# Rhode Island statistical areas

The U.S. State of Rhode Island currently has two statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH Combined Statistical Area, which are inclusive of all five of Rhode Island's counties.

## Background

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated more than 1,000 statistical areas for the United States and Puerto Rico. These statistical areas are important geographic delineations of population clusters used by the OMB, the United States Census Bureau, planning organizations, and federal, state, and local government entities.
The OMB defines a core-based statistical area (commonly referred to as a CBSA) as the county or counties (or county-equivalents) surrounding at least one densely-settled core of at least 10,000 population, "plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core". The OMB further divides core-based statistical areas based on population into metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for those with at least 50,000 and micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs) for those with 10,000 to 49,999 people.
The OMB defines a combined statistical area (CSA) as two or more adjacent core-based statistical areas where the employment interchange rate (% commuting from A to B plus % commuting from B to A) is at least 15%. The primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area.

## Table

The two United States statistical areas and five counties of the State of Rhode Island :
| Combined statistical area | 2023 population (est.) | Core-based statistical area | 2023 population (est.) | County | 2023 population (est.) | Metropolitan division | 2023 population (est.) |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA | 4,919,179 | Middlesex County, Massachusetts | 1,623,952 | Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA MD | 2,434,041 |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA | 4,919,179 | Essex County, Massachusetts | 810,089 | Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA MD | 2,434,041 |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA | 4,919,179 | Suffolk County, Massachusetts | 768,425 | Boston, MA MD | 2,031,206 |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA | 4,919,179 | Norfolk County, Massachusetts | 727,473 | Boston, MA MD | 2,031,206 |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA | 4,919,179 | Plymouth County, Massachusetts | 535,689 | Boston, MA MD | 2,031,206 |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA | 4,919,179 | Rockingham County, New Hampshire | 320,689 | Rockingham County-Strafford County, NH MD | 453,932 |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MSA | 4,919,179 | Strafford County, New Hampshire | 133,243 | Rockingham County-Strafford County, NH MD | 453,932 |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA MSA | 1,677,803 1,095,962 (RI) | Providence County, Rhode Island | 660,615 | none | none |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA MSA | 1,677,803 1,095,962 (RI) | Bristol County, Massachusetts | 581,841 | none | none |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA MSA | 1,677,803 1,095,962 (RI) | Kent County, Rhode Island | 171,278 | none | none |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA MSA | 1,677,803 1,095,962 (RI) | Washington County, Rhode Island | 129,982 | none | none |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA MSA | 1,677,803 1,095,962 (RI) | Newport County, Rhode Island | 83,832 | none | none |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA MSA | 1,677,803 1,095,962 (RI) | Bristol County, Rhode Island | 50,255 | none | none |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Worcester, MA MSA | 866,866 | Worcester County, Massachusetts | 866,866 | none | none |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Manchester-Nashua, NH MSA | 427,354 | Hillsborough County, New Hampshire | 427,354 | none | none |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Barnstable Town, MA MSA | 231,735 | Barnstable County, Massachusetts | 231,735 | none | none |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Concord, NH μSA | 157,103 | Merrimack County, New Hampshire | 157,103 | none | none |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 1,095,962 (RI) | Laconia, NH μSA | 65,027 | Belknap County, New Hampshire | 65,027 | none | none |
| State of Rhode Island | State of Rhode Island | State of Rhode Island | State of Rhode Island | State of Rhode Island | 1,095,962 | none | none |

## Core-based statistical areas

The following table provides the in-state population ranking of each CBSA along with its rate of population change over time.
The one core-based statistical area of the State of Rhode Island :
| 2023 rank | Core-based statistical area | Population | Population | Population | Population | Population |
| 2023 rank | Core-based statistical area | 2023 estimate | Change | 2020 Census | Change | 2010 Census |
| 1 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA MSA (RI) | 1,095,962 | −0.13% | 1,097,379 | +4.26% | 1,052,567 |
| | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA MSA | 1,677,803 | +0.07% | 1,676,579 | +4.73% | 1,600,852 |

## Combined statistical areas

The following table provides the in-state population ranking of each CSA along with its rate of population change over time.
The one combined statistical area of the State of Rhode Island :
| 2023 rank | Combined statistical area | Population | Population | Population | Population | Population |
| 2023 rank | Combined statistical area | 2023 estimate | Change | 2020 Census | Change | 2010 Census |
| 1 | Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA (RI) | 1,095,962 | −0.13% | 1,097,379 | +4.26% | 1,052,567 |
| | Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA | 8,345,067 | −0.06% | 8,349,768 | +7.39% | 7,774,948 |