Major Metropolitan Areas
The general concept of a metropolitan area is one of a large population nucleus, together with adjacent communities that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that nucleus. Metropolitan areas can be further broken down into metropolitan statistical areas or micropolitan statistical areas, which the U.S. Office of Management and Budget collectively refers to as Core-Based Statistical Areas.
The 2011 Compensation and Benchmark Survey results classify the respondents’ location as Major Metropolitan when the respondent’s aircraft is(are) based at an airport in the counties of the top 52 Core-Based Statistical Areas. As of July 1, 2009, these 52 Core-Based Statistical Areas have an estimated population of 1,000,000 people or more.
The respondents’ location will be classified as Non-Major Metropolitan when none of their aircraft are based at an airport in a county of the top 52 Core-Based Statistical Areas.
To get a better idea of the areas classified as Major Metropolitan, a list of the top 52 Core-Based Statistical Areas is provided below.
Top 52 Core-Based Statistical Areas Based on Estimated Population as of July 1, 2009
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
Austin-Round Rock, TX
Baltimore-Towson, MD
Birmingham-Hoover, AL
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI
Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH
Columbus, OH
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Denver-Aurora, CO
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
Indianapolis-Carmel, IN
Jacksonville, FL
Kansas City, MO-KS
Las Vegas-Paradise, NV
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
Memphis, TN-MS-AR
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
Oklahoma City, OK
Orlando-Kissimmee, FL
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Pittsburgh, PA
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA
Raleigh-Cary, NC
Richmond, VA
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
Rochester, NY
Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, CA
Salt Lake City, UT
San Antonio, TX
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
St. Louis, MO-IL
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
Tucson, AZ
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
