Slide Presentation from the AHRQ 2007 Annual Conference

Map of California Rural Medical Service Studies

Map of California Rural Medical Service Studies

Map of California showing the location of the Rural Medical Service Study areas. The Frontier area is defined as less than 7 persons per square mile, and Rural as less than 250 persons per square mile. The map is color-coded and also has a red oval around the Inland Empire area.

There is a note which states:

80% of land mass
14% (and growing) of population live in rural California

4.9 million residents

Source: 2000 census data

Notes:

In fact, 80% of California's land mass is rural

When you look at the Inland Empire, easily half is frontier (7 people per square mile), and most of the rest is rural (less than 250 per square mile). Only a very small portion is urban.
And rural is growing —not because of the overall growth in population in California, but because of
Dynamic of "equity refugees"—people in urban areas who sell their homes, cash in their equity, and move to a more tranquil life in rural regions. And yet, those same people expect amenities, such as healthcare, at the same level of access and quality as in urban regions.

And rural Inland Empire is changing too.