A New England city and town area (NECTA) is a geographic and statistical entity defined by the U.S. federal government for use in the six-state

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

region of 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., ...

. NECTAs are analogous to

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 ...

s and micropolitan statistical areas and are defined using the same criteria, except that they are defined on the basis of

New England town The town is the basic unit of local government and local division of state authority in the six New England states. Most other U.S. states lack a direct counterpart to the New England town. New England towns overlay the entire area of a state, ...

s instead of entire

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. NECTAs are classified as either metropolitan or micropolitan NECTAs. A micropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000, whereas a metropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 50,000. In New England, towns (which are classified by the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

minor civil division A minor civil division (MCD) is a term used by the United States Census Bureau for primary governmental and/or administrative divisions of a county or county-equivalent, typically a municipal government such as a city, town, or civil township. MCD ...

s) are a much more important level of government than counties. Because towns are smaller than counties, a NECTA usually provides a much closer approximation to the real

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 ...

than a

does. Large NECTAs (with population greater than 2.5 million) may be subdivided into smaller groupings known as NECTA Divisions. Adjacent NECTAs that have a high degree of employment interchange may also be combined to form Combined NECTAS (or CNECTAs). NECTAs that are part of a CNECTA retain their separate identities.

Lists of NECTAs

Current list

The following is a list of metropolitan and micropolitan NECTAs as defined by the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

. Definitions are as of September 2018."List 3. New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs), NECTA Divisions, and Combined NECTAs"
Office of Management and Budget, September 2018

Connecticut

*Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT Metropolitan NECTA *Danbury, CT Metropolitan NECTA *Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT Metropolitan NECTA *New Haven, CT Metropolitan NECTA *Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI Metropolitan NECTA *Torrington, CT Micropolitan NECTA *Waterbury, CT Metropolitan NECTA *Willimantic, CT Micropolitan NECTA

Maine

*Augusta, ME Micropolitan NECTA *Bangor, ME Metropolitan NECTA *Brunswick, ME Micropolitan NECTA *Lewiston-Auburn, ME Metropolitan NECTA *Portland-South Portland, ME Metropolitan NECTA *Sanford, ME Micropolitan NECTA *Waterville, ME Micropolitan NECTA

Massachusetts

*Athol, MA Micropolitan NECTA *Barnstable Town, MA Metropolitan NECTA *Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan NECTA **Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division **Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA NECTA Division **Framingham, MA NECTA Division **Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury Town, MA-NH NECTA Division **Lawrence-Methuen Town-North Andover, MA-NH NECTA Division **Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH NECTA Division **Lynn-Salem-Marblehead, MA NECTA Division **Nashua, NH-MA NECTA Division **Peabody-Beverly-Gloucester, MA NECTA Division **Plymouth-Pembroke-Duxbury, MA NECTA Division **Taunton-Middleborough-Norton, MA NECTA Division *Greenfield Town, MA Micropolitan NECTA *Leominster-Gardner, MA Metropolitan NECTA *New Bedford, MA Metropolitan NECTA *North Adams, MA-VT Micropolitan NECTA *Pittsfield, MA Metropolitan NECTA *Springfield, MA-CT Metropolitan NECTA *Vineyard Haven, MA Micropolitan NECTA *Worcester, MA-CT Metropolitan NECTA

New Hampshire

*Berlin, NH Micropolitan NECTA *Claremont, NH Micropolitan NECTA *Concord, NH Micropolitan NECTA *Dover-Durham, NH-ME Metropolitan NECTA *Keene, NH Micropolitan NECTA *Laconia, NH Micropolitan NECTA *Lebanon, NH-VT Micropolitan NECTA *Manchester, NH Metropolitan NECTA *Portsmouth, NH-ME Metropolitan NECTA

Rhode Island

*Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan NECTA

Vermont

*Barre, VT Micropolitan NECTA *Bennington, VT Micropolitan NECTA *Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan NECTA *Rutland, VT Micropolitan NECTA

Metropolitan NECTAs as of 2010 census

References

External links

{{USCensus Geography United States Census Bureau geography Metropolitan areas of the United States City and town area