Three Types of Statistical Areas:

The statistical areas of the United States of America comprise the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), the micropolitan statistical areas, and the combined statistical areas currently defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs):

Combined statistical area is a United States Office of Management and Budget term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas in the United States and Puerto Rico that can demonstrate economic or social linkage.

The OMB defines a CSA as consisting of various combinations of adjacent metropolitan and micropolitan areas with economic ties measured by commuting patterns. These areas that combine retain their own designations as metropolitan or micropolitan statistical areas within the larger combined statistical area.

Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs):     

In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or town would be, nor are they legal administrative divisions like counties or separate entities such as states; because of this, the precise definition of any given metropolitan area can vary with the source. The statistical criteria for a standard metropolitan area were defined in 1949 and redefined as metropolitan statistical area in 1983.

A typical metropolitan area is centered on a single large city that wields substantial influence over the region. However, some metropolitan areas contain more than one large city, with no single municipality holding a substantially dominant position. MSAs are defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and used by the Census Bureau and other federal government agencies for statistical purposes.

Micropolitan Statistical Areas:

The OMB defines a Micropolitan Statistical Area as one or more adjacent counties or county equivalents that have at least one urban core area of at least 10,000 population but less than 50,000, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties. 

Primary Statistical Areas of the Louisville Metro:

The Louisville Metro is influenced in a general manner by the economic, political, physical, and social characteristics of the Louisville/Jefferson County–Elizabethtown–Bardstown, KY-IN (CSA). The CSA contains the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN (MSA), the Elizabethtown–Fort Knox, Kentucky (MSA), the Bardstown, KY (Micropolitan Statistical Area), and the Scottsburg, IN (Micropolitan Statistical Area). This county definition of the statistical areas was created by the United States Bureau of the Census in 2000 and redefined in 2018.

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN (MSA) as including Bullitt, Henry, Jefferson, Meade, Oldham, Shelby, and Trimble Counties in Kentucky and Clark, Floyd, Harrison, and Washington Counties in Indiana. The Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN (MSA), is the 43rd largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States. The principal city is Louisville, Kentucky. 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/Jefferson County–Elizabethtown–Bardstown, KY-IN (CSA).

The larger Louisville/Jefferson County–Elizabethtown–Bardstown, KY-IN (CSA) adds two other statistical areas in Kentucky and one in Indiana. Those additional areas are the Elizabethtown–Fort Knox, Kentucky (MSA), consisting of Hardin and LaRue Counties; the Bardstown, KY (Micropolitan Statistical Area), consisting of Nelson County; and the Scottsburg, IN (Micropolitan Statistical Area), consisting of that state's Scott County. 

Louisville/Jefferson County–Elizabethtown–Bardstown, KY-IN (CSA) Population Data

Louisville, KY-IN Area Unemployment:

The US unemployment rate, which was 3.5% in February 2020, rose to 13.3% and has now declined to its current rate of 4.4%, which is higher than recent lows. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS Updated March 21, 2025) data reports unemployment figures for a delineated area titled Louisville, KY-IN. The BLS delineated Louisville Area unemployment rate, which was 3.54% in February 2020, rose to 16.80%, and has now declined to its current rate of 4.7%, which is also higher than recent lows.   

*Most recent data as of March 31, 2025. 

The 2000 to 2024 unemployment rates for the Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky-Indiana (MSA), Kentucky, and the United States as a whole are presented below: 

Year-Over-Year Inflation:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Southeast Information Office reported that from February 2024 to February 2025, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reported year-over-year U.S. City Average inflation of 2.8%, a first erratic but then a steadier decline from June 2022's 9.1% year-over-year inflation, which was the highest rate in 40 years.   

*Most recent data as of March 25, 2025.