Greater New Haven is the metropolitan area whose extent includes those towns in the U.S. state of Connecticut that share an economic, social, political, and historical focus on the city of New Haven. It occupies the south-central portion of the state in a radius around New Haven.

The region is known for its educational and economic connections to Yale University, its 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.

The New Haven metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is the set of counties containing the contiguous urbanized area centered on the city of New Haven. The MSA consists of the entirety of New Haven County with 27 towns. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the New Haven MSA had a population of 846,766 in 2005. The New Haven MSA is also included in the wider region known as the New York Tri-State Area.

There are several official definitions of Greater New Haven. There are thirteen towns that are included in all definitions. These are:

New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. With a population of 129,779 people, New Haven is the principal municipality in the Greater New Haven metropolitan area, which had a total population of 571,310 in 2000. It is located in New Haven County, on New Haven Harbor, on the northern shore of Long Island Sound.

New Haven was founded in 1638 by English puritans, and a year later eight streets were laid out in a four-by-four grid, creating what is now commonly known as the "Nine Square Plan", now recognized by the American Institute of Certified Planners as a National Historic Planning Landmark. The central common block is New Haven Green, a 16-acre (6 ha) square, now a National Historic Landmark and the center of Downtown New Haven.

New Haven is the home of the Ivy League school Yale University. The university is an integral part of the city's economy, being New Haven's biggest taxpayer and employer, as noted in the Mayor's 2010 State of the City address. Health care (hospitals and biotechnology), professional services (legal, architectural, marketing, and engineering), financial services, and retail trade also help to form an economic base for the city.