Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts

Springfield Metropolitan Area
Metropolitan Statistical Area
SpringfieldMetro Centerfrom theHampden County Memorial Bridgeatblue hour
Springfield–Amherst Town–Northampton, MACSA Springfield, MAMSA Amherst Town–Northampton, MA MSA Greenfield, MAµSA
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
Principal municipalities	Springfield Franklin County Ashfield Bernardston Buckland Charlemont Colrain Conway Deerfield Erving Gill Greenfield Hawley Heath Leverett Leyden Monroe Montague New Salem Northfield Orange Rowe Shelburne Shutesbury Sunderland Warwick Wendell Whately Hampden County Agawam Blandford Brimfield Chester Chicopee East Longmeadow Granville Hampden Holland Holyoke Longmeadow Ludlow Monson Montgomery Palmer Russell Southwick Tolland Wales West Springfield Westfield Wilbraham Hampshire County Amherst Belchertown Chesterfield Cummington Easthampton Goshen Granby Hadley Hatfield Huntington Middlefield Northampton Pelham Plainfield South Hadley Southampton Ware Westhampton Williamsburg Worthington Amherst, Massachusettsat Campus
Area
• Total	1,904 sq mi (4,930 km2)
Population
• Density	367.9/sq mi (142.0/km2)
•MSA (2020)	465,825(117th)
•CSA (2020)	699,162(74th)
Time zone	UTC-5(Eastern Time Zone)
Area code	413
GDP	$30 billionUSD
GDP per capita	$48,505

TheSpringfield metropolitan area,also known asGreater Springfield,is a region that is socio-economically and culturally tied to the City ofSpringfield, Massachusetts.The U.S.Office of Management and Budgetdefines the Springfield, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as consisting of three counties inWestern Massachusetts.As of April 1,2020,the metropolitan area's population was estimated at 699,162, making it the88th-largest metropolitan areain theUnited States.

Historically, the census has also identified the region as "Springfield–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 inAmherst,Westfield,andWest Springfield,and Northern Connecticut.Greater Springfield is one of twocombined statistical areasin Massachusetts; the other isGreater Boston.

An alternative system of measuringNew Englandmetropolitan areas was developed, called theNew England city and town area(NECTA) because, inNew England,townsare a much more important level of government than counties. County government in New England is weak at best, and inConnecticut,Rhode Island,and most ofMassachusetts,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, Springfield is 33.2 sq. miles, whereasFort Worth, Texas,is 298.9 sq. miles, nearly 10 times larger in land area than Springfield.

Because of the sizable discrepancy in land area, New England cities like Springfield feature much higher population densities. In addition, New England cities and towns have developed allegiances that transcend state borders; 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
• Franklin

County	2021 Estimate	2020 Census	Change	Area	Density
Hampden County	462,718	465,825	−0.67%	617.14 sq mi (1,598.4 km2)	508/sq mi (196/km2)
Hampshire County	161,572	162,308	−0.45%	527.26 sq mi (1,365.6 km2)	450/sq mi (174/km2)
Franklin County	71,015	71,029	−0.02%	699.32 sq mi (1,811.2 km2)	229/sq mi (88/km2)
Total	695,305	699,162	−0.55%	1,843.72 sq mi (4,775.2 km2)	377/sq mi (146/km2)

Component cities/towns of the NECTA

Springfield, MA Metropolitan NECTA shown in cream color, with Springfield highlighted in red. The adjacent NECTAs of Amherst (pink) and Greenfield (orange) are also shown.

• Amherst
• Ashfield
• Agawam
• Belchertown
• Blandford
• Chester
• Chesterfield
• Chicopee
• Conway
• Cummington
• Deerfield
• East Longmeadow
• East Windsor, Connecticut
• Easthampton
• Enfield, Connecticut
• Goshen
• Granby
• Granville
• Hadley
• Hampden
• Hatfield
• Holyoke
• Huntington
• Leverett
• Longmeadow
• Ludlow
• Monson
• Montgomery
• Northampton
• Palmer
• Pelham
• Russell
• Shutesbury
• Somers, Connecticut
• South Hadley
• Southampton
• Southwick
• Springfield(principal city)
• Suffield, Connecticut
• Sunderland
• Tolland
• Wales
• Ware
• Wendell
• West Springfield
• Westfield
• Westhampton
• Whately
• Wilbraham
• Williamsburg
• Windsor Locks, Connecticut
• Worthington

Demographics

As of thecensusof 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,6.7%African American,0.30%Native American,2.5%Asian,0.04%Pacific Islander,6.6% fromother races,and 2.7% from two or more races.HispanicorLatinoof any race were 15.4% of the population.

As of thecensusof 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,5.96%African American,0.25%Native American,1.74%Asian,0.06%Pacific Islander,6.35% fromother races,and 2.13% from two or more races.HispanicorLatinoof any race were 11.15% of the population. In the 2010 census, the metropolitan area had the highest percentage ofPuerto Ricansof 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. Theper capita incomefor 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

Further information:Pioneer Valley Transit Authority,Hartford Line,andValley Flyer (Amtrak train)

ThePioneer Valley Transit Authority(PVTA) is the primary operator ofpublic transportationservices 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."Founded in 1974 with the enactment ofMassachusetts General LawChapter 161B, the PVTA serves 24 member communities inHampden,Hampshire,andFranklincounties. 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 fromfederalandstategovernments.The PVTA itself is governed by anadvisory board.

Media

The Springfield metropolitan area is tabulated byNielsenas the Springfield-Holyokedesignated market area,and is the111th largest television marketin the United States, with viewership comparable toTallahasseeandFort Wayne.The area's local news is characterized by 2 operations, the local NBC affiliateWWLP 22,and the consolidated WesternMassNews, representing CBS affiliateWSHM 3,joint ABC affiliate and FOX affiliateWGGB.In 2019 local NPR affiliateWFCRand PBSWGBYmerged operations to formNew England Public Media.

See also

• Massachusetts statistical areas