 As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Midland-Bay City Combined Statistical Area.The city, along with nearby Midland and Saginaw, form the Greater Tri-Cities region of Central Michigan, which has more recently been called the Great Lakes Bay Region.The city is geographically divided by the Saginaw River, and travel between the east and west sides of the city is made possible by four modern bascule-type drawbridges