Claim: Richmond, Virginia is a city.

In the United States , a metropolitan statistical area -LRB- MSA -RRB- is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area . Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or town would be , nor are they legal administrative divisions like counties or separate entities such as states . As such , the precise definition of any given metropolitan area can vary with the source . A typical metropolitan area is centered on a single large city that wields substantial influence over the region -LRB- e.g. , Chicago or Atlanta -RRB- . However , some metropolitan areas contain more than one large city with no single municipality holding a substantially dominant position -LRB- e.g. , Dallas -- Fort Worth metroplex , Norfolk-Virginia Beach -LRB- Hampton Roads -RRB- , Riverside -- San Bernardino -LRB- Inland Empire -RRB- or Minneapolis -- Saint Paul -RRB- .   MSAs are defined by the Office of Management and Budget -LRB- OMB -RRB- and used by the Census Bureau and other federal government agencies for statistical purposes .