Pine Bluff Could Lose Metro Status and Some Federal Funds

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Pine Bluff is one of 144 cities the federal government could downgrade from being designated a metropolitan statistical area or MSA.

Other Arkansas cities on the list include Hot Springs, Jonesboro, and Texarkana.

If the cities are removed from MSA designation, they could face a loss in federal funding and it could impact economic development.

The new proposal would require a metro area to have a population of 100,000 in the main city of the area to be counted as an “MSA”.  Currently, that number is 50,000.

If an area is not considered an MSA, then that area could lose housing, transportation, and Medicare reimbursement programs.