Greater New Haven is the metropolitan area whose extent includes those towns in the U.S. state of Connecticut that share an economic, social, political, and historical focus on the city of New Haven. It occupies the south-central portion of the state, in a radius around New Haven. The region is known for its educational and economic connections to Yale University, oceanside recreation and the beach-community feel of the shoreline towns east of New Haven, and the trap rock landscapes stretching north from New Haven. The New Haven metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is the set of municipalities containing the contiguous urbanized area centered on the city of New Haven. The MSA consists of the entirety of New Haven County with 27 towns. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the New Haven MSA had a population of 861,113 in 2011. The New Haven MSA is also included in the wider region known as the New York Tri-State Area. From Wikipedia
