The Lima metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of one county – Allen – in NorthwestOhio, anchored by the city of Lima. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 108,473 (though a July 1, 2009 estimate placed the population at 104,357).[1]
History
The Lima metropolitan area was first defined in 1950. Then known as the Lima standard metropolitan area (Lima SMA), it consisted of a single county – Allen – and had a population of 88,183.[2][3] Following a term change by the Bureau of the Budget (present-day Office of Management and Budget) in 1959, the Lima SMA became the Lima standard metropolitan statistical area (Lima SMSA).[4] By the census of 1960, the population had grown to 103,691, an 18 percent increase over the previous census.[3]
Two additional counties were added to the Lima SMSA in 1971 – Putnam and Van Wert.[5] Auglaize County became a part of the SMSA in 1973.[6] With that addition, there were a total of 218,244 residents living in the metropolitan area at the 1980 census.[3]
In 1983, the official designation was shortened to the Lima metropolitan statistical area (Lima MSA), which is still in use to date.[4] That same year, Putnam and Van Wert counties were removed from the MSA, leaving only Allen and Auglaize counties in the defined area.[7] The two-county Lima MSA had a population of 154,340 in 1990.[3] That figure had risen to 155,084 by 2000.