
Image courtesy of The Daily Yonder
The Trump administration submitted a proposal on January 19 to raise the minium population of cities that are considered Metropolitan Statistical Areas from 50,000 to 100,000. If passed, the change (which wouldn't go into effect until 2023) would have “implications both for research and for the many federal programs that use metropolitan areas as the basis for program eligibility, reimbursement rates, etc.,” said Ken Johnson, Senior Demographer at the Carsey School of Public Policy.