(Population in thousands. Data for 1960, 1970, and 1980 include corrections made after publication of final census reports.)
| Year | METROPOLITAN DEFINITIONS REPORTED IN CENSUS | METROPOLITAN DEFINITIONS USING CURRENT STANDARDS/1 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of areas | Land area (square miles) | Population | Change since previous census/2 | Percent of U.S. total | Number of areas | Land area (square miles)3 | Population | Change since previous census/2 | Percent of U.S. total | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |||||||||
1Major metropolitan areas (MMAs; areas of one million or more population) as they would have been defined assuming current MA standards (those adopted in 1990) had been in effect. (Certain minor changes in the standards adopted in 1990 have not yet been fully checked for possible effects on 1940-80 definitions.) |
||||||||||||
| 1940 | 11 | 22,977 | 33,799 | (NA) | (NA) | 25.6 | ||||||
| 1950 | 14 | 35,170 | 44,946 | 7,116 | 18.8 | 29.7 | 14 | 39,026 | 45,524 | 7,369 | 19.3 | 30.1 |
| 1960 | 22 | 56,694 | 63,851 | 12,319 | 23.9 | 35.6 | 22 | 71,948 | 68,118 | 13,987 | 25.8 | 38.0 |
| 1970 | 31 | 111,857 | 83,332 | 11,998 | 14.4 | 41.0 | 32 | 144,800 | 95,103 | 14,529 | 18.0 | 46.8 |
| 1980 | 35 | 163,752 | 104,024 | 6,940 | 7.1 | 45.9 | 35 | 177,367 | 107,655 | 7,707 | 7.7 | 47.5 |
| 1990 | 40 | 187,334 | 124,776 | 13,444 | 12.1 | 50.2 | 40 | 232,030 | 132,713 | 14,225 | 12.0 | 53.4 |