The Philadelphia metropolitan area is geographically associated and proximate to the
Delaware River and its three primary tributaries, the
Schuylkill River,
Lehigh River, and
Brandywine Creek.
U.S. government agencies have reached various definitions of metropolitan Philadelphia. The
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines
metropolitan statistical area (MSAs), which are regions with relatively high population densities at their cores and close economic ties throughout their respective areas. MSAs are further combined into
combined statistical areas (CSAs), reflecting commuting patterns. Neither is a formal administrative division.
Metropolitan statistical area (MSA) As of the
2020 U.S. census, the Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington metropolitan statistical area is the
seventh-largest MSA in the nation with 6,245,051 people. The MSA includes: • Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division •
Burlington County, NJ •
Camden County, NJ •
Gloucester County, NJ • Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division •
Bucks County, PA •
Chester County, PA •
Delaware County, PA •
Montgomery County, PA •
Philadelphia City, PA • Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division •
Cecil County, MD •
New Castle County, DE •
Salem County, NJ Combined statistical area (CSA) As of 2020, the Philadelphia–Reading–Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA is the nation's ninth-largest
combined statistical area with a population of 7,379,700.
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden Combined Statistical Area includes: • Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSA (11 counties, as defined above) •
Berks County, Pennsylvania, comprising the Reading, PA MSA •
Atlantic County, New Jersey, comprising the Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ MSA •
Cape May County, New Jersey, comprising the Ocean City, NJ MSA •
Cumberland County, New Jersey, comprising the Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ MSA •
Kent County, Delaware, comprising the Dover, DE MSA , the second-most highly populated
megaregion of the U.S. with 52.3 million residents.
Statistical history When metropolitan areas were originally defined in 1950, most of this urban area was split between four metropolitan areas, or standard metropolitan areas, as they were then called. The Philadelphia SMA included
Philadelphia,
Bucks,
Chester,
Delaware, and
Montgomery counties in
Pennsylvania, and
Burlington,
Camden, and
Gloucester counties in
South Jersey. The Wilmington SMA included
New Castle County in
Delaware and
Salem County in South Jersey.
Berks County was designated as the Reading SMA and
Atlantic County, New Jersey was the Atlantic City SMA. In 1960,
Cecil County, Maryland was added to what was now the Wilmington Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA). In 1980,
Cumberland County, New Jersey was defined as the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton SMSA. In 1990, the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton SMSAs were merged with the Trenton SMSA to form the
Philadelphia–Wilmington–Trenton Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the same time,
Cape May County, New Jersey was added to the Atlantic City SMSA. The "Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton" became obsolete one census later when
Trenton, New Jersey was moved to the New York-Newark-Bridgeport CSA. The Philadelphia-Wilmington-Vineland CSA included the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden MSA and the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton MSA. In 2000,
Kent County, Delaware was designated the Dover MSA, and Kent County and
Atlantic City were added to the Philadelphia CSA in 2010. As a result of new 2010 definitions, based on a threshold of 15% labor interchange between MSAs, two additional MSAs were added,
Ocean City, New Jersey and
Reading, Pennsylvania. The CSA to which they belong is known as Philadelphia-Reading-Camden.
Climate Types All of it is Humid Subtropical File:Köppen Climate Types Maryland.png|
Maryland Köppen Climate Types File:Köppen Climate Types Pennsylvania.png|
Pennsylvania Köppen Climate Types File:Köppen Climate Types Delaware.png|
Delaware Köppen Climate Types File:Köppen Climate Types New Jersey.png|
New Jersey Köppen Climate Types ==Subregions==