The Blacksburg-Christiansburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, formerly the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) located in the New River Valley of Southwest Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 181,863 (a greater than 11.6 percent rise from the 2010 census population of 162,958). The MSA is dominated by the presence of Virginia Tech and Radford University. The area, known as the New River Valley (or NRV), has experienced tremendous growth in the last twenty years and continues to be among the fastest growing areas in Virginia. It is bordered by the Allegheny Mountains to the North and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the South, with the New River flowing through the valley itself. The central communities in the area consist of two towns and one city; state law draws a sharp distinction between cities, which are completely separate from counties, and towns, which are contained within counties. Blacksburg, the larger of the towns, is home to Virginia Tech, while Radford, the only city in the group, is home to Radford University. Christiansburg, a town which lies between Blacksburg and Radford, is the Montgomery County county seat and home to a branch of the New River Community College as well as hundreds of stores and restaurants and a historic downtown. MSA components Note: Since a state constitutional change in 1871, all cities in Virginia are independent cities that are not located in any county. The OMB considers these independent cities to be county-equivalents for the purpose of defining MSAs in Virginia. Three counties and one independent city are included in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. Counties Giles Montgomery Pulaski Independent Cities Radford Communities Places with more than 35,000 inhabitants Blacksburg (Principal city) Places with 10,000 to 30,000 inhabitants Christiansburg (Principal city) Radford Places with 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants Dublin Elliston-Lafayette (census-designated place) Fairlawn (census-designated place) Merrimac (census-designated place) Narrows Pearisburg Pembroke Pulaski Shawsville (census-designated place) Places with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants Belview (census-designated place) Glen Lyn Rich Creek Unincorporated places Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 151,272 people, 58,443 households, and 34,881 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 91.24% White, 4.34% African American, 0.18% Native American, 2.44% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races.