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Youngstown–Warren–Boardman metropolitan statistical area

Mahoning Valley
Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH–PA MSA
Youngstown–Warren, OH–PA CSA
CSA
Map of metro area (MSA in red, CSA in pink)
Map of metro area (MSA in red, CSA in pink)
Nickname(s): Steel Valley
Country  United States
States  Ohio
 Pennsylvania
Largest city Youngstown
Elevation 660–3,001 ft (200–915 m)
Population (2012/2010)
 • Urban 602,964
 • MSA 565,773
 • CSA 715,039
  MSA/CSA = 2012,
Urban = 2010
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 16xxx to 44xx
Area code(s) 330, 234, 724

The Youngstown–Warren–Boardman metropolitan area, typically known as the Mahoning Valley or the Steel Valley, is a metropolitan area in Northeast Ohio in the United States, with the city of Youngstown, Ohio at its center. According to the US Census Bureau, the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) includes Mahoning and Trumbull counties in Ohio and Mercer county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 565,773.

This area also has a strong commuter interchange with Cleveland and Pittsburgh and their metropolitan areas. It is located at the geographic center of the Rust Belt of the United States which stretches from Minneapolis in the west to Johnstown and Altoona in the east.

Although steel has been produced in the Mahoning Valley since the mid-1800s, after the Civil War, the valley was primarily known for its iron production. Conversion to steel manufacturing began during the economic depression of the 1890s. The Mahoning Valley is suitable for steel manufacture because of "its proximity to the Lake Erie ports that receive iron ore…the coal fields of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia; and to limestone deposits." The "25-mile stretch of steel mills and related industries" along the Mahoning River is similar to the Ruhr Valley in Germany." Historically, it was the largest steel producing region in the world (including all of Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania).


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