Columbus' MSA Adds Two New Counties; Population Increases By Nearly 13,000

COLUMBUS, GA: Information released last week by The White House has redefined how the Columbus MSA population is measured. When the 2020 census is conducted Metro Columbus will be made up a total of seven counties, while in the past it has only been made up of five. The new definitions of Columbus MSA population has added thousands of new residents to the metro area population which is great news after recent yearly estimates show a decline in city population numbers.

In a bulletin released on Friday September 14, 2018 from the Executive Office of the President, The Office of Management and Budget, Columbus was listed with two new counties added to its defined Metropolitan Statistical Area. The bulletin establishes revised delineations for the Nation's Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas.

Columbus' MSA added two new counties both in Georgia. The new counties added to Columbus' MSA are Stewart and Talbot. The addition of Stewart County adds an estimated 5,851 residents to the MSA and the addition of Talbot County adds 6,337 residents to the MSA. The combination of two counties increases Columbus MSA population by a total of 12,881 residents. The latest estimates would put Columbus' estimated metro population at 316,045 residents. Official counts will not be conducted until the 2020 census.

Prior to the addition of the two new counties to Columbus' MSA, the MSA population was defined by the populations of Muscogee, Harris, Chattahoochee, and Marion Counties in Georgia and Russell County in Alabama. The MSA population is defined around a core city that has close economic ties to surrounding communities. As Columbus remains the largest core city in a region with a population falling just under 200,000 residents according to the latest census estimates, Columbus continues to drive the regions economy.

It has been long questioned why areas such as Lee County, Alabama have not been included in Columbus' MSA with bedroom communities such as Smiths Station, Salem, and Lake Harding having such close ties to Columbus. The reason is that Lee County has it's own MSA which is defined surrounding the counties population centers of Auburn and Opelika. The Auburn-Opelika MSA has around 158,991 residents that reside in the area according to 2016 population estimates.

While ties are close between Columbus and Lee County a separate population measure known as a Combined Statistical Area or CSA does combine the populations of Columbus, Auburn, and Opelika's metro areas. The CSA population for the region is estimated to be around 501,589 residents.

Many have argued that the MSA population estimates for metro Columbus are under measured and when some businesses look around this area for expansions they do not get a true measure of the potential consumer base that lies in the Metro Columbus area and the power of consumer spending in this region. As Lee County continues to be one of the fastest growing counties in Alabama, its new residents will surely have an impact on Columbus' economy.

The news is good that Metro Columbus has grown by nearly 13,000 residents prior to the 2020 census. As the city stands alone with an estimated population of 194,058 residents based upon 2017 census estimates. Columbus population reached a high point in the city limits in 2013 when the population was recorded at 203,274 residents. Since that year the population has seen estimates that show a steady decline to where it lies now. Shifts of personnel at Fort Benning have been attributed to drops in the local population. Officials numbers will not be disclosed until the completion of the 2020 census. Despite the declines in population over the past four years, Columbus remains as the third largest city in the state of Georgia.