A New England city and town area (NECTA) is a geographic and statistical entity defined by the U.S. federal government for use in the six-state New England region of the United States. NECTAs are analogous to metropolitan statistical areas and micropolitan statistical areas and are defined using the same criteria, except that they are defined on the basis of New England towns instead of entire counties. NECTAs are classified as either metropolitan or micropolitan NECTAs. A micropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000, whereas a metropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 50,000.

In New England, towns (which are classified by the United States Census Bureau as minor civil divisions) are a much more important level of government than counties. Because towns are smaller than counties, a NECTA usually provides a much closer approximation to the real metropolitan area than a metropolitan statistical area does.

Large NECTAs (with population greater than 2.5 million) may be subdivided into smaller groupings known as NECTA Divisions. Adjacent NECTAs that have a high degree of employment interchange may also be combined to form Combined NECTAS (or CNECTAs). NECTAs that are part of a CNECTA retain their separate identities.

Lists of NECTAs

Current list

NECTA divisions as of 2005

The following is a list of metropolitan and micropolitan NECTAs as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. Definitions are as of September 2018.[1]

Connecticut

Maine

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Vermont

Metropolitan NECTAs as of 2010 census

Rank NECTA State(s) 2010 Pop 2000 Pop Δ Pop
1 Boston–Cambridge–Quincy MA-NH 4,703,187 4,503,683 +4.43%
2 Providence–Fall River–Warwick RI-MA 1,301,595 1,292,942 +0.67%
3 Hartford–East Hartford–Middletown CT 1,121,463 1,059,878 +5.81%
4 Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk CT 926,465 892,283 +3.83%
5 Springfield MA-CT 683,800 660,837 +3.47%
6 New Haven CT 597,172 571,310 +4.53%
7 Worcester MA-CT 577,537 539,828 +6.99%
8 Portland–South Portland–Biddeford ME 357,412 333,624 +7.13%
9 Norwich–New London CT-RI 278,598 265,288 +5.02%
10 Barnstable Town MA 239,675 244,257 -1.88%
11 Waterbury CT 204,451 195,540 +4.56%
12 Burlington–South Burlington VT 198,627 187,105 +6.16%
13 Manchester NH 187,596 176,663 +6.19%
14 New Bedford MA 175,502 170,161 +3.14%
15 Danbury CT 163,260 155,304 +5.12%
16 Rochester–Dover NH-ME 149,471 135,367 +10.42%
17 Leominster–Fitchburg–Gardner MA 147,818 143,905 +2.72%
18 Bangor ME 135,632 124,906 +8.59%
19 Lewiston–Auburn ME 106,216 101,778 +4.36%
20 Portsmouth NH-ME 73,274 71,232 +2.87%
21 Pittsfield MA 72,051 73,297 -1.70%

References

  1. ^ "List 3. New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs), NECTA Divisions, and Combined NECTAs", Office of Management and Budget, September 2018

External links

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