The Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a Metropolitan Statistical Area consisting of two counties in western Oregon, Marion and Polk. The principal city is Salem, the state capital, which has a population of 154,637. As of the 2010 census, there were 390,738 people living in the Salem MSA. In 2000, the MSA had a population of 347,214, and had a population of 278,024 according to the 1990 census.