Proposed Redefinition of the BEA Economic Areas

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

[Docket No. 941005-4305]

Proposed Redefinition of the BEA Economic Areas

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposed changes and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In a previous notice in the Federal Register (56 FR 13049,

March 9, 1993), BEA announced its ``Intent to Revise the Boundaries of

the BEA Economic Areas'' and presented the procedures used to define

the current economic areas. This notice presents for public comment a

proposed redefinition of the economic areas, which reduces their number

from 183 to 174. Any additional changes to the proposed economic areas

will be based largely on the comments received. The resulting new

economic areas, along with a summary of the comments received, will be

presented in a later notice. At that time, the new economic areas will

supersede the current 183 BEA economic areas.

DATES: Persons who wish to comment on the proposed redefinition of the

BEA economic areas should do so in writing no later than December 22,

1994.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to Kenneth Johnson,

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis BE-61,

Regional Economic Analysis Division, Washington, DC 20230; fax (202)

606-5321. Comments also may be sent by electronic mail on the Internet

to Kenneth Johnson at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kenneth Johnson, (202) 606-9219; fax (202) 606-5321.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Part I: Background

Under authority granted in 15 U.S.C. 175 et seq., BEA develops and

presents geographically detailed economic data and facilitates regional

economic analysis. As part of this obligation, BEA defined the 183

current economic areas in 1977. The economic areas cover the entire

nation. The redefinition now underway is necessary to maintain the

analytical usefulness of the areas in light of the substantial changes

in area commuting patterns shown by the 1990 Census of Population.

Each economic area consists of one or more economic nodes--

metropolitan areas or similar areas that serve as centers of economic

activity--and the surrounding counties that are economically related to

the nodes. (Metropolitan areas include metropolitan statistical areas

(MSA's), primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSA's), and New

England county metropolitan areas (NECMA's).) Commuting patterns are

the main factor used in determining the economic relationships among

counties. The economic-area definition procedure requires that, as far

as possible, each area include both the place-of-work and the place-of-

residence of its labor force.

For some analyses, government agencies and businesses need data

that are more geographically detailed than economic-area data.

Government agencies often use relatively small areas for design of

their program regulations or implementation of their licensing

programs. Businesses need such detail for determining plant locations

and for defining sales and marketing territories. BEA is responding to

these needs as part of the economic-area redefinition by first defining

a set of 348 ``Component Economic Areas'' (CEA's) and then using these

as building blocks for redefining the larger economic areas.

Each CEA consists of a single economic node and the surrounding

counties that are economically related to the node. Of the nodes, 90

percent are metropolitan, and 10 percent are nonmetropolitan. Each

metropolitan area is the node of a different CEA; with minor

exceptions, the nonmetropolitan nodes are nonmetropolitan counties

where newspapers widely read in these areas are published.

In general, the procedure to redefine the economic areas is similar

to that used to define the current economic areas. First, nodes are

identified. Then, non-nodal counties are assigned to nodes, mainly

based on commuting patterns and on newspaper circulation. A procedural

difference is that now node identification and the assignment to nodes

of non-nodal counties are done in a more systematic way and at a more

geographically detailed level. The procedure results in the definition

of 348 CEA's; these are then aggregated to form 174 BEA economic areas.

Part II: Detailed Procedures

I. Identification of Nodes

With the exception of New England MSA's, each metropoltan area in

the nation is identified as a node of a CEA. Metropolitan areas consist

of 240 MSA's, 59 PMSA's, and 11 NECMA's. Thus, metropolitan areas serve

as nodes for 310 of the 348 CEA's.

Each of 38 nonmetropolitan counties is identified as a node of a

CEA in parts of the nation remote from metropolitan areas.

Identification of most of the nonmetropolitan nodes follows a four-part

process. First, analysis of commuting patterns for the nation's 2,305

nonmetropolitan counties shows that 1,112 of these are not closely

related to metropolitan areas. Second, analysis of newspaper

publication data for the 1,112 counties shows that 130 of these are

locations of newspapers whose circulations are recorded by the Audit

Bureau of Circulations, an organization whose membership includes

approximately 98% of U.S. newspaper circulation. Third, further

analysis of newspaper circulation and of population for the 130

counties shows that 68 of these have populations of more than 50,000,

or are locations of newspapers widely read in at least five counties,

or both. Fourth, a preliminary test attempting to use all 68 of these

counties as CEA nodes shows that only 35 of these qualify as nodes of

CEA's that contain at least five counties. These 35 counties are

identified as nonmetropolitan nodes.

The CEA associated with each of the 35 nonmetropolitan nodal

counties selected by the four-step process is named for the city in

which the county's major newspaper is published. The cities are:

Flagstaff, AZ; Jonesboro, AR; Idaho Falls, ID; Twin Falls, ID; Quincy,

IL; Manhattan, KS; Paducah, KY; Bowling Green, KY; Salisbury, MD;

Traverse City, MI; Marquette, MI; Mankato, MN; Worthington, MN;

Hattiesburg, MS (identified by the Office of Management and Budget as a

new MSA as of July 1, 1994); Meridian, MS; Tupelo, MS; Greenville, MS;

Missoula, MT; Butte, MT; Grand Island, NE; North Platte, NE; Norfolk,

NE; Scottsbluff, NE; Lebanon, NH; Hobbs, NM; Farmington, NM; Minot, ND;

Pendleton, OR; Aberdeen SD; Watertown, SD; Cookeville, TN; Lufkin, TX;

Staunton, VA; Clarksburg, WV; and Bluefield, WV.

Three CEA's, each of which consists of a group of closely related

nonmetropolitan counties in very remote parts of the country, do not

have newspaper-based nodes. These CEA's are named by their locations

and include a 7-county group defined by the Alaskan panhandle, a 13-

county group in northern Michigan, and an 11-county group in western

Oklahoma. The county containing the largest city in each of these areas

is the node for the CEA.

2. Assignment of Non-Nodal Counties to Nodes

Of the nation's 3,141 counties, 836 counties are in metropolitan

nodes and 38 counties are nonmetropolitan nodes. Each of the remaining

2,267 non-nodal counties is analyzed to determine the node to which it

is most closely related. The initial assignment of about 75 percent of

the non-nodal counties is based on journey-to-work data from the 1990

Census of Population. These counties are assigned to nodes based on

their largest county-to-county commuting flows. In many instances, the

association between a county and a particular node is based, not on

direct commuting ties to a nodal county, but on commuting ties to a

non-nodal county that is tied to the node. The initial assignment of

most of the other non-nodal counties is based on newspaper circulation

data. These counties are assigned to nodes based on the locations of

the regional newspapers that are most widely read in these counties. In

all cases, contiguity of a non-nodal county to a node or to another

non-nodal county already assigned to the node is required before the

initial assignment is made. The initial assignment of a few of the non-

nodal counties requires special procedures. These usually apply in

counties with very small populations or unusual contiguity problems.

The initial assignments of non-nodal counties are based on the

strongest county-to-county relationships; these need not reflect the

strongest county-to-CEA relationships. Following the initial

definitions of the CEA's, 373 counties are reassigned to ensure that,

to the extent possible, each county is assigned to the CEA with which

it has the strongest commuting ties. (Six counties do not meet this

objective because they are not contiguous with the CEA's to which they

have the most commuting.)

3. Aggregation to Economic Areas

The 348 CEA's are used as building blocks for the proposed 174 BEA

economic areas. CEA's are aggregated so that (1) as far as possible,

the labor force of each resulting economic area works and resides in

that area and (2) each resulting economic area is large enough

economically to be part of BEA's local-area economic projections

program. In general, aggregation to economic areas has two parts. In

the first part, the 59 CEA's with PMSA's as nodes are combined into 17

economic areas corresponding to the 17 consolidated metropolitan

statistical areas (CMSA's) that comprise the PMSA's. (A CMSA is an MSA

that has more than 1 million residents and is subdivided into two or

more PMSA's.) In the second part of the aggregation, each of 141 CEA's

that do not meet size and commuting criteria is combined with the CEA

to which it has the most commuting.

Part III: Map and List of the Proposed 174 BEA Economic Areas

Codes from 1 to 174 are assigned to the proposed economic areas in

approximate geographic order, beginning with 1 in northern Maine,

continuing south to Florida, then north to the Great Lakes, and

continuing in a serpentine pattern to the West Coast. With the

exception of three special-node areas (Alaskan Panhandle, Western

Oklahoma, and Northern Michigan), each economic area is named for the

node of its largest CEA. The following list provides economic-area

codes and names. Economic-area boundaries and codes are shown on the

map following the list.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

EA

Code Name

------------------------------------------------------------------------

001... Bangor, ME

002... Portland, ME

003... Boston-Worcester-Lawrence-Lowell-Brockton, MA-NH

004... Burlington, VT

005... Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY

006... Syracuse, NY

007... Rochester, NY

008... Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY

009... State College, PA

010... @New York-No. New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA (CMSA-70)

011... Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA

012... @Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-DE-MD (CMSA-77)

013... @Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV (CMSA-97)

014... *Salisbury, MD

015... Richmond-Petersburg, VA

016... *Staunton, VA

017... Roanoke, VA

018... Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, NC

019... Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC

020... Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC

021... Greenville, NC

022... Fayetteville, NC

023... Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC

024... Columbia, SC

025... Wilmington, NC

026... Charleston-North Charleston, SC

027... Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC

028... Savannah, GA

029... Jacksonville, FL

030... Orlando, FL

031... @Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL (CMSA-56)

032... Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL

033... Sarasota-Bradenton, FL

034... Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

035... Tallahassee, FL

036... Dothan, AL

037... Albany, GA

038... Macon, GA

039... Columbus, GA-AL

040... Atlanta, GA

041... Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC

042... Asheville, NC

043... Chattanooga, TN-GA

044... Knoxville, TN

045... Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA

046... Hickory-Morganton, NC

047... Lexington, KY

048... Charleston, WV

049... @Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN (CMSA-21)

050... Dayton-Springfield, OH

051... Columbus, OH

052... Wheeling, WV-OH

053... Pittsburgh, PA

054... Erie, PA

055... @Cleveland-Akron, OH (CMSA-28)

056... Toledo, OH

057... @Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI (CMSA-35)

058... *Northern Michigan, MI

059... Green Bay, WI

060... Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI

061... *Traverse City, MI

062... Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI

063... @Milwaukee-Racine, WI (CMSA-63)

064... @Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI (CMSA-14)

065... Elkhart-Goshen, IN

066... Fort Wayne, IN

067... Indianapolis, IN

068... Champaign-Urbana, IL

069... Evansville-Henderson, IN-KY

070... Louisville, KY-IN

071... Nashville, TN

072... *Paducah, KY

073... Memphis, TN-AR-MS

074... Huntsville, AL

075... *Tupelo, MS

076... *Greenville, MS

077... Jackson, MS

078... Birmingham, AL

079... Montgomery, AL

080... Mobile, AL

081... Pensacola, FL

082... Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula, MS

083... New Orleans, LA

084... Baton Rouge, LA

085... Lafayette, LA

086... Lake Charles, LA

087... Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX

088... Shreveport-Bossier City, LA

089... Monroe, LA

090... Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR

091... Fort Smith, AR-OK

092... Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR

093... Joplin, MO

094... Springfield, MO

095... *Jonesboro, AR

096... St. Louis, MO-IL

097... Springfield, IL

098... Columbia, MO

099... Kansas City, MO-KS

100... Des Moines, IA

101... Peoria-Pekin, IL

102... Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL

103... Cedar Rapids, IA

104... Madison, WI

105... La Crosse, WI-MN

106... Rochester, MN

107... Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI

108... Wausau, WI

109... Duluth-Superior, MN-WI

110... Grand Forks, ND-MN

111... *Minot, ND

112... Bismarck, ND

113... Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN

114... *Aberdeen, SD

115... Rapid City, SD

116... Sioux Falls, SD

117... Sioux City, IA-NE

118... Omaha, NE-IA

119... Lincoln, NE

120... *Grand Island, NE

121... *North Platte, NE

122... Wichita, KS

123... Topeka, KS

124... Tulsa, OK

125... Oklahoma City, OK

126... *Western Oklahoma, OK

127... @Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (CMSA-31)

128... Abilene, TX

129... San Angelo, TX

130... Austin-San Marcos, TX

131... @Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX (CMSA-42)

132... Corpus Christi, TX

133... McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX

134... San Antonio, TX

135... Odessa-Midland, TX

136... *Hobbs, NM

137... Lubbock, TX

138... Amarillo, TX

139... Santa Fe, NM

140... Pueblo, CO

141... @Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO (CMSA-34)

142... *Scottsbluff, NE

143... Casper, WY

144... Billings, MT

145... Great Falls, MT

146... *Missoula, MT

147... Spokane, WA

148... *Butte, MT

149... *Idaho Falls, ID

150... *Twin Falls, ID

151... Boise City, ID

152... Reno, NV

153... Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT

154... Las Vegas, NV-AZ

155... *Flagstaff, AZ

156... *Farmington, NM

157... Albuquerque, NM

158... El Paso, TX

159... Phoenix-Mesa, AZ

160... Tucson, AZ

161... @Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA (CMSA-49)

162... San Diego, CA

163... Fresno, CA

164... @San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA (CMSA-84)

165... @Sacramento-Yolo, CA (CMSA-82)

166... Redding, CA

167... Eugene-Springfield, OR

168... @Portland-Salem, OR-WA (CMSA-79)

169... *Pendleton, OR

170... Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA

171... @Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA (CMSA-91)

172... *Alaskan Panhandle, AK

173... Anchorage, AK

174... Honolulu, HI

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The ``*'' denotes a nonmetropolitan-node name, the ``@'' denotes a CMSA

name; all other names are MSA's or NECMA's.

BILLING CODE 3510-06-M

TN07NO94.003

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Part IV: Availability of Additional Information

The text for this Notice and a detailed data file with county, CEA,

and economic-area codes is available, for downloading only, from the

New England Electronic Economic Data Center. Connect to the Data

Center's Internet node at neeedc.umesbs.maine.edu using the anonymous

FTP (username=``anonymous'' with no password) and ``get'' the binary

file EADATA.EXE from the node's root directory. (Do not use GOPHER or

MOSAIC Internet technologies at this node.) This file decompresses into

self-explanatory text files when the DOS command EADATA is used. Counts

of the number of counties in each CEA and economic area and of the

number of CEA's in each economic area are included to assist in

understanding and evaluating the proposed economic areas. The file

EADATA.EXE also is available through the Commerce Department's Economic

Bulletin Board (EBB). First-time users of the EBB may access it with

their personal computer and modem by dialing (202) 482-3870 and

following instructions. The user's cost is an annual fee of $45 and

per-minute connect charges, which vary by time of day; users will be

billed by the Department of Commerce. (The EBB is also available

through the Internet.) A hard-copy listing of the records in the

detailed data file is available for public review at the U.S.

Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Public Information

Office, Room 1026, 1441 L Street, NW., Washington, DC. The hours of

availability are 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday

through Friday.

Part V: Summary of Comments and Responses

In the previous Federal Register Notice (56 FR, 13049, March 9,

1993) interested persons were invited to provide comments regarding

methodology for the economic area definitions. Two formal comments were

received. One suggested that greater clarity in the explanation of the

means by which nodes for the economic areas are selected would be

useful; a description of the selection process is included above. The

second comment specifically requested that the two-county region

defined by Nassau and Suffolk counties in New York be treated as

separate from the New York MSA in the redefinition procedures. Nassau-

Suffolk is a separate PMSA in the larger CMSA surrounding New York, so

it is treated separately in defining the CEA's. However, no counties

other than Nassau and Suffolk are in the Nassau-Suffolk CEA, and it was

grouped with other CEA's to form its economic area.

Public Review Procedure

All comments received in response to this notice will be available

for public inspection at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of

Economic Analysis, Public Information Office, Room 1026, 1441 L Street,

NW., Washington, DC. Hours of availability are 8:30 a.m. to noon and

1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. A summary of the comments

and the set of final BEA economic areas will appear in a Federal

Register notice in early 1995.

Carol S. Carson,

Director.

[FR Doc. 94-27471 Filed 11-4-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-06-M