Major Metropolitan Areas
The South was heavily rural as late as the 1940s, but now the population is increasingly concentrated in metropolitan areas, including central cities and their suburbs.
| Rank | Metropolitan Statistical Area | State(s) | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington | TX | 6,371,773 |
| 2 | Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown | TX | 5,946,800 |
| 3 | Washington–Arlington–Alexandria | DC–VA– MD–WV |
5,582,170 |
| 4 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach | FL | 5,564,635 |
| 5 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta | GA | 5,268,860 |
| 6 | Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater | FL | 2,783,243 |
| 7 | Baltimore–Towson | MD | 2,710,489 |
| 8 | San Antonio-New Braunfels-Seguin | TX | 2,142,508 |
| 9 | Orlando-Kissimmee | FL | 2,134,411 |
| 10 | Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky* | OH-IN-KY | 2,130,151 |
| 11 | Charlotte–Gastonia–Concord | NC–SC | 1,758,038 |
| 12 | Raleigh-Durham-Cary | NC | 1,749,925 |
| 13 | Austin–Round Rock-San Marcos | TX | 1,716,289 |
| 14 | Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News | VA–NC | 1,671,683 |
| 15 | Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin | TN | 1,589,934 |
| 16 | Jacksonville | FL | 1,345,596 |
| 17 | Memphis-Bartlett-Southaven | TN–MS–AR | 1,316,100 |
| 18 | Louisville–Jefferson County* | KY–IN | 1,307,647 |
| 19 | Richmond | VA | 1,258,251 |
| 20 | Oklahoma City | OK | 1,252,987 |
| 21 | New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner | LA | 1,167,764 |
| 22 | Birmingham–Hoover | AL | 1,128,047 |
| 23 | Tulsa | OK | 937,478 |
| 24 | Baton Rouge | LA | 802,484 |
| 25 | El Paso | TX | 800,647 |
* Asterisk indicates part of the metropolitan area is outside the states classified as Southern.
Read more about this topic: Southern United States
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—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 1, ch. 16 (1962)