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You may also want to see this guide on a related topic: Frontier
Introduction
Trying to define what "rural" is, in a nation of such diverse geography, can be a daunting task; and one's concept of the term can be a bit ambiguous and vague. Particularly, in this age of instant communication, when a Montana rancher can access the New York stock market quotes from his laptop - miles from the nearest town - defining rural becomes more of a subjective term than what is defined by Webster's. However, for those concerned with rural health care and human services, that which constitutes rural must not be subjective, but rather precise in fulfilling the definition. Federal and state policy makers, as well as service providers and researchers, need a clearly stated definition that is current in its interpretation.
There are three government agencies whose definitions of what is rural are in wide use: the U.S. Census Bureau, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). They and other organizations continue to strive for more precise definitions to fit new programs as the demographics of the United States are constantly changing. The number of rural counties fluctuates over time, and disparities with old designations continually exist. The need for a clearer definition to meet the needs of new programs and new policies has encouraged other agencies to create more detailed definitions such as found in the collaboration between the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center and the Economic Research Service of the USDA. Agencies involved with rural health and human services will continue to evolve and adapt themselves, striving to better serve the needs of the rural population, for what is rural today will most likely change as we move on into the new millennium.
For additional clarification see the FAQ: Who has created the major definitions for rural and what are the differences between these definitions?
Frequently Asked Questions
Tools
Am I Rural?
Web site
Helps determine whether a specific location is considered rural based on various definitions of rural, including definitions that are used as eligibility criteria for federal programs. Definitions covered include Rural Urban Commuting Areas (RUCAs), Core Based Statistical Areas, Rural Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Urban Influence Codes (UICs).
Center for Applied Research and Environmental Systems
Web site
Create customized maps to illustrate the "place-based" implications of issues
impacting rural America.
County Typology Codes (2004)
Web site
The 2004 County Typology Codes were developed for all 3,141 counties, county equivalents, and independent cities in the United States. Their primary function is to help differentiate among nonmetro counties, but metro counties are also coded to facilitate comparisons.
County-Level Population Data
Web site
Provides by State county-level data tables that include population and population change data, and FIPS codes.
Disability Counts
Web site
Contains rural data for each U.S. county. Data topics include people with disabilities, Centers for Independent Living (CILs), metro & non-metro county maps, urban and urbanized area maps, congressional district maps, and disability statistics resources.
Economic Research Service: Measuring Rurality
Web site
Identifies alternative classifications of rural places that capture the diversity of rural America in ways that are meaningful for developing public policies and programs.
Federally Used Rural Definitions
Web site
Definitions used by federal programs to delineate rural places eligible of program benefits.
Geographic Eligibility for Rural Health Grant Programs
Web site
Identifies the Non-Metropolitan counties that are eligible for Rural Health Grant Programs. In addition, ZIP Codes in areas of Metropolitan counties that meet certain criteria of eligibility are also listed for these grant programs.
List of Rural Counties and Designated Eligible Census Tracts in Metropolitan Counties
Database
A list of rural counties identified by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that are not part of a designated metropolitan area and a list of sub-county sections of metropolitan counties that through the Goldsmith Modification classification would be also be designated as rural.
Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas
Web site
An information page that defines and explains the metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas for purposes of collecting, tabulating, and publishing federal data. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area definitions result from applying published standards to Census Bureau data.
Rural Definitions
Web site
Provides tables, maps and methods to help the user identify and define rural.
Rural Definitions: National and State Indicator Tables
Web site
Provides selected socioeconomic indicators (such as population, education, poverty, etc.) for each definition of rural, by State and the U.S., in one Excel file allowing the user to compare a particular indicator across the different definitions of rural.
Rural Health Grants Eligibility Advisor
Web site
A Web search page that determines if a community is rural according to the Office of Rural Health Policy’s (ORHP) definition.
Rural Health Research: Defining rural
Web site
Provides summaries of current and completed rural health research projects and related publications addressing the topic of defining rural, produced by the Office of Rural Health Policy's funded rural health research centers.
Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Codes (Version 2.0)
Web site
Describes the Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes (RUCAs), a method of defining rural areas. Includes an overview of RUCAs and downloadable RUCA data, as well as information on the history of this definition.
Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Codes
Web site
An updated list of rural-urban commuting area (RUCA) codes. RUCA codes classify U.S. census tracts using measures of population density, urbanization, and daily commuting. The most recent RUCA codes are based on data from the 2000 decennial census.
Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Codes: ZIP Code Version 2.0
Web site
A zip-code based list of rural-urban commuting area (RUCA) codes, based on 2004 ZIP codes and 2000 Census commuting data.
Selected Historical Decennial Census & Urban and Rural Definitions and Data
Web site
The U.S. Census Bureau 1990 urban and rural definitions are found at this site. Data includes:
1.) Urban and Rural populations for the United States, Regions, Divisions, and States; 1900 to 1990.
2.) United States: 1790 to 1990.
Also, this site contains the 1990 Decennial Census of Population and Housing Characteristics, and the Urban and Rural Classification Census for 2000.
Shortage Designation: HPSAs, MUAs & MUPs
Web site
Provides information about health care shortage designations: Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and Medically Underserved Areas and Populations (MUAs/MUPs). Includes information on how to apply for these designations and how to find shortage areas.
Maps & Map Collections
Frontier Counties
Geographic coverage: United States
Printable map that shows the location of frontier counties nationwide. Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000.
Date: 2000
Frontier Counties, 2007
Geographic coverage: United States
Map showing the frontier counties in the United States.
Date: 2008
Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) and Medically Underserved Populations (MUPs), Designated Type
Geographic coverage: United States
Printable map that shows the designated type of MUAs and MUPs nationwide. Data source: Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, July 2008.
Date: 2009
RUCA Maps
Geographic coverage: United States
State and regional maps that use Rural Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) data to show levels of rurality.
Rural Definitions: State-Level Maps
Geographic coverage: United States
A set of maps that display the nine rural definitions. These maps allow the user to compare the geographic coverage provided by different definitions for each State.
Regulations, Forms & Other Useful Documents
Baby Boom Migration and Its Impact on Rural America (Executive Summary)
Author(s): John Cromartie, Peter Nelson
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
An analysis of the migration shift of baby boomers that indicates a propensity to migrate to nonmetro counties as people reach their fifties and sixties and projects a shift in migration among boomers toward more
isolated settings, especially those with high natural and urban amenities and lower housing
costs.
Date: 08 / 2009
Choosing Rural Definitions: Implications for Health Policy
Author(s): Andrew F. Coburn, A. Clinton MacKinney, Timothy D. McBride, Keith J. Mueller, Rebecca T. Slifkin, Mary K. Wakefield
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Rural Health Panel
Provides an overview of rural definitions and their policy implications. Discusses the factors that should be considered in selecting among rural definitions.
Date: 03 / 2007
Defining the “Rural” in Rural America
Author(s): John Cromartie, Shawn Bucholtz
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Discusses the use of different definitions of rural by Federal agencies reflecting the multidimensional qualities of rural America.
Journal citation: Amber Waves
Date: 06 / 2008
Definitions of Rural: A Handbook for Health Policy Makers and Researchers
Author(s): Thomas C. Ricketts, Karen D. Johnson-Webb, Patricia Taylor,
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
A 1998 technical issues paper prepared for the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration. This publication describes the two major methods of defining rurality, as well as principal variations used in federal policy.
Date: 06 / 1998
Demographic and Economic Profile: Nonmetropolitan America
Author(s): Kathleen Miller
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
Provides a demographic and economic profile for nonmetropolitan counties in the United States.
Date: 01 / 2009
Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, Combined Statistical Areas, New England City and Town Areas, and Combined New England City and Town Areas --FY05
Sponsoring organization: Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget Standards 2000 standards for the identification of the following statistical areas in the United States and Puerto Rico: Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, Combined Statistical Areas, New England City and Town Areas, and Combined New England City and Town Areas.
Date: 02 / 2005
Nonmetro America: Conditions and Trends
Author(s): Kathleen K. Miller
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
Summarizes key demographic and economic indicators in the United States, with an emphasis on nonmetropolitan areas in each state.
Date: 05 / 2008
Place Matters: Challenges and Opportunities in Four Rural Americas
Author(s): Lawrence C. Hamilton, Leslie R. Hamilton, Cynthia M. Duncan, Chris R. Colocousis
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Presents the results from a survey that examines issues facing rural Americans focusing on economic changes, challenges, and realities; migration and demographic changes; religion, trust, and civil institutions; environment, natural resources, and energy; infrastructure and changing populations.
Date: 10 / 2008
RUCA Data: Travel Distance and Time, Remote, Isolated, and Frontier
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Discusses how Rural Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes, travel times and distances can be used together to create needed definitions of remote and isolated areas.
Rural America At A Glance, 2009
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Annual update of the USDA-ERS series that concentrates on social and economic conditions in rural America with references to the effects of the major recession on rural populations.
Date: 09 / 2009
Rural Areas Risk Being Overlooked in 2010 Census
Author(s): William P. O'Hare
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Describes how the census is conducted in rural areas, identifies some of the most difficult rural areas to count, and highlights what organizations are doing to ensure an accurate census count in rural America.
Date: 2010
Rural Hispanics at a Glance
Author(s): William Kandel
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Overview of the rural Hispanic population, with information on population growth and geographic dispersion, demographic characteristics, and social and economic indicators.
Date: 12 / 2005
Rural Population and Migration
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Provides statistics on aging and rural diversity, demographic and social characteristics, health status, poverty, social security income, economic assets, and rural implications.
Date: 09 / 2009
Rural Population and Migration: Trend 1—Harder to Define "Rural"
Author(s): Calvin Beale, John Cromartie, William Kandel
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Discusses how population redistribution makes defining Rural America increasingly difficult.
Date: 02 / 2007
State by State Comparison: 3 Ways to Count Rural People with Disabilities
Author(s): Alexandra Enders, Zach Brandt
Sponsoring organization: Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities
Provides statistics and comparisons of the national distribution of Americans with disabilities using three different rural definitions.
Date: 03 / 2007
What is "Rural"? Working Towards a Better Programmatic Definition
Author(s): Lance George
Sponsoring organization: Housing Assistance Council
Provides an overview of various definitions of rural and how they align with
programmatic definitions used by government agencies and other funding sources.
Date: 07 / 2008
What is Rural?
Author(s): Louise Reynnells, Patricia LaCaille John
Sponsoring organization: Rural Information Center
Describes the primary methods the federal government uses to define rural areas. Includes links to additional resources addressing this issue.
Date: 09 / 2008
Journals
Online Journal of Rural Research and Policy
Publishes academic and community-based research, commentary, and policy articles focused on the Great Plains.
Rural Migration News
Summarizes the most important immigration and integration developments affecting residents of cities and towns in the agricultural areas of California and rural areas throughout the United States. It is published quarterly, in mid-October, January, April, and July.
Organizations
Center for Applied Research and Environmental Systems (CARES)
Academic/Research
Addresses the spatial and temporal dimensions of issues impacting rural America, by incorporating Internet-based geographic information systems, remote sensing technologies, and other data visualization and analytic tools. One of CARES's primary roles is to support the needs of others wishing to utilize geographic information technologies. Part of the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI).
National Center for Frontier Communities
National organization
Serves as a national clearinghouse, conducts research, and provides education on issues of importance to frontier communities.
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center (Cecil G. Sheps Center)
Academic/Research
One of nine Rural Health Research Centers currently funded by the Office of Rural Health Policy. Works to identify rural health problems through policy-relevant analyses, geographic and graphical presentation of data, and information dissemination. Focuses on rural hospitals and healthcare delivery organizations and access.
Rural Information Center (RIC)
Federal government
Provides information services for rural communities, officials, organizations and citizens. A page defining what is rural with links to related informational resources is included in their web site.
U.S. Census Bureau
Federal government
The U.S. Census Bureau provides statistics, data, surveys and other programs on the population, economics, education, foreign trade, housing, construction, transportation, manufacturing, agriculture and more of the United States.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Federal government
Offers numerous funding opportunities such as Rural Economic Development Grants, Rural Business Opportunity Grants, Farm Labor Grants plus others.
USDA Economic Research Service (USDA ERS)
Federal government
Provides economic analyses to support a competitive agricultural system, safe food supply, a healthy, well-nourished population,
harmony between agriculture and the environment, and enhanced quality of life for rural Americans.
Terms & Acronyms
Block Group (BG) A cluster of census blocks having the same first digit of their four-digit identifying numbers within a census tract; for example, BG 3 within a census tract includes all census blocks numbered from 3000 to 3999.
Borough A legally established geographic entity in Alaska, which the Census Bureau treats as statistically equivalent to a county in other states; a minor civil division in each of the five counties that comprise New York city; a type of incorporated place in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Census Area A statistical entity that serves as the equivalent of a county in Alaska. Census areas are delineated cooperatively by the state of Alaska and the U.S. Census Bureau for the purpose of presenting census data for the portion of Alaska not within an organized borough, city and borough, or municipality.
Census Block A subdivision of a census tract, a block is the smallest geographic unit for which the Census Bureau tabulates 100-percent data. Many blocks correspond to individual city blocks bounded by streets, but blocks -- especially in rural areas - may include many square miles and may have some boundaries that are not streets. The Census Bureau established blocks covering the entire nation for the first time in 1990. Previous censuses back to 1940 had blocks established only for part of the nation. Over 8 million blocks are identified for Census 2000.
Central Place The core incorporated place(s) or a census designated place of an urban area, usually consisting of the most populous place(s) in the urban area plus additional places that qualify under Census Bureau criteria. If the central place is also defined as an extended place, only the portion of the central place contained within the urban area is recognized as the central place.
Economic Research Service (ERS) Economic Research Service is a subdivision of the U.S. Department of Agriculture concerned with the economics of food, farming, natural resources, and rural America.
Frontier Isolated rural area, sometimes defined as having a population density of six or fewer people per square mile. Other commonly used definitions may also consider distance to services and travel time.
Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) Geographic regions that have shortages of professionals working in primary medical care, dental or mental health care. HPSAs may be urban or rural areas, population groups or medical or other public facilities. Geographically, HPSAs can be cities or towns, counties or groups of counties. HPSA designations are reviewed and revised annually by the Secretary of Health and Human Services based on criteria set forth in the Public Health Service Act.
Health Professional Shortage Area - Primary Care (HPSA - Primary Care) HPSA designation for a shortage of primary care health professionals that meets three requirements. First, the area must be a rational area for delivery of primary medical care services. Second, the ratio of population to existing providers must meet or exceed 3,500 people to every single provider or meet or exceed a ratio of 3,000 to 1 and have an unusually high level of need. Lastly, the area under consideration must have primary medical care professionals in continuous (nearby/adjoining) areas that are over utilized, excessively distant or inaccessible.
Initial Core One or more contiguous census block groups (BGs) that have a total land area less than two square miles and a population density of at least 1,000
people per square mile (ppsm). If no qualifying census BG exists, one or more contiguous census
blocks that have a population density of at least 1,000 ppsm.
Medically Underserved Area (MUA) Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) are federal designations derived from the Index of Medical Underservice (IMU). This index ranges from 0 to 100 and is based on four criteria: 1) ratio of primary medical care physicians per 1,000 people, 2) infant mortality rate, 3) percent of the population with incomes below the poverty level and 4) the percent of the population age 65 or older. An IMU of 62.0 or less qualifies an area to be designated a MUA. Geographic areas designated as MUAs can be a whole county or a group of contiguous (adjoining) counties, minor civil divisions (MCD), census county divisions (CCD) or census tracts.
Medically Underserved Population (MUP) A federal designation that is derived by using the Index of Medical Underservice (IMU). This index ranges from 0 to 100 and is based on four criteria: 1) ratio of primary medical care physicians per 1,000 people, 2) infant mortality rate, 3) percent of the population with incomes below the poverty level and 4) the percent of the population age 65 or older.
Metropolitan Statistical Area or Metro Area A central, or core county, with one or more urbanized areas (see Urbanized Area), a population of at least 50,000 residents, and it may include outlying counties that are economically tied to the core counties as measured by work commuting. Outlying counties are included if 25 percent of workers living in the county commute to the central counties, or if 25 percent of the employment in the county consists of workers coming out from the central counties - the so-called "reverse" commuting pattern.
Micropolitan Statistical Area or Micro Area Any nonmetro county with an urban cluster of at least 10,000 persons or more, but less than 50,000 persons. It is further defined as the central county of a micro area. As with metro areas, outlying counties are included if commuting to the central county is 25 percent or higher, or if 25 percent of the employment in the outlying county is made up of commuters from the central county.
Noncore County A county that is neither in a Metropolitan Statistical Area or a Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Nonmetropolitan Area or Nonmetro County A county that is not located in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Micropolitan Areas and Noncore Counties are both designated as Nonmetropolitan areas.
Population Density Total population or number of housing units within a geographic entity (for example, United States, state, county, place) divided by the land area of that entity measured in square kilometers or square miles. Density is expressed as both "people (or housing units) per square kilometer" and "people (or housing units) per square mile" of land area.
Rural The U.S. Census Bureau defines rural areas as all territories outside of Urbanized Areas (see Urban Area) and Urban Clusters (see Urban Cluster).
Rural-Urban Commuting Areas (RUCAs) A Census tract-based classification scheme (and a ZIP code-based alternative version) that utilizes the standard Census Bureau's urban area and place definition in combination with work commuting information to characterize all of the nation's Census tracts regarding their rural and urban status and functional relationships. Under the RUCA definition, types of rural and urban are defined by their city/town type and the portion of the populations that work commute from rural to urban areas.
Rural-Urban Continuum Codes A classification scheme that distinguishes metropolitan counties by the population size of their metro area, and nonmetropolitan counties by degree of urbanization and adjacency to a metro area or areas.
Rurality The quality or state of being rural, and a rural characteristic or trait.
Urban All territory, population and housing units in urbanized areas and in places of more than 2,500 persons outside of urbanized areas. "Urban" classification cuts across other hierarchies and can be in metropolitan or non-metropolitan areas.
Urban Cluster (UC) A densely settled area that has a census population of 2,500 to 49,999. A UC generally consists of a geographic core of block groups or blocks that have a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile, and adjacent block groups and blocks with at least 500 people per square mile. A UC consists of all or part of one or more incorporated places and/or census designated places; such a place(s) together with adjacent territory; or territory outside of any place.
Urban Influence Codes (UICs) A set of 12 county-level urban influence categories developed by the Economic Research Service based on population and commuting data from the 2000 Census of Population that captures some differences in economic opportunities.
Urbanized Areas (UA) An area consisting of a central place(s) and adjacent territory with a general population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile of land area that together have a minimum residential population of at least 50,000 people. The Census Bureau uses published criteria to determine the qualification and boundaries of UAs.
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) A statistical entity developed by the U.S. Census Bureau for tabulating summary statistics from Census 2000 to facilitate defining the land area covered by each ZIP Code.
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