The Charleston Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in West Virginia, anchored by the city of Charleston. It is the largest metropolitan area entirely within the state of West Virginia. The Huntington Metro Area adds to the Charleston–Huntington, WV-OH-KY CSA and spans three states (West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio), while the core county of the Charleston area, Kanawha County, is more populous than the West Virginia portion of the Huntington area.

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Charleston Metropolitan Area
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Charleston–Huntington–Ashland, WV–OH–KY
Charleston–Huntington–Ashland, WV–OH–KY CSA   Charleston, WV MSA   Huntington–Ashland, WV–KY–OH MSA   Portsmouth, OH µSA   City of Charleston   City of Huntington   City of Ashland
Country	United States
State	West Virginia Kentucky Ohio
Largest city	Charleston
Other cities	- Huntington  - Ashland  - Portsmouth  - Ironton  - South Charleston  - St. Albans  - Dunbar
Area
• Total	2,159.9 sq mi (5,594 km2)
Highest elevation	Kelly Knob[1]1,512 ft (461 m)
Lowest elevation	Ohio River[2]485 ft (148 m)
Population  (2015 est.)
• Total	361,580
• Rank	146th in the U.S.
• Density	167.4/sq mi (64.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern Daylight Time)

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Charleston is its largest and most populous city in the MSA. Cross Lanes is its most populous census-designated place.^[3] As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 309,635 (though new standards set on February 28, 2013 placed the population at 240,000).^[4] Prior to the 2000 Census, the Charleston MSA consisted of only two counties – Kanawha and Putnam (the latter of which is now considered part of the Huntington metropolitan area).

The population of the Charleston MSA is ranked 151st out of the 363 MSA's.

• The Charleston–Huntington, WV-OH-KY CSA is the 81st largest in the US.
• The Charleston-Huntington TV Market is ranked 64th out of 210.
• The Charleston MSA is ranked 181st out of the 297 Arbitron radio markets.
• Out of 280 Metropolitan statistical areas ranked by per capita income, the Charleston MSA is ranked 106th. (Census 2000)
• The MSA is 202 out of 280 ranked by median household income. (Census 2000)

In order of population:

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 309,635 people, 129,229 households, and 88,175 families residing within the MSA. New definitions from February 28, 2013 placed the population at 363,000.^[6] The racial makeup of the MSA was 93.25% White, 4.66% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 0.55% of the population.

The median income for a household in the MSA was $29,222, and the median income for a family was $35,735. Males had a median income of $34,105 versus $20,448 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $16,074.

• University of Charleston
• West Virginia State University
• Marshall University Graduate College
• BridgeValley Community and Technical College
• WV Junior College

The Charleston–Huntington–Ashland, WV–OH–KY Combined Statistical Area consists of the Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, the Huntington–Ashland, WV–KY–OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the Portsmouth, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area. It spans 12 counties in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.^[7]