The Greater New Haven area is the metropolitan area whose extent includes those towns in Connecticut that share an economic, social, political, and historical focus on New Haven, Connecticut. It can be roughly considered contemporaneous with the New Haven--Meriden PMSA, which has been defined by the U.S. Census as:

• New Haven--Meriden, CT PMSA - 542,149
  • Middlesex County (part) - 19,112
    • Clinton town - 13,094
    • Killingworth town - 6,018
  • New Haven County (part) - 523,037
    • Bethany town - 5,040
    • Branford town - 28,683
    • Cheshire town - 28,543
    • East Haven town - 28,189
    • Guilford town - 21,398
    • Hamden town - 56,913
    • Madison town - 17,858
    • Meriden town - 58,244
    • New Haven town - 123,626
    • North Branford town - 13,906
    • North Haven town - 23,035
    • Orange town - 13,233
    • Wallingford town - 43,026
    • West Haven town - 52,360
    • Woodbridge town -8,983

Although not listed as part of the New Haven--Meriden PMSA, the towns of Derby and Milford are sometimes considered to be part of Greater New Haven. These two towns are both located in New Haven County.

Role as a Region of Connecticut

Greater New Haven is also a general region of the state of Connecticut, occupying the south-central portion of the state in a radius around the city of New Haven that is semi-contiguous with the boundaries of New Haven County. The region is known for several distinct qualities within the state, most notably its educational and economic connections to the academic landmark of Yale University, its vibrant Italian-American culture and cuisine, the oceanside recreation and beach-community feel of the shoreline towns east of New Haven, and the Trap Rock landscapes stretching north from New Haven.