Overview
The 2003 urban influence codes form a classification scheme
that distinguishes metropolitan counties by size and nonmetropolitan
counties by size of the largest city or town and proximity
to metro and micro areas. The standard Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) metro and nonmetro
categories have been subdivided into two metro and 10 nonmetro
categories, resulting in a 12-part county codification. This
scheme was originally developed in 1993. This scheme allows
researchers to break county data into finer residential groups,
beyond metro and nonmetro, particularly
for the analysis of trends in nonmetro areas that are related to
population density and metro influence. See the urban
influence code chapter in the measuring
rurality briefing room for more information.
Data Files
Release Date
November 2003
Instructions/Helpful Hints
The 2003 urban influence codes are not directly comparable
with the codes from previous years because of the new methodology
used in developing the 2003 metropolitan areas.
Related Resources
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