At the end of February, the census put out new lists of metro areas based on the 2010 census. The metropolitan (>50,000) and micropolitan (>10,000) areas are drawn up based on “a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.” That means counties with commuters to multiple surrounding areas, such as Cedar and Tama, don’t get included in any of them. The Census Bureau noted that it had changed the definition of Combined Statistical Areas, which affected Iowa too. The only map available online is pretty rough, though (PDF).
West Des Moines officially got equal billing with Des Moines at the end of 2005 (PDF) after reaching 50,000 population. Here’s how things stand now, with changes in bold:
- One-county micropolitan areas: Boone (Boone), Clinton (Clinton), Fairfield (Jefferson), Fort Dodge (Webster), Marshalltown (Marshall), Muscatine (Muscatine; Louisa is out), Newton (Jasper), Oskaloosa (Mahaska), Spencer (Clay), Spirit Lake (Dickinson), Storm Lake (Buena Vista). Pella (Marion) is off the list.
- Multi-county micropolitan areas: Burlington (Des Moines and Henderson IL), Mason City (Cerro Gordo and Worth), Ottumwa (Wapello and now Davis). Hancock County IL has been added to Lee IA and Clark MO for Fort Madison-Keokuk, creating a three-county, three-state micro area.
- Metropolitan areas entirely within Iowa: Ames (Story), Cedar Rapids (Benton-Linn-Jones), Des Moines-West Des Moines (Polk-Dallas-Guthrie-Madison-Warren), Dubuque (Dubuque), Iowa City (Johnson-Washington), Waterloo-Cedar Falls (Black Hawk-Grundy-Bremer).
- Metropolitan areas on the border: Davenport-Moline-Rock Island (Scott plus three in Illinois), Omaha-Council Bluffs (Harrison-Pottawattamie-Mills plus five in Nebraska), Sioux City (Woodbury and now Plymouth, two in Nebraska, Union SD). Also of note, Fillmore County MN, which borders Iowa, is now part of the Rochester MSA; Houston County MN in the southeast corner remains in the La Crosse WI MSA; and all three South Dakota counties that border Iowa are in MSAs (Union with Sioux City, Minnehaha and Lincoln with Sioux Falls).
- Combined Statistical Areas: Cedar Rapids-Iowa City is a new five-county CSA. Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines is a six-county CSA, replacing Ames-Boone and Des Moines-Newton-Pella. Clinton, Muscatine, and Scott counties are in a new Davenport-Moline CSA, three counties in Iowa and three in Illinois.
- All told, 38 of 99 counties are in metropolitan or micropolitan areas.
I wonder if the closing of Maytag was a major factor in the central Iowa change. Also, it’s likely only a matter of time before West Des Moines bumps Ames in naming position.