The Abilene metropolitan statistical area is a

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

in west-central Texas that covers three counties—

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

, Jones, and Callahan. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 176,579.

Counties

* Callahan * Jones *

Communities

Places with more than 100,000 people

* Abilene (Principal city)

Places with 5,000 to 100,000 people

Dyess AFB Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about southwest of downtown Abilene, Texas, and west of Fort Worth, Texas. The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Global Strike Command Eig ...

Places with 2,500 to 5,000 people

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

* Merkel * Stamford (partial)

Places with 1,000 to 2,500 people

Anson Anson may refer to: People * Anson (name), a give name and surname ** Anson family, a British aristocratic family with the surname Place names ;United States * Anson, Indiana * Anson, Kansas * Anson, Maine ** Anson (CDP), Maine * Anson, Missour ...

* Baird * Hamlin (partial) * Potosi * Tye

Places with fewer than 1,000 people

* Buffalo Gap * Cross Plains * Hawley *

Impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impac ...

Lawn A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. ...

* Lueders * Putnam * Trent * Tuscola

Unincorporated places

* Avoca *

Caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

* Cottonwood *

Eula An end-user license agreement or EULA () is a legal contract between a software supplier and a customer or end-user, generally made available to the customer via a retailer acting as an intermediary. A EULA specifies in detail the rights and restr ...

* Nugent * Ovalo * View * Hamby

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, 160,245 people, 58,475 households, and 40,799 families were residing within the MSA. The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the MSA was 81.52% White, 6.83% African American, 0.57% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 7.84% from other races, and 2.19% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 17.15% of the population. The median income for a household in the MSA was $32,023 and for a family was $37,805. Males had a median income of $27,647 versus $19,523 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $19,523.

Transportation

Traffic problems

A few areas in the MSA are prone to traffic problems. These places are along the

US 83 U.S. Route 83 (US 83) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that extends in the central United States. Only four other north–south routes are longer: US 1, US 41, US 59, and US 87, while ...

access roads (Clack and Danville) especially on the south side of Abilene, near the mall, on Southwest Drive from Elm Creek to the Winters Freeway, and on S 14th near the Winters Freeway.

Major highways

Interstates

Interstate 20 * Business Loop 20

I-20 has many business routes through the Abilene Metro Area.

US highways

US 80 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(former) * US 83

US 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short dist ...

US 180 U.S. Route 180 is an east–west United States highway. Like many three-digit routes, US 180 no longer meets its "parent", US 80. US 80 was decommissioned west of Mesquite, Texas, and was replaced in Texas by Interstate 20 and Interstate 10 ...

US 277 U.S. Route 277 (US 277, US-277) is a north–south United States Highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 77. It runs for 633 miles (1,019 km) across Oklahoma and Texas. US 277's northern terminus is in Newcastle, Oklahoma at I ...

US 283 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...