The Cincinnati metropolitan area (also known as the Cincinnati Tri-State area or Greater Cincinnati) is a

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

with its core in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. Its largest city is

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and includes surrounding counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

s of

, and

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

's formal name for the area is the Cincinnati, OH–KY–IN Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the metro area had a population of 2,256,884, making Greater Cincinnati the 28th-most populous metropolitan area in the United States, and the largest metro area in Ohio, followed by Columbus and

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. The Cincinnati–Wilmington, OH–KY–IN Combined Statistical Area, adds Clinton County, Ohio (defined as the Wilmington, OH micropolitan area) and, until 2023,

Mason County, Kentucky Mason County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,120. Its county seat is Maysville. The county was created from Bourbon County, Virginia in 1788 and named for George Mason, a Vir ...

(defined as the Maysville, KY micropolitan area), was part of the CSA. The Cincinnati metropolitan area is considered part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis.

Census designation history

The Cincinnati metropolitan area was originally designated by the

in 1950 and consisted of the Kentucky counties of Campbell and Kenton and the Ohio county of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. As surrounding counties saw an increase in their population densities and the number of their residents employed within Hamilton County, they met census criteria to be added to the MSA. The Hamilton–Middletown, OH MSA was also formed in 1950 and consisted solely of

Butler County, Ohio Butler County is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 390,357. Its county seat and largest city is Hamilton, Ohio, Ham ...

. In 1990, the census changed designation of the areas known as MSAs to Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), and a new Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) grouping was created. From 1990 through 2005, the Cincinnati–Hamilton–Middletown CMSA included the Cincinnati–Hamilton, OH–KY–IN PMSA and the Hamilton–Middletown, OH PMSA. As of December 2005, census terminology changed again, eliminating the PMSA/CMSA terminology. Consolidated Statistical Areas (CSA) combine more than one Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA). Newly defined MSAs (Metropolitan) and μSAs (Micropolitan) Statistical Areas are CBSAs. From 2005 to 2013, the Cincinnati–Middletown–Wilmington CSA included the Cincinnati–Middletown MSA (defined as the old Cincinnati–Hamilton–Middletown CMSA), and Wilmington, OH μSA ( Clinton County, Ohio). In 2013, the CSA was redefined again. The Cincinnati–Middletown MSA was renamed the Cincinnati MSA. The Wilmington, OH μSA remained in the CSA. The Maysville, KY μSA, which had previously consisted of Mason and Lewis Counties in Kentucky, was redefined as consisting solely of Mason County and added to the CSA. The name of the CSA accordingly changed to the Cincinnati–Wilmington–Maysville CSA. In September 2018,

Union County, Indiana Union County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 7,087. The county seat is Liberty. Since 2018, Union County has been included in the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan ...

, was added to the Cincinnati MSA. In July 2023, the new metropolitan area delineation were published and

, was detached from the Cincinnati MSA, and the Maysville, Kentucky, micropolitan statistical area was detached from the combined statistical area. Most of the region's population growth has occurred in the northern counties, leading to speculation that the Cincinnati–Northern Kentucky metropolitan area will eventually merge with Greater Dayton. Cincinnati is also located very close to other metropolitan areas, such as Columbus,

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Lexington, and

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Population

Notes
¹For comparison purposes, population data is summarized using 2008 census CSA/MSA county definitions.
²Butler County, Ohio was previously known as the Hamilton–Middletown, OH PMSA and was separate from the Cincinnati, OH–KY–IN PMSA until the 1990 census, when the Cincinnati–Hamilton, OH–KY–IN CMSA designation was used to consolidate the two PMSAs. The CMSA/PMSA designation is no longer used by the US census.

Main cities

Population figures as of the 2020 census.

Municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants

, Ohio (309,317)

Municipalities with 50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Cincinnati along the Great Miami River, Hamilton is the second-most populous city in the Cincinnati metropolitan area and the List of municipaliti ...

(63,399) *

Middletown, Ohio Middletown is a city in Butler County, Ohio, Butler and Warren County, Ohio, Warren counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 50,987 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area in sou ...

(50,987)

Municipalities with 10,000 to 49,999 inhabitants

* Fairfield, Ohio (42,623) *

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers, across from Cincinnati to the north ...

(40,961) * Mason, Ohio (40,691 ) * Florence, Kentucky (31,946) * Independence, Kentucky (28,676) *

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...

(23,035) *

Lebanon, Ohio Lebanon is a city in Warren County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 20,841 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Lebanon is in the Symmes Purchase. Th ...

(20,841) * Forest Park, Ohio (20,189) *

Erlanger, Kentucky Erlanger is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. It had a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 19,611. Erlanger is part of the Cincinnati metropoli ...

(19,611) * Springboro, Ohio (19,062) * Norwood, Ohio (19,043) * Fort Thomas, Kentucky (17,438) *

Newport, Kentucky Newport is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States. It is at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers across from Cincinnati. The population was 14,150 ...

(14,150) *

Sharonville, Ohio Sharonville is a city largely in Hamilton County, Ohio, Hamilton County in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 14,117 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Sharonville is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area and located about ...

(14,117) * Blue Ash, Ohio (13,394) * Loveland, Ohio (13,307) *

Wilmington, Ohio Wilmington is a city in Clinton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 12,664 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Micropolitan statistical area, Wilmington micropolitan area ...

(12,660) (CSA) * Springdale, Ohio (11,007) * Reading, Ohio (10,600) * Alexandria, Kentucky (10,341)

Climate

The Cincinnati–Northern Kentucky metropolitan area is located within a climatic transition zone. The southern area of the region, from roughly about the Ohio River, is at the extreme northern limit of the

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

; the north part of the region is on the extreme southern cusp of the

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

. Evidence of both humid subtropical climate and humid continental climate can be found here, particularly noticeable by the presence of plants indicative of each climatic region. Within the area, the USDA climate zone rating can vary from as warm as zone 6b to as cool as zone 5b, with the warmest areas tending to be found closest to the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

; individual

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...

s of even cooler and warmer temperature may occur in the area but are too small to be considered in the overall climate zone rating. The common wall lizard, introduced from Italy in the 1950s, is an example of fauna in the area that lends a subtropical ambiance to the urban core (near downtown Cincinnati) area of the region. Significant moderating variables for the overall climate are: * South and central: Ohio River, Licking River, relatively large hills and valleys, and a combined

urban heat island Urban areas usually experience the urban heat island (UHI) effect; that is, they are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparent when winds ar ...

effect due to the close proximity of the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky cities of Covington, Newport, and Downtown Cincinnati * Suburban: large parking lots that take up much land in Mason, West Chester, and Florence create a heat island effect. * North: Great Miami River, the area is situated on a glaciated flat plateau, the Miami Valley, and some urban heat island effect in the immediate area of downtown Dayton and Hamilton. Traveling through the region from North to South, a subtle but interesting change in climate can be observed and is most evidenced by the gradual increase in the occurrence of subtropical indicator plants in the landscape. Most noticeable are the Southern Magnolia and Mimosa trees, and the needle palm also may be found as a winter hardy landscape specimen in lawns near the Ohio River. During the winter, travellers from north to south will routinely observe a significant difference in snowfall/ice/rain in the region. Although widely accepted as part of the very southern fringe of the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

in most cases, the Cincinnati–Northern Kentucky metropolitan area is climatically and geographically located on the northern periphery of the

Upland South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, economics, demographics, a ...

region of the United States and is within the

Bluegrass region The Bluegrass region is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It makes up the central and northern part of the state, roughly bounded by the cities of Frankfort, Kentucky, Frankfort, Paris, Kentucky, Paris, Richmond, Kentucky, Ric ...

of Ohio and Kentucky in the Upper South. The area is vulnerable to occasional severe weather—thunderstorms, large hail and sometimes tornadoes.

Transportation

Public transportation

The Connector streetcar line opened in Cincinnati in 2016.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

'' makes three weekly trips in each direction between Chicago and New York City through

Cincinnati Union Terminal Cincinnati Union Terminal is an intercity train station and museum center in the Queensgate, Cincinnati, Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Commonly abbreviated as CUT, or by its Amtrak station code, CIN, the Railroad terminal, termin ...

. Regional transit authorities serving the area include the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) and the Clermont Transportation Connection. SORTA and TANK primarily operate diesel buses, though some lines are served by longer articulated or hybrid-engine buses.

Air

The Cincinnati area is served by Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) in Hebron, Kentucky. The airport is one of DHL Aviation's three superhubs, offering non-stop passenger service to over 50 destinations in North America and Europe. The airport is a global hub for Amazon Air,

Atlas Air Atlas Air, Inc. is a major American cargo airline, charter airline, passenger charter airline, and Aircraft lease, aircraft lessor based in White Plains, New York. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings. Atlas Air is t ...

, ABX Air, Kalitta Air, and DHL Aviation, handling numerous domestic and international cargo flights every day. CVG is currently the 6th busiest airport in the United States by cargo traffic, and is additionally the fastest-growing cargo airport in North America.

Roads

Interstate 71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the midwestern and Southeastern United States, southeastern regions of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64, I-64 and Interstate 65, ...

Interstate 74 * I-75

Interstate 75 * I-275

Interstate 275 * I-471

Interstate 471 US Highways * US 22

U.S. Route 22 & State Route 3 (Montgomery Road) * US 27

U.S. Route 27 (Colerain Avenue) * US 42

U.S. Route 42 (Reading Road, Lebanon Road) * US 50

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

(Columbia Parkway, Ohio Pike) * US 52

U.S. Route 52 (Riverside Drive, Kellogg Avenue) * US 127

U.S. Route 127 U.S. Route 127 (US 127) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 27, US 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 ...

(Hamilton Avenue) Ohio State Highways * OH-4

Ohio State Route 4 (Springfield Pike,

Dixie Highway Dixie Highway was a United States auto trail first planned in 1914 to connect the Midwest with the South. It was part of a system and was expanded from an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final system is better understood as a network o ...

) *

Ohio State Route 28 * OH-32

Ohio State Route 32 * OH-126

Ohio State Route 126 ( Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway) * OH-129

Ohio State Route 129 (Butler County Veterans Highway) * OH-131

Ohio State Route 131 * OH-562

Ohio State Route 562 ( Norwood Lateral) * OH-747

Ohio State Route 747 (Princeton Pike) Kentucky State Highways * Elongated circle 9

Kentucky Route 9 (AA Highway) * Elongated circle 17

Kentucky Route 17 (Madison Pike) * Elongated circle 18

Kentucky Route 18 (Burlington Pike) * Elongated circle 177

Kentucky Route 177 (Decoursey Pike)

Historic and notable roads

* Vine Street, Cincinnati * Fort Washington Way

Education

Ohio

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

* Cincinnati State Technical and Community College *

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

* Mount St. Joseph University *

Union Institute & University Union Institute & University (UI&U) was a private online university that was headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It also operated satellite campuses in Florida and California. In early 2023, it began to experience severe financial challenge ...

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

* Art Academy of Cincinnati *

God's Bible School and College God's Bible School and College is a private Bible college in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1900 and is of the Wesleyan-Arminian (Methodist) tradition. History Originally known as God's Bible School, the college was founded by Methodi ...

Kentucky

* Northern Kentucky University * Thomas More University * Gateway Community and Technical College * Maysville Community and Technical College

Indiana

* Ivy Tech Community College
File:McMicken Hall, University of Cincinnati, 2005-08-19.jpg, University of Cincinnati File:MacCracken Hall at dusk.jpg, Miami University File:NKU-lake-1.jpg, Northern Kentucky University File:Art-Academy-of-Cincinnati.jpg, Art Academy of Cincinnati

Area codes

* 513 and 283 –

counties and Cincinnati * 937 and 326 –

counties * 859 – most

counties * 606 –

Bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family (biology), family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that undergo alternation of generations, having both large plants that produce spores and small ...

and Mason counties, Kentucky * 812 and 930 –

counties * 765 –

counties

In media

Cincinnati-based broadcast media outlets often use the terms "Greater Cincinnati" and "Tri-State Area" to refer to their broader viewing or listening areas, especially for the purpose of weather reports or school closings. The viewing areas of WLWT, WCPO-TV, and WKRC-TV all span the same 26 counties, including Adams and

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

counties in Ohio; Fayette, Ripley,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and Union counties in Indiana; and Carroll, Owen, and Robertson counties in Kentucky. WXIX-TV additionally includes

Decatur County Decatur County is the name of various past and present counties in the United States, all named for Stephen Decatur Commodore (United States), Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was a United States Navy of ...

in Indiana and Lewis County in Kentucky. Dayton-area media outlets similarly refer to a Miami Valley area that includes Butler and Warren counties in Ohio and sometimes Clinton County, Ohio, and Union County, Indiana.

Notes

References

External links

Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments

The Ports of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
{{authority control Metropolitan areas of Indiana Metropolitan areas of Kentucky Metropolitan areas of Ohio