Springfield could lose some clout, money, metro status

However, doing so would reclassify the Springfield area from a metropolitan area to micropolitan.

Springfield had an estimated population of 59,132 as of 2019, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Some worry that the change could have adverse implications for federal funding and economic development, according to the Associated Press, as some housing, transportation and Medicare reimbursement programs are directed specifically to metropolitan statistical areas.

Lima and Mansfield are the other two Ohio cities that could loose their metropolitan status if the change occurs, according to the Associated Press.

If approved, the change would not take place until 2023.