CRI

Frequently Asked Questions

 

  • WHAT IS THE FORT WAYNE METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA, OR MSA?

    The Fort Wayne Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is now Allen, Wells, and Whitley Counties. The estimated population of the FW MSA area as of July 2004 is 402,086. The definition had changed in 2003 with OMB Bulletin No. 03-04 and had previously consisted of 6 counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Wells, and Whitley counties

    • Please continue to read below for further discussion on the metro and micro areas.

  • MSA is a term used to define an economic area so that data can be compared. Under the 1990 standards, an area qualifies for recognition as an MSA in one of two ways: (1) if it includes a city of at least 50,000 population, or (2) if it includes a Bureau of the Census-defined urbanized area (of at least 50,000 population) and has a total metropolitan population of at least 100,000 (75,000 in New England). (The population of Fort Wayne as of the 2000 census was 205,727). In addition to the county(ies) containing the main city or urbanized area, an MSA may include additional counties that have strong economic and social ties to the central county(ies) and meet other specified requirements of metropolitan character. The ties are determined chiefly by census data on commuting to work. An MSA may contain more than one city of 50,000 population and may cross state lines.

    Now that we have said all that,it may a good time to explain that the statistical areas are changing.
    The term "Standard Metropolitan Area" was first used in 1949, although the federal government had experimented with the concept since 1910. Such terms as "Labor Market Area", "Metropolitan Districts", "Metro counties", etc. were used during that period. The criteria were revised and reissued over the years to achieve a more objective definition and the term "Statistical" was added in 1983, that is "Metropolitan Statistical Area" (MSA), the term we are familiar with today. These defined areas aided comparison of socioeconomic factors such as labor force, industrial output, and criminal records.
    Every 10 years or so, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget reviews standards and definitions which may result in new MSAs or totally new definitions. For example, Indiana now has 2 new MSAs "Columbus, IN" and "Michigan City -LaPorte, IN", but perhaps even more enlightening are the new concepts "MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA" (micro area) and "COMBINED STATISTICAL AREA" (CSA).
    • The MSA definition has not changed. It is still an area having at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population, with at least 25% commuting to the central county; however, the FW MSA changes from the 6 county cluster to 3 counties.
    • A Micropolitan Statistical Area has at least ONE urban cluster of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000 population and also include adjacent counties that have a minimum of 25% commuting to the central county.
    • A Combined Statistical Area may comprise two or more MSAs, a MSA and a Micro, 2 or more micros, or multiple MSAs and micros.
    • What does this mean for NEI?
      At this point, CRI is not attempting to anticipate any non-statistical uses that may be made with these definitions. CRI will report the labor and employment data as it becomes available in this new format (which is not expected until at least 2005), and CRI will make adjustments whenever possible to past data to make the data compatible for comparison purposes. For example, in 1970, the FW MSA consisted of 3 counties. When the definition changed to the 6 county area, CRI added the data from the 3 counties to make that data comparable to the "new" 6 county MSA definition.

      The new combined Statistical Areas and the component statistical areas for NEI are as follows:


      Fort Wayne Metropolitan Area (FW MSA)
      Allen County
      Wells County
      Whitley County


      Fort Wayne-Huntington-Auburn Combined Statistical Area (CSA)

      Auburn Micropolitan Statistical Area
      Decatur Micropolitan Statistical Area
      Fort Wayne Metropolitan Statistical Area
      Huntington Micropolitan Statistical Area
      Kendallville Micropolitan Statistical Area
    • Feel like more MSA information?
      There are 370 MSAs (362 in US, 8 in Puerto Rico).
      The Metro and Micro Statistical Areas include about 93% of the U.S. population, about 83% Metro and about 10% Micro. Of the 3,142 counties in the U.S., 1,090 counties will be in 362 Metro Statistical Areas and 674 will be in Micro Statistical Areas, leaving 1,378 counties outside the classification.

      Indiana CSAs



 

  • WHAT IS THE CPI, or how do you measure inflation?
  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the ratio of the value of a basket of goods in the current year to the value of that same basket of goods in an earlier year. It measures the average level of prices of the goods and services typically consumed by an urban American family. (Parkin, 1990). Two CPIs are published: 1) The CPI for ALL URBAN Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 87 percent of the population, and 2) the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers approximately 32 percent of the total population. CRI reports the CPI-U. The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, transportation, medical care, and other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. In calculating the Index, price changes for the various items in 87 locations are averaged together with weights which represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Indexes for different months are usually compared in relative terms. Thus, an index of 133.5 is 1.063 times higher than an index of 125.6; in other words, prices increased 6.3 percent. (For more information, visit the BLS web page).

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