Cincinnati metropolitan area

The Cincinnati metropolitan area was originally designated by the United States Census Bureau in 1950 and consisted of the Kentucky counties of Campbell and Kenton and the Ohio county of Hamilton. As surrounding counties saw an increase in their population densities and the number of their residents employed within Hamilton County, they met census criteria to be added to the MSA. The Hamilton–Middletown, OH MSA was also formed in 1950 and consisted solely of Butler County, Ohio.

In 1990, the census changed designation of the areas known as MSAs to Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), and a new Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) grouping was created. From 1990 through 2005, the Cincinnati–Hamilton–Middletown CMSA included the Cincinnati–Hamilton, OH–KY–IN PMSA and the Hamilton–Middletown, OH PMSA.

As of December 2005, census terminology changed again, eliminating the PMSA/CMSA terminology. Consolidated Statistical Areas (CSA) combine more than one Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA). Newly defined MSAs (Metropolitan) and μSAs (Micropolitan) Statistical Areas are CBSAs. From 2005 to 2013, the Cincinnati–Middletown–Wilmington CSA included the Cincinnati–Middletown MSA (defined as the old Cincinnati–Hamilton–Middletown CMSA), and Wilmington, OH μSA (Clinton County, Ohio).

In 2013, the CSA was redefined again. The Cincinnati–Middletown MSA was renamed the Cincinnati MSA. The Wilmington, OH μSA remained in the CSA. The Maysville, KY μSA, which had previously consisted of Mason and Lewis Counties in Kentucky, was redefined as consisting solely of Mason County and added to the CSA. The name of the CSA accordingly changed to the Cincinnati–Wilmington–Maysville CSA.

In September 2018, Union County, Indiana, was added to the Cincinnati MSA.{{cite press release |title=OMB Bulletin No. 18-04 |publisher=Office of Management and Budget |date=September 2018 |page=47 |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Bulletin-18-04.pdf#page=51}}

In July 2023, the new metropolitan area delineation were published and Union County, Indiana, was detached from the Cincinnati MSA, and the Maysville, Kentucky, micropolitan statistical area was detached from the combined statistical area.{{cite press release |title=OMB Bulletin No. 23-01 |publisher=Office of Management and Budget |date=July 2023 |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OMB-Bulletin-23-01.pdf}}

Most of the region's population growth has occurred in the northern counties, leading to speculation that the Cincinnati–Northern Kentucky metropolitan area will eventually merge with Greater Dayton.{{cite web |url=http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/1998/11/09/story3.html |title=Ready for 'Daytonnati?' It could happen |publisher=Cincinnati.bizjournals.com |date=November 9, 1998 |access-date=May 14, 2012}} Cincinnati is also located very close to other metropolitan areas, such as Columbus, Indianapolis, Lexington, and Louisville.

{{USCensusPop

|1950= 1244738

|1960= 1544659

|1970= 1690234

|1980= 1753801

|1990= 1844917

|2000= 2009632

|2010= 2130151

|2020= 2256884

|align-fn=center

|footnote=data source:{{Cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t3/index.html |title=Ranking Tables for Metropolitan Areas (PHC-T-3) |first=US Census Bureau Systems Support |last=DIvision |website=www.census.gov}}

}}

Notes

¹For comparison purposes, population data is summarized using 2008 census CSA/MSA county definitions.

²Butler County, Ohio was previously known as the Hamilton–Middletown, OH PMSA and was separate from the Cincinnati, OH–KY–IN PMSA until the 1990 census, when the Cincinnati–Hamilton, OH–KY–IN CMSA designation was used to consolidate the two PMSAs. The CMSA/PMSA designation is no longer used by the US census.

File:Downtown Hamilton Ohio.jpg is the second-largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area.]]

File:Covington, Kentucky.jpg is the largest city in Northern Kentucky.]]

Population figures as of the 2020 census.

• Cincinnati, Ohio (309,317)

• Hamilton, Ohio (63,399)
• Middletown, Ohio (50,987)

{{Div col|colwidth=18em}}

• Fairfield, Ohio (42,623)
• Covington, Kentucky (40,961)
• Mason, Ohio (40,691 )
• Florence, Kentucky (31,946)
• Independence, Kentucky (28,676)
• Oxford, Ohio (23,035)
• Lebanon, Ohio (20,841)
• Forest Park, Ohio (20,189)
• Erlanger, Kentucky (19,611)
• Springboro, Ohio (19,062)
• Norwood, Ohio (19,043)
• Fort Thomas, Kentucky (17,438)
• Newport, Kentucky (14,150)
• Sharonville, Ohio (14,117)
• Blue Ash, Ohio (13,394)
• Loveland, Ohio (13,307)
• Wilmington, Ohio (12,660) (CSA)
• Springdale, Ohio (11,007)
• Reading, Ohio (10,600)
• Alexandria, Kentucky (10,341)

{{div col end}}

File:Cincinnati Metropolitan Area NASA.jpg image of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The Ohio River separates the states of Ohio and Kentucky.]]

The Cincinnati–Northern Kentucky metropolitan area is located within a climatic transition zone. The southern area of the region, from roughly about the Ohio River, is at the extreme northern limit of the humid subtropical climate; the north part of the region is on the extreme southern cusp of the humid continental climate. Evidence of both humid subtropical climate and humid continental climate can be found here, particularly noticeable by the presence of plants indicative of each climatic region. Within the area, the USDA climate zone rating can vary from as warm as zone 6b{{cite web |url=http://www.ahs.org/pdfs/USDA_Map_3.03.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=May 28, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320161223/http://www.ahs.org/pdfs/USDA_Map_3.03.pdf |archive-date=March 20, 2009}} to as cool as zone 5b,{{cite web |author=Ramon Jordan |url=http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html |title=National Arboretum – USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map |publisher=Usna.usda.gov |date=January 24, 2012 |access-date=May 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704232205/http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html |archive-date=July 4, 2012 |url-status=dead}} with the warmest areas tending to be found closest to the Ohio River; individual microclimates of even cooler and warmer temperature may occur in the area but are too small to be considered in the overall climate zone rating. The common wall lizard, introduced from Italy in the 1950s, is an example of fauna in the area that lends a subtropical ambiance to the urban core (near downtown Cincinnati) area of the region.

Significant moderating variables for the overall climate are:

• South and central: Ohio River, Licking River, relatively large hills and valleys, and a combined urban heat island effect due to the close proximity of the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky cities of Covington, Newport, and Downtown Cincinnati
• Suburban: large parking lots that take up much land in Mason, West Chester, and Florence create a heat island effect.
• North: Great Miami River, the area is situated on a glaciated flat plateau, the Miami Valley, and some urban heat island effect in the immediate area of downtown Dayton and Hamilton.

Traveling through the region from North to South, a subtle but interesting change in climate can be observed and is most evidenced by the gradual increase in the occurrence of subtropical indicator plants in the landscape. Most noticeable are the Southern Magnolia and Mimosa trees, and the needle palm also may be found as a winter hardy landscape specimen in lawns near the Ohio River. During the winter, travellers from north to south will routinely observe a significant difference in snowfall/ice/rain in the region.

Although widely accepted as part of the very southern fringe of the Midwestern United States in most cases, the Cincinnati–Northern Kentucky metropolitan area is climatically and geographically located on the northern periphery of the Upland South region of the United States and is within the Bluegrass region of Ohio and Kentucky in the Upper South.

The area is vulnerable to occasional severe weather—thunderstorms, large hail and sometimes tornadoes.

{{Cincinnati weatherbox}}

File:Highways of Greater Cincinnati.png

The Connector streetcar line opened in Cincinnati in 2016.{{cite web |url=http://www.thecincinnatisubway.com |title=Cincinnati's Abandoned Subway |access-date=December 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727041551/http://www.thecincinnatisubway.com/ |archive-date=July 27, 2019 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/subway.html |title=CINCINNATI SUBWAY |access-date=February 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160217185715/http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/subway.html |archive-date=February 17, 2016 |url-status=live}} Amtrak's Cardinal makes three weekly trips in each direction between Chicago and New York City through Cincinnati Union Terminal. Regional transit authorities serving the area include the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) and the Clermont Transportation Connection. SORTA and TANK primarily operate {{Convert|40|ft|m|adj=on}} diesel buses, though some lines are served by longer articulated or hybrid-engine buses.

The Cincinnati area is served by Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) in Hebron, Kentucky. The airport is one of DHL Aviation's three superhubs, offering non-stop passenger service to over 50 destinations in North America and Europe.{{cite web |title=CVG Fact Sheet October 2020 |url=https://www.cvgairport.com/docs/default-source/leadership/fact-sheets/cvg-airport-fact-sheet---october-202053961287-88f1-4cf6-8848-3bbf5265b285.pdf?Status=Master&sfvrsn=ab8f5715_3 |access-date=January 13, 2021}} The airport is a global hub for Amazon Air, Atlas Air, ABX Air, Kalitta Air, and DHL Aviation, handling numerous domestic and international cargo flights every day.{{cite web |title=Amazon, DHL key in new CVG strategy to land development |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/boone-county/2018/03/27/airport-development-beyond-amazon/458198002/ |access-date=June 2, 2018}} CVG is currently the 6th busiest airport in the United States by cargo traffic, and is additionally the fastest-growing cargo airport in North America.{{cite web |title=Cincinnati, OH: Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International (CVG) |url=http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=CVG&Airport_Name=Cincinnati |publisher=Bureau of Transportation Statistics |date=May 2017 |access-date=May 11, 2018}}{{cite web |title=Launching Point 2017: A Year in Review |url=http://www.cvgairport.com/docs/default-source/leadership/cvg-q4-2017.pdf?sfvrsn=2 |access-date=February 5, 2018}}

File:I-71 I-75 Cincinnati.jpg

• 25px Interstate 71
• 25px Interstate 74
• 25px Interstate 75
• 25px Interstate 275
• 25px Interstate 471

US Highways

• 25px 25px U.S. Route 22 & State Route 3 (Montgomery Road)
• 25px U.S. Route 27 (Colerain Avenue)
• 25px U.S. Route 42 (Reading Road, Lebanon Road)
• 25px U.S. Route 50 (Columbia Parkway, Ohio Pike)
• 25px U.S. Route 52 (Riverside Drive, Kellogg Avenue)
• 25px U.S. Route 127 (Hamilton Avenue)

Ohio State Highways

• 25px Ohio State Route 4 (Springfield Pike, Dixie Highway)
• 25px Ohio State Route 28
• 25px Ohio State Route 32
• 25px Ohio State Route 126 (Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway)
• 25px Ohio State Route 129 (Butler County Veterans Highway)
• 25px Ohio State Route 131
• 25px Ohio State Route 562 (Norwood Lateral)
• 25px Ohio State Route 747 (Princeton Pike)

Kentucky State Highways

• 25px Kentucky Route 9 (AA Highway)
• 25px Kentucky Route 17 (Madison Pike)
• 25px Kentucky Route 18 (Burlington Pike)
• 25px Kentucky Route 177 (Decoursey Pike)

• Vine Street, Cincinnati
• Fort Washington Way

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• University of Cincinnati
• Xavier University
• Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
• Miami University
• Mount St. Joseph University
• Union Institute & University
• Hebrew Union College
• Art Academy of Cincinnati
• God's Bible School and College

• Northern Kentucky University
• Thomas More University
• Gateway Community and Technical College
• Maysville Community and Technical College

• Ivy Tech Community College

File:McMicken Hall, University of Cincinnati, 2005-08-19.jpg|University of Cincinnati

File:MacCracken Hall at dusk.jpg|Miami University

File:NKU-lake-1.jpg|Northern Kentucky University

File:Art-Academy-of-Cincinnati.jpg|Art Academy of Cincinnati

• 513 and 283 – Ohio counties and Cincinnati
• 937 and 326 – Ohio counties
• 859 – most Kentucky counties
• 606 – Bracken and Mason counties, Kentucky
• 812 and 930 – Indiana counties
• 765 – Indiana counties

{{main|Media in Cincinnati}}

Cincinnati-based broadcast media outlets often use the terms "Greater Cincinnati" and "Tri-State Area" to refer to their broader viewing or listening areas, especially for the purpose of weather reports or school closings. The viewing areas of WLWT, WCPO-TV, and WKRC-TV all span the same 26 counties, including Adams and Highland counties in Ohio; Fayette, Ripley, Switzerland, and Union counties in Indiana; and Carroll, Owen, and Robertson counties in Kentucky.{{cite news |title=Winter weather update: Snow mixing with rain for some |first=Allison |last=Rogers |work=WLWT |publisher=Hearst Television |date=January 12, 2019 |access-date=April 17, 2019 |url=https://www.wlwt.com/article/winter-weather-update-snow-mixing-with-rain-for-some/25872721}}{{cite web |title=Maps |work=WCPO-TV |publisher=E. W. Scripps Company |access-date=April 17, 2019 |url=https://www.wcpo.com/weather/maps}}{{cite web |title=Cincinnati Maps |work=WKRC-TV |publisher=Sinclair Broadcast Group |access-date=April 17, 2019 |url=https://local12.com/weather/maps}} WXIX-TV additionally includes Decatur County in Indiana and Lewis County in Kentucky.{{cite web |title=Weather |work=WXIX-TV |publisher=Gray Television |url=http://www.fox19.com/weather/}}

Dayton-area media outlets similarly refer to a Miami Valley area that includes Butler and Warren counties in Ohio and sometimes Clinton County, Ohio, and Union County, Indiana.

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• [http://www.oki.org/ Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20150913045206/http://www.cincinnatiport.org/transportation-logistics/ports-cincinnati-northern-kentucky/ The Ports of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky]

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{{Primary Metropolitan Areas in Indiana}}

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Category:Metropolitan areas of Indiana

Category:Metropolitan areas of Kentucky

Category:Metropolitan areas of Ohio