Subscribe to our newsletter. That's what data from Census 2000 confirms about America's urban population. More Americans than ever are living in urban areas. Although you may hear these two terms used as if they are interchangeable, they are actually different.
Metropolitan areas are more expansive than cities.
Some MAs are defined around two or more nuclei. That basically means interrelated business and social connections tie one or more cities and their surrounding areas together. In an MA, people may live in a suburb, go into the city to work, and pursue leisure or recreational activities in other nearby areas. For example, Los Angeles, California is a city with a defined boundary. It is also part of an MA including Los Angeles, Riverside, and Orange County, California.