	Background

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) designations of metropolitan areas—officially called "core-based statistical areas" (CBSAs)—can attract congressional attention in part because they can be important to congressional constituents. This interest can be heightened insofar as the standards are used in a particular way unintended by OMB, in formulas for allocating certain federal grant program funds. Introduction to the 2010 Standards

In a June 28, 2010, Federal Register notice, OMB announced the standards for delineating core-based statistical areas—the two categories of which are metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas—during the decade 2010 to 2020. The terms "core-based statistical area" and "micropolitan" first were used in the 2000 standards. The Federal Register notice also presented the 2010 standards for delineating New England city and town areas (NECTAs), which are conceptually similar to CBSAs. The new standards, superseding those for 2000 to 2010, differ only slightly from the previous decade's and incorporate the changes recommended by the Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area Standards Review Committee. Newly delineated NECTAs and their components were issued then, too. Producing these lists involved applying the 2010 standards to population data from the 2010 census, as well as employment and commuting data from the Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) estimates for 2006 through 2010. Hence, although OMB establishes the criteria for designating metropolitan areas, Census Bureau data are used to generate the specific areas. CBSAs comprise whole counties and county equivalents in the United States and Puerto Rico. Counties that do not qualify to be in CBSAs are classified as "outside core-based statistical areas." New England city and town areas, like CBSAs, contain either urbanized areas or urban clusters and are called either "metropolitan" or "micropolitan." Principal Cities of CBSAs and NECTAs

CBSAs have one or more principal cities, which include
the most populous incorporated place in the CBSA with a 2010 census population of at least 10,000 people, or, if the CBSA contains no such place, the most populous incorporated place or census designated place (CDP); any additional incorporated place or CDP with a 2010 census population of at least 250,000 people, or where 100,000 or more people work; any additional incorporated place or CDP with a 2010 census population of at least 50,000 but fewer than 250,000 people, "in which the number of workers working in the place meets or exceeds the number of workers living in the place"; and any additional incorporated place or CDP with a 2010 census population of at least 10,000 but fewer than 50,000 people, which also has at least one-third the population size of the CBSA's most populous place, and where "the number of workers working in the place meets or exceeds the number of workers living in the place." Central and Outlying Counties of CBSAs

CBSAs have one or more central counties. A main county is automatically the basis for a metropolitan division. Updating the Designations After 2013

As previously mentioned, OMB released, on February 28, 2013, the lists of CBSAs and NECTAs delineated according to the 2010 standards. Difficulty of Ascertaining How the Designations Affect Federal Funds Distribution

No direct procedure exists for calculating precisely the amount of money distributed through all federal grant programs that use metropolitan area designations (referring to metropolitan statistical areas or micropolitan statistical areas), or for determining how changes in the delineations of specific jurisdictions affect the total funding allocated to them. Even generating a comprehensive list of programs whose funding formulas refer to these designations would be problematic. Other Strategies

Finding comprehensively which programs use metropolitan area designations would require reviewing the statutes, regulations, and formulas associated with all programs. Metropolitan Area Status and Eligibility for Federal Funds

If a complete list of programs whose formulas use metropolitan area designations were available, it would be only the beginning of any attempt to determine whether inclusion in, or exclusion from, a particular metropolitan area or its components translates directly into an increase or decrease in the funds a particular jurisdiction might receive from all federal grant programs that rely on these designations. Again, the question would have to be addressed program by program and posed to department or agency program staff.
On June 28, 2010, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced its uniform criteria, or "standards," for delineating metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas in the decade 2010 to 2020. Together, these areas are known informally as "metropolitan areas" and officially as "core-based statistical areas" (CBSAs); "core" refers to a large population concentration that is socially and economically integrated with surrounding territory. Also announced were the standards for delineating New England city and town areas (NECTAs), which are conceptually similar to CBSAs. The 2010 standards supersede those for designating metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas in the decade 2000 to 2010. The terms "core-based statistical area" and "micropolitan" first were used in the 2000 standards. The current standards have changed only slightly from the previous decade's. Changes include reference to "delineating," instead of "defining," CBSAs and NECTAs; a lower threshold for the automatic combination of two CBSAs; and no further provision for local opinion to influence whether some areas will combine or what titles combined areas will receive.
CBSAs consist of whole counties and county-equivalents in the United States and Puerto Rico. Each CBSA must contain at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more people (for a metropolitan statistical area) or at least one urban cluster of 10,000 to 49,999 people (for a micropolitan statistical area). CBSAs have one or more principal cities and central counties. Outlying counties are included in CBSAs on the basis of employment and commuting data. Counties that do not qualify for inclusion in CBSAs are classified as "outside core-based statistical areas." The criteria for designating NECTAs closely resemble the CBSA criteria, and NECTAs are either metropolitan or micropolitan, but they are based on cities and towns rather than counties.
On February 28, 2013, OMB issued the actual lists of CBSAs—the titles of the areas, with their principal city and county components. NECTAs and their components were listed, too. The lists were derived by applying the OMB standards to population data from the 2010 census, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce), as well as employment and commuting data from the Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) estimates for 2006 through 2010. After 2013, updated data are to be used for any changes in the lists.
In principle, metropolitan area delineations are to be used solely for descriptive, statistical purposes. In practice, however, they can have a use unintended by OMB, in formulas for allocating certain federal grant program funds. For this reason, among other reasons, CBSAs can attract congressional attention because they can be important to congressional constituents.
No straightforward procedure exists for calculating the exact amount of money distributed through all federal grant programs whose funding formulas incorporate metropolitan area designations, or for determining how changes in these designations might affect the total funding allocated to a specific jurisdiction. Even identifying comprehensively which programs use metropolitan area designations would require reviewing the statutes, regulations, and formulas associated with all programs. If such identification were feasible, it would be only the beginning of any attempt to determine whether inclusion in, or exclusion from, a particular metropolitan area or its components translates directly into an increase or decrease in the money a particular jurisdiction might receive from all federal grant programs whose funding formulas rely on these designations. The question then would have to be addressed program by program and posed to department or agency program staff.