The Milwaukee metropolitan area (also known as Metro Milwaukee or Greater Milwaukee) is a major

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

located in Southeastern

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, consisting of the city of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

and the surrounding area. There are several definitions of the area, including the Milwaukee–Waukesha–West Allis metropolitan area and the Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha combined statistical area. It is the largest metropolitan area in Wisconsin, and the 39th largest metropolitan area in the

United States 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., ...

Definitions

Metropolitan area

The U.S. Census Bureau defines the Milwaukee Metropolitan area as containing four counties in southeastern Wisconsin:

and the three WOW counties: Ozaukee,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and Waukesha. The Metropolitan population of Milwaukee was 1,575,179 in the Census Bureau's 2019 estimate, making it the 39th largest in the United States. The city of Milwaukee is the hub of the metropolitan area. The eastern parts of Racine County, eastern parts of Waukesha County, southern part of Ozaukee County, southeastern part of Washington County, and remainder of Milwaukee County are the most urbanized parts of the outlying counties. The character of the area varies widely. Mequon, Brookfield, and the North Shore ( Fox Point, Whitefish Bay, River Hills, Shorewood,

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia *Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre * Glendale, Queensland, ...

, and Bayside) are more white-collar, while West Milwaukee, West Allis, and St. Francis are more blue-collar. Metro Milwaukee draws commuters from outlying areas such as

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and the Fox Cities. It is part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis containing an estimated 54 million people.

Combined statistical area

The Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

is made up of the Milwaukee–Waukesha–West Allis

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 ...

(Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee counties), the Racine Metropolitan Statistical Area (

Racine County Racine County (, sometimes also ) is a county in southeastern Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 197,727, making it Wisconsin's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat is Racine. The county was founded in 1836, then a pa ...

), the Beaver Dam Micropolitan Statistical Area ( Dodge County), the Watertown-Fort Atkinson Micropolitan Area ( Jefferson County), and the Whitewater-Elkorn Micropolitan Area ( Walworth County) according to the U.S. Census. Updated definitions released in February 2013 added Dodge, Jefferson and Walworth Counties to the Milwaukee CSA. Kenosha, despite being just 32 miles from

and 50 miles from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, is included as part of the Chicago CSA, as Kenosha has more residents who commute to the Chicago area. As of the 2019 census estimates, the Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha

population was 2,047,966, the largest in Wisconsin and the 33rd largest in the United States.

Counties

There are eight counties in the U.S. Census Bureau's Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha Combined statistical area.
/sup> * Dodge County, Wisconsin, Dodge * Jefferson *

* Ozaukee *

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

* Walworth *

* Waukesha ISS030-E-223828

Cities (combined statistical area)

Primary

Other principal cities

* Waukesha

Metro area cities and villages with more than 10,000 inhabitants

* Beaver Dam * Brookfield * Brown Deer * Burlington * Caledonia *

Cedarburg Cedarburg is a city in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located about north of Milwaukee and in close proximity to Interstate 43, it is a suburban community in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The city incorporated in 1885, and a ...

* Cudahy * Delavan * Elkhorn * Fort Atkinson * Franklin *

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * G ...

* Grafton * Greendale *

Greenfield Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to: Engineering and Business * Greenfield agreement, an employment agreement for a new organisation * Greenfield investment, the investment in a structure in an area where no previous facilities exist * Greenf ...

* Hartford *

Menomonee Falls Menomonee Falls is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States, and is part of the Greater Milwaukee area. The population was 35,626 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous village in Wisconsin. It is the fourth largest commu ...

* Mequon * Mount Pleasant * Muskego *

New Berlin New Berlin is the name of several locations in the United States: * New Berlin, Illinois * New Berlin (town), New York * New Berlin (village), New York * New Berlin, Pennsylvania * New Berlin, Texas * New Berlin, Wisconsin New Berlin () is a ...

* Oak Creek *

Oconomowoc Oconomowoc ( ) is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The name was derived from Coo-no-mo-wauk, the Potawatomi term for "waterfall." The population was 15,712 at the 2010 census. The city is partially adjacent to the Town of Oco ...

* Pewaukee * Port Washington * Richfield * Shorewood * South Milwaukee *

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...

* Watertown * Wauwatosa * West Allis * West Bend * Whitefish Bay * Whitewater

Metro area cities, towns and villages with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants

* Addison * Barton * Bayside *

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

* Big Bend * Bohners Lake * Browns Lake * Brownsville * Butler * Chenequa * Clyman * Darien * Delafield (city) * Delafield (town) * Dousman *

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

* Eagle Lake * East Troy * Elkhorn * Elm Grove * Elmwood Park * Erin * Farmington * Fox Lake * Fox Point * Franksville * Fredonia * Genesee * Germantown (town) * Hales Corners * Hartland * Herman * Horicon * Hustisford * Ixonia * Iron Ridge * Jackson * Jefferson * Johnson Creek *

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...

* Kekoskee * Kewaskum * Lac La Belle *

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lak ...

* Lake Mills * Lannon * Leroy * Lisbon * Lomira * Lowell * Mayville * Merton * Mukwonago * Nashotah * Neosho * Newburg * North Bay * North Prairie *

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

* Oconomowoc Lake *

Okauchee Lake Okauchee Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,094 at the 2020 census. Okauchee Lake is located in the town of Oconomowoc. Geography Okauchee Lake is located at (43.119454, − ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

* Palmyra * Pewaukee(village) *

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places * Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missour ...

* Randolph * Raymond * Reeseville * River Hills * Rochester * Rubicon *

Saukville Saukville is a village in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located on the Milwaukee River with a district along Interstate 43, the community is a suburb in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 4,451 at the 2010 census. ...

* Slinger * St. Francis * Sturtevant * Sullivan * Summit *

Theresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...

* Thiensville * Trenton * Union Grove * Vernon *

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

* Walworth *

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

* Waterloo *

Waupun Waupun is a city in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 11,344 at the 2020 census. Of this, 7,795 were in Dodge County, and 3,549 were in Fond du Lac County. In Fond du Lac County, the Town of Waup ...

* Wayne * West Milwaukee * Williams Bay * Wind Lake * Wind Point * Yorkville

Unincorporated Communities and Census Designated Places

* Allenton * Boltonville * Cheeseville * Colgate * Ebenezer * Farmersville * Fillmore * Genesee Depot * Herman Center *

Hubertus Hubertus or Hubert ( 656 – 30 May 727 A.D.) was a Christian saint who became the first bishop of Liège in 708 A.D. He is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers. Known as the "Apostle of the Ardennes", he ...

* Kansasville * Kohlsville * Lake Church * Lakefield * Myra * Nabob * Nenno * North Cape * Oak Hill * Pipersville * Pike Lake * Rockfield * Saint Michaels * Saylesville * Saylesville * Stone Bank *

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada ...

* Tichigan * Ulao * Waubeka *

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

Debate over metropolitan government

Although each county and its various municipalities are self-governing, there is some cooperation in the metropolitan area. The

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is a regional government agency that provides water reclamation and flood management services for about 1.1 million people in 28 communities in the Greater Milwaukee Area. A recipient of the U ...

(MMSD) is a state-chartered government agency which serves 28 municipalities in the five counties. At the same time, some in the area see the need for more consolidation in government services. The Kettl Commission and former Wisconsin Governor

Scott McCallum James Scott McCallum (born May 2, 1950) is an American businessman and former politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 43rd governor of Wisconsin, ascending from the Lieutenant Governorship when Tommy Thompson resigned in 2001 t ...

have supported initiatives to do this. However, full consolidation has faced unsubstantiated criticism as a means of diluting minority voting power.

References

Metro Milwaukee Portal

External links

2003 article on consolidation of area governments
*https://web.archive.org/web/20170118134056/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/bulletins/2013/b-13-01.pdf {{Coord, 43, 15, N, 88, 10, W, region:US-WI_scale:750000, display=title Metropolitan areas of Wisconsin