Chūō Ward (中央区, Chūō-ku) is one of the six wards of the city of Chiba in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, and is the seat of the city government, and the location of the prefectural government offices for Chiba Prefecture. It is also the commercial center of Chiba. As of April 2012, the ward had an estimated population of 200,157 and a population density of 4,470 persons per km². The total area was 44.81 km², making it the most populous of the six wards of Chiba city.