[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 214 (Monday, November 7, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-27471]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 7, 1994]


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


BILLING CODE 3510-06-C

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