The Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area is a metropolitan area comprising the cities of Omaha, Nebraska, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, and surrounding areas. The area has a population of 895,151 (2013).[1] The metropolitan area, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, consists of eight counties – five in Nebraska and three in Iowa.[2][3] The area is locally referred to as "the Metro Area", "the Metro", or simply "Omaha". Three of the counties have large urban areas; the other five counties consist primarily of rural communities, most of which have populations of 1,000 or less.
Standard definitions for United States metropolitan areas were created in 1949; the first census which had metropolitan area data was the 1950 census. At that time, the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area comprised three counties: Douglas and Sarpy in Nebraska, and Pottawattamie in Iowa. No additional counties were added to the metropolitan area until 1983, when Washington County, Nebraska was added. Cass County, Nebraska was added in 1993; Saunders County in Nebraska and Harrison and Mills counties in Iowa became part of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area in 2003.
The 2003 revision to metropolitan area definitions was accompanied by the creation of micropolitan areas and Combined Statistical Areas. Fremont, in Dodge County, Nebraska, was designated a micropolitan area. The Omaha–Council Bluffs–Fremont combined statistical area has a population of 858,720 (2006 estimate).[5]
Components of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area[edit]
