Prior to 2003, the area was officially known as the Clarksville-Hopkinsville Metropolitan Statistical Area and included only Montgomery and Christian counties.[3] In 2003, Hopkinsville was removed from the official name as it was no longer considered a principal city.[4] That year, Stewart and Trigg counties were also added to the MSA.
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 232,000 people, 83,332 households, and 61,719 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 74.16% White, 19.13% African American, 0.51% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 1.98% from other races, and 2.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.61% of the population.
The median income for a household in the MSA was $33,869, and the median income for a family was $39,451. Males had a median income of $29,506 versus $21,849 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $16,341.