New England city and town area

A New England city and town area (NECTA) was a geographic and statistical entity defined by the U.S. federal government for use in the six-state New England region of the United States. NECTAs are analogous to metropolitan statistical areas and micropolitan statistical areas and are defined using the same criteria, except that they are defined on the basis of New England towns instead of entire counties. NECTAs are classified as either metropolitan or micropolitan NECTAs. A micropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000, whereas a metropolitan NECTA has an urban core with a population of at least 50,000. Tabulations of census information by NECTA was discontinued effective July 2023.

In New England, towns (which are classified by the United States Census Bureau as minor civil divisions) are a much more important level of government than counties. Because towns are smaller than counties, a NECTA usually provides a much closer approximation to the real metropolitan area than a metropolitan statistical area does.

Large NECTAs (with population greater than 2.5 million) may be subdivided into smaller groupings known as NECTA Divisions. Adjacent NECTAs that have a high degree of employment interchange may also be combined to form Combined NECTAS (or CNECTAs). NECTAs that are part of a CNECTA retain their separate identities.

Current list
The following is a list of metropolitan and micropolitan NECTAs as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. Definitions are as of September 2018.

Connecticut

 * Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT Metropolitan NECTA
 * Danbury, CT Metropolitan NECTA
 * Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT Metropolitan NECTA
 * New Haven, CT Metropolitan NECTA
 * Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI Metropolitan NECTA
 * Torrington, CT Micropolitan NECTA
 * Waterbury, CT Metropolitan NECTA
 * Willimantic, CT Micropolitan NECTA

Maine

 * Augusta, ME Micropolitan NECTA
 * Bangor, ME Metropolitan NECTA
 * Brunswick, ME Micropolitan NECTA
 * Lewiston-Auburn, ME Metropolitan NECTA
 * Portland-South Portland, ME Metropolitan NECTA
 * Sanford, ME Micropolitan NECTA
 * Waterville, ME Micropolitan NECTA

Massachusetts

 * Athol, MA Micropolitan NECTA
 * Barnstable Town, MA Metropolitan NECTA
 * Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan NECTA
 * Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division
 * Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA NECTA Division
 * Framingham, MA NECTA Division
 * Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury Town, MA-NH NECTA Division
 * Lawrence-Methuen Town-North Andover, MA-NH NECTA Division
 * Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH NECTA Division
 * Lynn-Salem-Marblehead, MA NECTA Division
 * Nashua, NH-MA NECTA Division
 * Peabody-Beverly-Gloucester, MA NECTA Division
 * Plymouth-Pembroke-Duxbury, MA NECTA Division
 * Taunton-Middleborough-Norton, MA NECTA Division
 * Greenfield Town, MA Micropolitan NECTA
 * Leominster-Gardner, MA Metropolitan NECTA
 * New Bedford, MA Metropolitan NECTA
 * North Adams, MA-VT Micropolitan NECTA
 * Pittsfield, MA Metropolitan NECTA
 * Springfield, MA-CT Metropolitan NECTA
 * Vineyard Haven, MA Micropolitan NECTA
 * Worcester, MA-CT Metropolitan NECTA

New Hampshire

 * Berlin, NH Micropolitan NECTA (15,247 in 2020)
 * Claremont, NH Micropolitan NECTA (14,458 in 2020)
 * Concord, NH Micropolitan NECTA (87,881 in 2020)
 * Dover-Durham, NH-ME Metropolitan NECTA (154,315 in 2020)
 * Keene, NH Micropolitan NECTA (49,881 in 2020)
 * Laconia, NH Micropolitan NECTA (24,573 in 2020)
 * Lebanon, NH-VT Micropolitan NECTA (86,975 in 2020)
 * Manchester, NH Metropolitan NECTA (212,315 in 2020)
 * Portsmouth, NH-ME Metropolitan NECTA (241,607 in 2020)

Rhode Island

 * Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan NECTA

Vermont

 * Barre, VT Micropolitan NECTA (43,681 in 2020)
 * Bennington, VT Micropolitan NECTA (22,553 in 2020)
 * Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan NECTA (220,254 in 2020)
 * Rutland, VT Micropolitan NECTA (40,992 in 2020)