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 (KentuckY, Ohio, West VirginiA). In addition, the three largest cities (Huntington, West Virginia; Ashland, Kentucky; and Ironton, Ohio) are referred to locally as the River Cities.