Metropolitan Areas in California (1990 Census)

The general concept of a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is one of a large population nucleus, together with adjacent communities that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that nucleus. These areas will consist of one or more whole counties. Every ten years after the federal decennial census, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reviews the commute patterns and economic dependencies between counties and changes the MSA criteria.

Below is the list of MSAs in California based on the 1990 census definition. The counties that make up the MSA are shown in parenthesis. For a current listing visit Metropolitan Areas (2010 Census).

Bakersfield MSA (Kern County)
Chico-Paradise MSA (Butte County)
Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties)
Los Angeles-Long Beach PMSA (Los Angeles County)
Merced MSA (Merced County)
Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County)
Oakland PMSA (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties)
Orange County PMSA (Orange County)
Redding MSA (Shasta County)
Riverside-San Bernardino PMSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties)
Sacramento PMSA (Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado Counties)
Salinas MSA (Monterey County)
San Diego MSA (San Diego County)
San Francisco PMSA (Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties)
San Jose PMSA (Santa Clara County)
San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County)
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc MSA (Santa Barbara County)
Santa Cruz-Watsonville PMSA (Santa Cruz County)
Santa Rosa PMSA (Sonoma County)
Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County)
Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa PMSA (Napa and Solano Counties)
Ventura PMSA (Ventura County)
Visalia-Tulare-Porterville MSA (Tulare County)
Yolo PMSA (Yolo County)
Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties)

The definitions used following the 1990 census include the following criteria:

A place with a minimum population of 50,000 or a Census Bureau-defined urbanized area
Total population of at least 100,000
Comprises one or more counties. May also include one or more outlying counties that have close economic and social relationships with the central county. An outlying county must have a specified level of commuting to the central counties and also must meet certain standards regarding metropolitan character, such as population density, urban population, and population growth.

There are three types of MSA's:

Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA): If an area has more than one million people, primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSA) may be defined within it. PMSAs consist of a large urbanized county or cluster of counties that demonstrate very strong internal economic and social links, in addition to close ties to other portions of the larger area. When PMSAs are established, the larger area of which they are component parts is designated a Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA).

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA): Metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) are relatively freestanding MAs and are not closely associated with other MAs. These areas typically are surrounded by nonmetropolitan counties.