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“Metro area” is short for “metropolitan area.” It refers to a large city and the surrounding smaller cities and towns. In a metro area, the big city is typically the center of economic activity.
The towns and cities in a metro area typically share transportation infrastructure (like airports), industries, and news media (television stations, newspapers, radio stations).
Some metro areas are very large. The Chicago and New York metro areas covers parts of three states (more, depending on how you measure it.) Other metro areas are smaller. But anything called a “metro area” must have a large city.
Examples:
- The population of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area has been growing at about 1.5% per year in recent years.
- There are several Polish-language television stations serving the Chicago metro area.
- Her family has moved several times, but they’ve always lived in the Boston metro area.