The Springfield metropolitan area, also known as Greater Springfield, is a region that is socio-economically and culturally tied to the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. The U.S.

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 ...

defines the Springfield, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as consisting of three counties in

Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as “Western Mass,” is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and u ...

. As of April 1,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, the metropolitan area's population was estimated at 699,162, making it the 84th 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Following the 2010 Census, there have been discussions about combining the metropolitan areas of Springfield, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut, into a greater

Hartford–Springfield The greater Hartford–Springfield area is an urban region and surrounding suburban areas that encompasses both north-central Connecticut and the southern Connecticut River Valley in western Massachusetts; its major city centers are Springfield, ...

area, due to the region's economic interdependence and close geographic proximity (23.9 miles separate the cities' downtowns). Historically the Census has also identified the region as "Springfield–Chicopee–Holyoke, Mass.–Conn." as those cities were the area's population centers as recently as 1980; since that time the population has become further distributed, including new growth in Amherst, Westfield, and West Springfield, as well as Northern Connecticut. Greater Springfield is one of two

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

s in Massachusetts, the other being

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern a ...

. An alternative system of measuring

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 (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

metropolitan areas was developed—called the

New England city and town area 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 region of the United States. NECTAs are analogous to metropolitan statistical areas and micr ...

(NECTA)—because, in New England,

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

are a much more important level of government than counties. County government in New England is weak at best, and in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

, and most of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, does not exist at all. In addition, major cities and surrounding towns are often much smaller in land area than in other parts of the United States. For example, the City of Springfield is 33.2 sq. miles, whereas the City of

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

, is 298.9 sq. miles, nearly 10 times larger in land area than Springfield. Because of the huge discrepancy in land area, in general New England cities like Springfield feature much higher population densities. In addition, New England cities and towns have developed allegiances that transcend state borders; thus, cities in Connecticut are included in Springfield's NECTA. This system is thought to better approximate New England's metropolitan areas because it uses New England's geographically smaller building blocks. In Springfield's case, its NECTA consists of 51 additional cities and towns surrounding the city.

Component counties of the MSA

* Hampden *

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

Component cities/towns of the NECTA

* Amherst * Ashfield * Agawam * Belchertown *

Blandford Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this was abolished and ...

* Chester *

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

* Chicopee * Conway * Cummington * Deerfield * East Longmeadow *

East Windsor, Connecticut East Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 11,190 at the 2020 census. The town has five villages: Broad Brook, Melrose, Scantic, Warehouse Point and Windsorville. History In 1633, Settlers laid cl ...

* Easthampton *

Enfield, Connecticut Enfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, first settled by John and Robert Pease of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The population was 42,141 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and East Long ...

* Goshen * Granby * Granville * Hadley * Hampden * Hatfield *

Holyoke Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...

* Huntington * Leverett * Longmeadow *

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...

* Monson * Montgomery * Northampton *

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and ...

* Pelham, Massachusetts, Pelham * Russell, Massachusetts, Russell * Shutesbury, Massachusetts, Shutesbury * Somers, Connecticut * South Hadley, Massachusetts, South Hadley * Southampton, Massachusetts, Southampton * Southwick, Massachusetts, Southwick * Springfield, Massachusetts, Springfield (principal city) * Suffield, Connecticut * Sunderland, Massachusetts, Sunderland * Tolland, Massachusetts, Tolland * Wales, Massachusetts, Wales * Ware, Massachusetts, Ware * Wendell, Massachusetts, Wendell * West Springfield * Westfield * Westhampton, Massachusetts, Westhampton * Whately, Massachusetts, Whately * Wilbraham, Massachusetts, Wilbraham * Williamsburg, Massachusetts, Williamsburg * Windsor Locks, Connecticut * Worthington, Massachusetts, Worthington

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 692,942 people, 269,091 households, and 168,758 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 81.10% White (U.S. Census), White, 6.7% African American (U.S. Census), African American, 0.30% Native American (U.S. Census), Native American, 2.5% Asian (U.S. Census), Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander (U.S. Census), Pacific Islander, 6.6% from Race (United States Census), other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic (U.S. Census), Hispanic or Latino (U.S. Census), Latino of any race were 15.4% of the population. As of the census of 2000, there were 680,014 people, 260,745 households, and 167,924 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 83.50% White (U.S. Census), White, 5.96% African American (U.S. Census), African American, 0.25% Native American (U.S. Census), Native American, 1.74% Asian (U.S. Census), Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander (U.S. Census), Pacific Islander, 6.35% from Race (United States Census), other races, and 2.13% from two or more races. Hispanic (U.S. Census), Hispanic or Latino (U.S. Census), Latino of any race were 11.15% of the population. In the 2010 census, the metropolitan area had the highest percentage of Puerto Ricans of any metropolitan statistical area in the continental United States. The median income for a household in the MSA was $42,195, and the median income for a family was $52,551. Males had a median income of $37,784 versus $28,404 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $20,633. The median age for the MSA was 38.9 in 2010 overall, with a median age of 37.4 for males and 40.1 for females. The estimated median age in 2017 was 38.2 overall with a median age 36.6 for males and 39.6 for females. Among the 100 most populous MSAs in the United States, the Springfield metropolitan area had the 10th highest life expectancy in 2016 for the top quartile of income earners, adjusted for race and ethnicity, with an overall life expectancy of 87.2.

Transportation

The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) is the primary operator of public transportation services in the Springfield Metropolitan Area. Headquartered in Springfield, the PVTA maintains a fleet of approximately 174 buses, 144 vans, and "is the largest regional transit authority in Massachusetts."About the PVTA Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts Transit Authority
Pvta.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-15. Founded in 1974 with the enactment of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 161B, the PVTA serves 24 member communities in Hampden,

, and

counties. Each member community pays an assessment fee to the PVTA based "on the number of miles served in that city or town." Alternative sources of revenue mostly originate from Federal government of the United States, federal and Government of Massachusetts, state governments. The PVTA itself is governed by an advisory board.

Media

The Springfield metropolitan area is tabulated by Nielsen Corporation, Nielsen as the Springfield-Holyoke designated market area, and is the List of United States television markets, 111th largest television market in the United States, with viewership comparable to Tallahassee and Fort Wayne. The area's local news is characterized by 2 operations, the local NBC affiliate WWLP, WWLP 22, and the consolidated WesternMassNews, representing CBS affiliate WSHM-LD, WSHM 3, joint ABC affiliate and FOX affiliate WGGB-TV, WGGB. In 2019 local NPR affiliate WFCR and PBS WGBY merged operations to form New England Public Media.

References