In
June 2003, the OMB released the Census 2000 version of metropolitan
(metro) and nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) areas, a classification system
often used to define urban and rural America. In this most recent
update, nonmetro America comprises 2,052 counties, contains 75 percent
of the Nation's land, and is home to 17 percent (49 million) of the
U.S. population. The new version classifies 298 formerly nonmetro
counties (10.3 million residents) as metro; 45 metro counties (3 million
people) were reclassified as nonmetro. Thus, the new set of nonmetro
counties contains a net of 7.3 million fewer residents than the former
(1993) set based on the 1990 census.
This latest reclassification reflects not only a decade of urban growth and restructuring, but also extensive modification of the rules governing metro and nonmetro status. OMB made far-reaching changes, simplifying criteria and adding a new micropolitan area classification. The new category subdivides previously undifferentiated nonmetro territory into two distinct types of countiesmicropolitan and noncore, thus providing a window on the diversity found in nonmetro America.
Comparison of 1993 and 2003 metro and nonmetro
classifications
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|
Former (1993)
metro counties |
Former (1993)
nonmetro counties |
|
Number of counties
|
Population 2000
|
Number of counties
|
Population 2000
|
Current (2003) metro counties |
791
|
222,307,173
|
298
|
10,272,767
|
Current (2003) nonmetro counties |
45
|
2,955,407
|
2,007
|
45,882,270
|
Metro areas were previously defined to include central counties
with one or more cities of at least 50,000 residents or with an
urbanized area of 50,000 or more and total area population of at
least 100,000. Outlying counties were included if they were both
economically tied to the central counties, as measured by daily
commuting, and they displayed a level of "metropolitan character"
based on population density, urbanization, and population growth.
A county with high "metropolitan character" would be included
with as little as 15 percent of its workers commuting. A county
low in such attributes would be regarded as nonmetro no matter how
high the commuting linkage was to the central county or counties.
Under the new "core-based statistical area" system, metro
areas are defined for all urbanized areas regardless of total area
population. In addition, inclusion as an outlying county is based
on a single commuting threshold of 25 percent with no "metropolitan
character" requirement. Streamlining the criteria in this manner
decreases the population covered by metro areas by approximately
2 million residents, but actual expansion of metro territory during
the last decade added 8 million persons. The net effect reduces
the 2000 nonmetro population from 55 to 49 million persons.
The addition of 49 new metro areas mostly results from actual growth
during the decade of nonmetro cities past the 50,000 urbanized area
threshold. The addition of formerly nonmetro counties to the fringe
of existing metro areas comes partly from relentless suburbanization
and partly from rule changes, specifically the removal of the "metropolitan
character" requirement. The reclassification of 45 metro counties
to nonmetro status is almost entirely a result of rule changes,
particularly the increase in the commuting level required for inclusion
as an outlying metro county. All but 4 of these new nonmetro counties
became part of a micropolitan area.
At the same time that OMB changed its metro definitions, the Census
Bureau modified the way in which it measures rural and urban outside
of urbanized areas. The basic concept remains intact, namely that
rural includes open country and small settlements of less than 2,500
persons. However, there are many small towns and cities that have
adjoining towns or suburbs, both incorporated and unincorporated
aggregations. The Bureau has defined such urban clusters regardless
of political boundaries. For example, a small town of 2,000 people
with an adjacent densely settled suburb of 800 people would be designated
as an urban cluster with a population of 2,800. Under 1990 procedures
there would be no combination and the population would remain rural.
Conversely, the Bureau identified rural parts of incorporated towns
whose city limits are very broad and include some thinly settled
territory. Thus, if a town of 5,000 people has 500 residents living
in thinly settled portions, the 500 are classified as rural and
the urban population would be just 4,500.
The introduction of urban clusters, along with adjustments to the
criteria defining urbanized areas, caused considerable shifts in
rural geography and population. The Bureau estimates that a net
of about 5 million people may have been added to the urban population
by the new procedures. Precise separation of rule-based shifts from
actual trends of population deconcentration during the 1990s is
difficult. Without rule changes, rural areas likely would have increased
by around 2 million people between 1990 and 2000. Instead, the rural
population declined from 62 to 59 million.
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