Welcome to the Big Leagues, Staunton-Waynesboro

Important news for data junkies: The Office of Management and Budget has updated its boundaries for America’s metropolitan and micropolitan areas. The Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service has helpfully provided a map of the newly drawn boundaries. Here is a summary of the changes:

• Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County was upgraded from a micropolitan to a full-fledged MSA.
• Danville and Pittsylvannia County were downgraded from an MSA to a Micropolitan Area.
• Norton, Dickenson and Wise Counties became part of the Big Stone Gap Micropolitan Area
• The Richmond MSA shrank with the removal of Cumberland, King and Queen, and Louisa Counties
• The Virginia Beach MSA lost Surry County
• The Charlottesville MSA gained Buckingham County
• The Blacksburg MSA expanded to include Floyd County
• The Northern Virginia MSA absorbed Rappahannock County

To be included in an MSA, at least 25% of a county’s workforce must commute into an MSA’s urban area.

— JAB