Camden, Arkansas micropolitan area

The Camden Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas, anchored by the city of Camden.

As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 34,534 (though a July 1, 2009 estimate placed the population at 30,628).

Counties

Communities

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 34,534 people, 13,930 households, and 9,699 families residing within the μSA. The racial makeup of the μSA was 62.20% White, 36.10% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.86% of the population.

Micropolitan statistical area

United States micropolitan statistical areas (µSA, where the initial Greek letter mu represents "micro-"), as defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), are urban areas in the United States centered on an urban cluster (urban area) with a population at least 10,000 but less than 50,000. The micropolitan area designation was created in 2003. Like the better-known Metropolitan Statistical Areas, a micropolitan area is a geographic entity used for statistical purposes based on counties and county equivalents. The OMB has identified 576 micropolitan areas in the United States.

The term "micropolitan" gained currency in the 1990s to describe growing population centers in the United States that are removed from larger cities, in some cases by 100 miles (160 km) or more. Lower land and labor costs have led some micropolitan areas to develop many housing subdivisions and suburban cultures similar to those found in larger metropolitan areas.

Micropolitan cities do not have the economic or political importance of large cities, but are nevertheless significant centers of population and production, drawing workers and shoppers from a wide local area. Because the designation is based on the core urban cluster's population and not on that of the whole area, some micropolitan areas are actually larger than some metropolitan areas. For example, the Ottawa–Peru, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area had a 2010 census population of 154,908. That would put its total population ahead of roughly 100 individual locations classified as a Metropolitan Statistical Area in 2010. The largest of the areas, centered on Torrington, Connecticut, had a population in excess of 180,000 in 2000; Torrington's population in that year's census was only 35,202.