A metroplex is an area of a few very close statistical metropolitan areas that converge upon one another. The term was first, and is still commonly, applied to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

The most common use of the word metroplex in the United States is for:

• Dallas - Fort Worth, sometimes called DFW; the area around Dallas and Fort Worth is regularly referred to as simply "The Metroplex" in print and television media inside the state of Texas, unlike the other metropolitan areas listed.

Some other areas in the U.S. that meet the definition of metroplex:

• Southern California (sometimes referred to as the Southland or SoCal), comprising Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Santa Barbara-Santa Maria, and San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos
• Northern California or NorCal, centered on the San Francisco Bay Area of San Jose - San Francisco - Oakland, extending north and south to Santa Rosa-Petaluma, Vallejo-Fairfield and Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Salinas, and inland to merge with the Central Valley areas of Yuba City, Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, Stockton, Modesto, Merced.

See also

• Megacity
• Megalopolis (term)
• Metropolitan area
• Combined statistical area

References