The
Huntington-Ashland-Ironton metropolitan area is the largest
MSA in
West Virginia. The
United States metropolitan area includes seven
counties across three states:
West Virginia,
Kentucky, and
Ohio. New definitions from February 28, 2013 placed the population at 365,419. The MSA is nestled along the banks of the
Ohio River within the
Appalachian Plateau region. The area is most often referred to locally as the
Tri-State region. Sometimes it is also referred to by the acronym
KYOVA (
Kentuck
Y,
Ohio, West
Virgini
A). In addition, the three largest cities (
Huntington, West Virginia;
Ashland, Kentucky; and
Ironton, Ohio) are referred to locally as the
River Cities.