Original: The Phoenix Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) (officially known as the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale MSA), is the 12th largest in the United States, with a total population of 4,281,899 as of the July 2008 update of the 2000 U.S. Census.
Simplified: As of 2006, the Phoenix Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) was the 13th-largest in the United States, with an estimated population of 4,039,182 people.