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Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Springfield Metropolitan Area
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Springfield Metro Center from the Hampden County Memorial Bridge at blue hour
Springfield Metro Center from the Hampden County Memorial Bridge at blue hour
Map
Springfield–Amherst Town–Northampton, MA CSA
Country United States
State Massachusetts
Principal
municipalities		Springfield
Franklin County
Hampden County
Hampshire County
Area
 • Total
1,904 sq mi (4,930 km2)
Population
 • Density367.9/sq mi (142.0/km2)
 • MSA (2020)
465,825(117th)
 • CSA (2020)
699,162(74th)
GDP
[1]
 • Total$40.110 billion (2022)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern Time Zone)
Area code413

The Springfield metropolitan area, also known as Greater Springfield, is a region that is socio-economically and culturally tied to the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines the Springfield, MA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as consisting of three counties in Western Massachusetts. As of 2023, the metropolitan area's population was estimated at 460,291, making it the 117th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.[2]

Historically, the census has also identified the region as "Springfield–Holyoke, Mass.–Conn." as those cities were the area's population centers as recently as 1980; since that time the population has become further distributed, including new growth in Amherst, Westfield, and West Springfield, and Northern Connecticut.[2][3] Greater Springfield is one of two combined statistical areas in Massachusetts; the other is Greater Boston.

An alternative system of measuring New England metropolitan areas was developed, called the New England city and town area (NECTA) because, in New England, towns are a much more important level of government than counties. County government in New England is weak at best, and in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and most of Massachusetts, does not exist at all. In addition, major cities and surrounding towns are often much smaller in land area than in other parts of the United States. For example, Springfield is 33.2 sq. miles, whereas Fort Worth, Texas, is 298.9 sq. miles, nearly 10 times larger in land area than Springfield.

Because of the sizable discrepancy in land area, New England cities like Springfield feature much higher population densities. In addition, New England cities and towns have developed allegiances that transcend state borders; cities in Connecticut are included in Springfield's NECTA. This system is thought to better approximate New England's metropolitan areas because it uses New England's geographically smaller building blocks. In Springfield's case, its NECTA consists of 51 additional cities and towns surrounding the city.

Component counties of the MSA

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County 2021 Estimate 2020 Census Change Area Density
Hampden County 462,718 465,825 −0.67% 617.14 sq mi (1,598.4 km2) 508/sq mi (196/km2)
Hampshire County 161,572 162,308 −0.45% 527.26 sq mi (1,365.6 km2) 450/sq mi (174/km2)
Franklin County 71,015 71,029 −0.02% 699.32 sq mi (1,811.2 km2) 229/sq mi (88/km2)
Total 695,305 699,162 −0.55% 1,843.72 sq mi (4,775.2 km2) 377/sq mi (146/km2)

Component cities/towns of the NECTA

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Springfield, MA Metropolitan NECTA shown in cream color, with Springfield highlighted in red. The adjacent NECTAs of Amherst (pink) and Greenfield (orange) are also shown.

Demographics

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As of the census[4] of 2010, there were 692,942 people, 269,091 households, and 168,758 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 81.10% White, 6.7% African American, 0.30% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.6% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.4% of the population.

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 680,014 people, 260,745 households, and 167,924 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 83.50% White, 5.96% African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.74% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 6.35% from other races, and 2.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.15% of the population. In the 2010 census, the metropolitan area had the highest percentage of Puerto Ricans of any metropolitan statistical area in the continental United States.[4]

The median income for a household in the MSA was $42,195, and the median income for a family was $52,551. Males had a median income of $37,784 versus $28,404 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $20,633.

The median age for the MSA was 38.9 in 2010 overall, with a median age of 37.4 for males and 40.1 for females.[5] The estimated median age in 2017 was 38.2 overall with a median age 36.6 for males and 39.6 for females.[6] Among the 100 most populous MSAs in the United States, the Springfield metropolitan area had the 10th highest life expectancy in 2016 for the top quartile of income earners, adjusted for race and ethnicity, with an overall life expectancy of 87.2.[7]

Transportation

[edit]
Further information: Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, Hartford Line, Valley Flyer, and Springfield Street Railway

The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) is the primary operator of public transportation services in the Springfield Metropolitan Area. Headquartered in Springfield, the PVTA maintains a fleet of approximately 174 buses, 144 vans, and "is the largest regional transit authority in Massachusetts."[8] Founded in 1974 with the enactment of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 161B, the PVTA serves 24 member communities in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties. Each member community pays an assessment fee to the PVTA based "on the number of miles served in that city or town."[8] Alternative sources of revenue mostly originate from federal and state governments.[8] The PVTA itself is governed by an advisory board.[8]

From the late 1800s until June 1940, the Springfield Street Railway served much of the greater Springfield metropolitan area with its 208+ mile streetcar system, which connected Springfield with its various neighborhoods like Forest Park and Indian Orchard, nearby cities such as Chicopee, Westfield, Holyoke, Agawam, West Springfield, Ludlow, Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Palmer, Monson, Wilbraham and Ware and even nearby regions like Worcester, Hartford and the Berkshires.[9]

The Northern portion of the Greater Springfield metro region was similarly served by the Holyoke Street Railway and the closely affiliated Northampton Street Railway which together served their namesake cities along with South Hadley, Chicopee, Northampton, Amherst, Easthampton, Hadley and other nearby cities along with the Connecticut Valley Street Railway which also served Northampton, Amherst and Hadley as well as Greenfield, Turners Falls, Deerfield, Hatfield, Whately and other cities within and outside the metropolitan area. Smaller local street railways like the Shelburne Falls and Colrain Street Railway and an even smaller one in Conway operated in other outlying parts of the greater Springfield region.[10]

Today, bus transportation is offered in various parts of the Greater Springfield metropolitan Area as described above by the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority as well as the Franklin Regional Transit Authority in the northern portion of the metropolitan statistical area. Intercity bus service to various cities within and outside of the commonwealth is available from the locally owned Peter Pan Bus Lines.

Passenger rail service on the Vermonter and, since 2019, the Valley Flyer Amtrak trains are available from John W. Olver Transit Center in Greenfield, Union Station in Northampton, Holyoke, and Springfield Union Station, the last of which is served also by the Hartford Line, a CT Rail route offering frequent service from Springfield to Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut, wherein a connection to the New York MTA and the Acela is possible.[11]

A new state-supported Amtrak service that will connect Springfield and its greater metropolitan area with Pittsfield, Worcester, and Boston known as East-West Passenger Rail is in the development phase and has received some initial funding, as has a long-underway effort to reinstate Vermonter (previously the Montrealer) service to Montreal, which has been truncated to St. Albans, Vermont since 1995.[12]

Another similar project, called Northern Tier Passenger Rail which would reactivate the former Fitchburg Railroad and reconnect the northernmost portion of the metro region with Fitchburg, Gardner, North Adams, Orange, Pittsfield, Albany and the cities of the existing MBTA Fitchburg Line in Greater Boston has also been proposed and studied, and is presently awaiting funding following the release of MassDOT's final report in 2024.[13]

Media

[edit]

The Springfield metropolitan area is tabulated by Nielsen as the Springfield-Holyoke designated market area, and is the 111th largest television market in the United States, with viewership comparable to Tallahassee and Fort Wayne.[14] The area's local news is characterized by 2 operations, the local NBC affiliate WWLP 22, and the consolidated WesternMassNews, representing CBS affiliate WSHM 3, joint ABC affiliate and FOX affiliate WGGB.[15] In 2019 local NPR affiliate WFCR and PBS WGBY merged operations to form New England Public Media.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Springfield, MA (MSA)". Federal Reserve Economic Data. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
  2. ^ a b "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015 - United States -- Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area; and for Puerto Rico". 2015 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  3. ^ 1980 Census of Population and Housing: Springfield–Chicopee–Holyoke, Mass.–Conn. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of the Census, US Dept. of Commerce. 1983.
  4. ^ a b c "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ "Table DEC_10_SF1_SF1DP1". American Factfinder. United States Census. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  6. ^ "Table ACS_17_5YR_B01002". American Factfinder. United States Census. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  7. ^ Chetty, Raj; Stepner, Michael; Abraham, Sarah; Lin, Shelby; Scuderi, Benjamin; Turner, Nicholas; Bergeron, Augustin; Cutler, David (2016). "The Association Between Income and Life Expectancy in the United States, 2001-2014". Journal of the American Medical Association. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.4226. PMC 4866586.
  8. ^ a b c d About the PVTA Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts Transit Authority. Pvta.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-15.
  9. ^ Wright, Harry Andrew; Shaw, Donald E. (1949). "Chapter XLII: Local Transportation". The Story of Western Massachusetts Volume II: Transportation, Industry, Institutions & Miscellany. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. pp. 538–649. LCCN 50006039. OCLC 50006039 – via HathiTrust.
  10. ^ "Conway Electric St Ry". www.sftm.org. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  11. ^ "Massachusetts and Amtrak Officials Announce Valley Flyer Passenger Service Will Become Permanent". Mass.gov. Archived from the original on 2025-06-15. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  12. ^ "East–West Rail in Massachusetts – Trains In The Valley". trainsinthevalley.org. 2022-06-09. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  13. ^ "Northern Tier Passenger Rail". trainsinthevalley.org. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  14. ^ "2020 Designated Market Area Rankings" (PDF). Nielsen Company. September 28, 2019.
  15. ^ Kelly, Ray (April 17, 2015). "CBS 3, ABC 40 and FOX 6 unite as Western Mass News". The Republican. Springfield, Mass. – via MassLive.
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