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What type of community feels rural, acts urban, and is one of the most promising (and least understood) areas in terms of retail development? The answer is a community categorized by the federal government as a “micropolitan statistical area.”
In 2003, the federal government created a new standard for delineating the entire land surface of the United States. Previously, this listing by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) separated the country into two general areas: Metropolitan and rural. The new listing recognizes a significant portion of the population that falls in between these two extremes with the micropolitan statistical area status.
The larger and more familiar metropolitan statistical area is defined as having a population center with at least 50,000 inhabitants. The metro area itself makes up at least one county. There are 361 metro areas in the United States and 80 percent of the population resides in these areas.
The new micropolitan areas are designated using the same procedure as the metro areas. Micropolitan areas must have at least one urban cluster with a population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000, plus they have adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties. The largest city in each micropolitan area is defined as a “principal city,” and the micropolitan area must consist of at least one county. (A few micropolitan areas consist of as many as four counties.) There are 573 micropolitan areas in the United States. And, more than 28 million Americans –or one in 10 people—live in micro areas. For detailed lists, go to http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metroarea.html
What is the significance for retail economic development? The OMB defines metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas for purposes of collecting, tabulating and publishing federal data, including Census bureau data, for geographic areas.
Micro areas can now officially prove their population numbers to retailers and others. For instance, Elko, Nev., is listed in the Census separately as a small city of 17,000 people. But is also now part of a micro area encompassing two counties with a total population of almost 47,000 people.
Some retailers, most notably Wal-Mart, have known for decades that rich markets existed outside of metro areas. Other retailers have been quick to catch on. No longer written off as rural outposts, these micro areas are being recognized as economic hubs that draw workers and shoppers from miles around.
Because of the new micropolitan listing, communities of less than 50,000 are now “on the map” of corporate site selection professionals. For the first time, corporations can compare information regarding labor markets and other community statistics for these previously uncharted territories. For retailers who are searching for communities in which to locate, the micro communities represent a potentially lucrative market that may have been overlooked. The new statistical designation allows retailers to make better decisions.
Although retailers need information regarding consumers within a “trade area,” not city limits, the micro area designation is one more tool city leaders can use to extend their market beyond the city limits. They can use this information to demonstrate how the principal city draws workers and shoppers from the entire region.
This new designation is too new to fully understand its implications for those communities that have the designation. Some predictions for the future include:
1. Cities with less than 50,000 population will now have an identity that was previously only available to metropolitan cities.
2. Communities will find a number of uses for micropolitan statistics in such areas as promotional materials, grant applications and labor force estimates.
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The New “Micropolitan” Status Places Many Cities on Retailers’ Maps 
