274,767 |
| 2 | Portland–Vancouver–Salem, OR-WA CSA (WA) | 659,673 | +5.37% | 626,077 | +16.19% | 538,839 |
| 3 | Spokane–Spokane Valley–Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID CSA (WA) | 608,012 | +3.79% | 585,784 | +13.80% | 514,752 |
| 4 | Kennewick–Richland–Walla Walla, WA CSA | 386,695 | +5.59% | 366,206 | +17.33% | 312,121 |
| 5 | Moses Lake–Othello, WA CSA | 127,215 | +6.25% | 119,736 | +11.02% | 107,848 |
| 6 | Pullman–Moscow, WA-ID CSA (WA) | 48,512 | +1.12% | 47,973 | +7.14% | 44,776 |
| Portland–Vancouver–Salem, OR-WA CSA | 3,333,552 | +1.61% | 3,280,736 | +12.30% | 2,921,408 | |
| Pullman–Moscow, WA-ID CSA | 90,354 | +3.27% | 87,490 | +6.67% | 82,020 | |
| Spokane–Spokane Valley–Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID CSA | 799,876 | +5.64% | 757,146 | +15.91% | 653,246 | |
See also
Notes
- 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.
- For CBSAs comprising populations from multiple states, they are listed twice to show both their intrastate population within that CBSA as well as the CBSA's total population. Only the intrastate population is ranked.
- For CSAs comprising populations from multiple states, they are listed twice to show both their intrastate population within that CSA as well as the CSA's total population. Only the intrastate population is ranked.
