Traverse City metropolitan area

Traverse City MSA
Metropolitan area
Traverse City metropolitan statistical area
Downtown Traverse City Downtown Kalkaska Sleeping Bear Dunes
Traverse City MSA   Traverse City MSA counties   City of Traverse City
Country	United States
State	Michigan
Counties	Benzie Grand Traverse Kalkaska Leelanau
Area
• Total	11,820 km2 (4,564 sq mi)
• Land	4,380 km2 (1,691 sq mi)
• Water	7,440 km2 (2,873 sq mi)
Population  (2020)
• Total	153,448
• Estimate  (2023)	156,371
• Density	13.0/km2 (33.6/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code	231

The Traverse City Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties in Northern Michigan, anchored by the city of Traverse City. This area is commonly referred to as Northwestern Michigan or the Traverse Bay Area, after Grand Traverse Bay. The area consists of the counties of Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau.

As of the 2020 census, the Traverse City metropolitan area had a population of 153,448. Nearly one in three residents of Northern Michigan (with a population of 506,658 in 2020) reside within the Traverse City metropolitan area. Grand Traverse County holds about 62% of the population of the metropolitan area, with a population of 95,238 in 2020.

The area first designated as a micropolitan statistical area in 2003, then promoted to metropolitan statistical area status in 2023.^[1] In 2020, the Traverse City micropolitan area was the sixth-largest by population in the United States.