Louisville metropolitan area



The Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area, commonly called the Louisville metropolitan area or Kentuckiana, is the 42nd largest Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the United States. The primary city is Louisville, Kentucky.

It was originally formed by the United States Census Bureau in 1950 and consisted of the Kentucky county of Jefferson and the Indiana counties of Clark and Floyd. As surrounding counties saw an increase in their population densities and the number of their residents employed within Jefferson County, they met Census criteria to be added to the MSA. Jefferson County, Kentucky (contiguous with Louisville Metro), plus twelve outlying counties — eight in Kentucky and four in Southern Indiana are now a part of this MSA.

People living in any of the MSA are said to be living in the Louisville/Jefferson County Area. Because it includes counties in Indiana, the MSA (or a large portion thereof) is regularly referred to as Kentuckiana. It is now the primary MSA of the Louisville–Elizabethtown–Scottsburg, KY–IN Combined Statistical Area (or Louisville CSA, which adds Hardin County, Kentucky, LaRue County, Kentucky, and Scott County, Indiana). The combined statistical area created by the United States Bureau of the Census in 2000, comprises the Louisville – Jefferson County, KY–IN Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the Elizabethtown, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the Scottsburg, Indiana Micropolitan Statistical Area (also abbreviated as MSA).

Metropolitan Statistical Area
• Populations are based upon published estimates by the United States Bureau of the Census.

¹County was not a part of Louisville, KY-IN MSA at the time of this Census and the county's population is not included in MSA total.

²Named Louisville, KY-IN Standard Metropolitan Area (SMA) in 1950, Louisville, KY-IN Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) from 1960 to 1981, and Louisville KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) from 1983 to 2003.

Combined Statistical Area
• Populations are based upon published estimates by the United States Bureau of the Census.

¹County was not a part of Louisville, KY-IN MSA at the time of this Census and the county's population is not included in MSA total.

²Census defined area did not exist during this Census. Population totals are for counties included in 2000 Census MSA or CSA estimates. Population is shown for comparison purposes only and should not be used as a reference.

³Scott County, Indiana was designated a part of the Louisville, KY-IN MSA in 2000, but was removed in 2003 to become the Scottsburg, IN Micropolitan Statistical Area.