Overview
ERS has developed several classifications to measure rurality and
assess the economic and social diversity of rural America. The Rural-Urban
Continuum Codes, the Urban-Influence Codes, and the Rural-Urban Commuting
Areas are used to classify counties, census tracts, and ZIP codes by
degree of rurality. The ERS typology code classifies rural counties
by their economic and policy types. These classification schemes have
been used to determine eligibility for Federal programs that assist
rural areas.
Features
 Rural
America At A Glance, 2008 Edition—The 2008 edition highlights
the most recent indicators of social and economic conditions in rural areas
for use in developing policies and programs to assist rural areas. The
brochure provides information on key rural conditions and trends for use
by public and private decisionmakers and others involved in efforts to
enhance the economic opportunities and quality of life for rural people
and their communities. See all
At A Glance reports in the series.
What is a "micropolitan" area?—Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) was urged by various sources in the last
decade to delineate the entire land surface of the country into areas,
and not leave the territory outside of metro areas as an undifferentiated
residual. As a partial response, OMB designated micro areas using the
same procedure as that for metro areas.
Nonmetro Recreation
Counties: Their Identification and Rapid Growth—For rural communities
struggling to offset job losses from farming, mining, and manufacturing,
capitalizing on the recreational appeal of an area fosters economic development,
attracts new residents, and retains existing population. This article
outlines a method to identify nonmetro counties with high recreation development.
Recommended Readings
Recreation, Tourism, and Rural Well Being—By looking at 311 rural recreation
counties, this study finds that recreation and tourism development benefits rural well-being by
increasing local employment, wage levels, and income, reducing poverty, and improving
education, and health. But rural recreation and tourism development is not without drawbacks,
including higher housing costs. Local effects also vary significantly, depending on the type
of recreation area. Read the related Amber Waves
feature or download a list of the recreation counties
in an Excel file.
Natural Amenities Drive Rural Population
Change—This report examines how climate, topography, and water
area are highly related to rural county population change over the
past 25 years.
Using the 2003 Urban Influence
Codes To Understand Rural America—This Amber Waves data
feature looks at an area's geographic context and how its related
to educational attainment, occupation, earnings and population change.
The methodology and rationale behind the 2003 Urban Influence Codes
are explained in the Amber Waves Behind the
Data section, Developing
a County-level Measure of Urban Influence.
The 2004 ERS County Typology—A series of articles have appeared in Amber Waves that focus
on the ERS County Typology Codes. These articles show how ERS researchers have used the codes to analyze rural America.
See all recommended readings...
Recommended Data Products
Rural Definitions—Most
Americans share a common image of rural—open countryside and small towns
at some distance from large urban centers—but not a common consensus
on where and how to draw the line between rural and urban. Dozens of
definitions are currently used by federal and State agencies, researchers,
and policy makers. The ERS Rural Definition data product allows users
to make comparisons among nine representative rural definitions, for
the U.S. as a whole and for individual States. We include socioeconomic
indicators (population, education, poverty, etc.) that are commonly
used to highlight differences between urban and rural areas. Three display
options are available: national and State indicator tables; State-level
maps; and an interactive mapping utility.
Rural-Urban Continuum Codes—Classifies
U.S. counties by urbanization and nearness to a metropolitan area. Updated
in 2003 to reflect new metro designations.
Rural-Urban Commuting
Area Codes (RUCA)—Classifies U.S. census tracts using measures
of urbanization, population density, and daily commuting.
Urban Influence Codes—Classifies U.S. counties
by size of the largest city and nearness to metropolitan and micropolitan
areas.
Population Interaction Zones for Agriculture (PIZA)—These indexes measure the degree of influence that nearby urban-related population exerts on agricultural
land. The county-level and 5-kilometer indexes are based
on a "gravity model" of urban influences.
State Fact Sheets—State Fact Sheets provide information
on population, per-capita income, earnings per job, poverty,
number of jobs, unemployment rate, percent employment change, farm and
farm-related jobs, top export commodities, farm characteristics, and farm
financial indicators.
See all recommended data products...
Related Briefing Rooms
Related Links
U.S. Census Bureau—Rural and
urban population estimates, lists of metropolitan counties, and lots of
data.
Metropolitan
Area Standards Review Project—The latest on the new definition
of metropolitan areas.
See all related links...
Maps and Images Gallery
Rural Gallery—The
most up-to-date information on rural indicators including population
and demographics, employment and unemployment, income and poverty, housing,
industry, lenders and financial markets, and Federal funds to
rural America.
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