Contained within the 3rd Edition (1957) of the Atlas of Canada is a map consisting of two condensed maps showing the distribution of rural population according to the 1951 census of Canada. The term 'rural population' embraces all persons residing outside the census metropolitan areas and cities, towns and villages of 1000 inhabitants and over, whether such cities, towns and villages were incorporated or not. The distribution is shown according to the two divisions of rural population commonly made, namely, rural farm and rural non-farm. The rural farm population comprises all people residing on a farm regardless of occupation. A farm for such purposes is defined as a land holding of over three acres in size on which agricultural operations are carried out, or a land holding from one to three acres in size, which in 1950 accounted for an agricultural production amounting to $250 or more. All other persons classed as rural population come under the rural non-farm division. The northern parts of Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories are not included on the rural non-farm map although there are some rural non-farm dwellers in these areas. In 1951, Canada's rural population was 52.5% rural farm, and 47.5% rural non-farm.

Geographic proximity to service centres and population centres is an important determinant of socio-economic and health outcomes. Consequently, it is a relevant dimension in the analysis and delivery of policies and programs. To measure this dimension, Statistics Canada developed an Index of Remoteness of communities. For each populated community (census subdivision), the index is determined by its distance to all the population centres defined by Statistics Canada in a given travel radius, as well as their population size.

RST = rural and small town.Criteria of the RST definition of Statistics Canada [16].

The datasets contain the computer code and data required to determine the cost and economic impacts of phosphorus recovery from municipal wastewater in Canada and the United States. The datasets supply data to (i) calculate the efficiency and cost of phosphorus recovery from the aqueous phase of digestate and sewage sludge for wastewater resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) as shown in Figure 1; (ii) estimate the average annual per capita phosphorus recovery cost and the household affordability index (HAI) across the second-level territory divisions (census divisions (Canada) and counties (United States)) when excluding and including the offset cost derived from avoiding potential environmental damage caused by phosphorus releases as shown in Figure 2; (iii) supply the distribution of population in urban and rural areas, the treatment level of the WRRFs, and the phosphorus recovery points as a function of the WRRF scale in the studied regions of Canada and the United States as shown in Figure 3; and (iv) describe the distribution of the average phosphorus recovery cost, annual per capita phosphorus recovery costs, and the HAI per studied regions as shown in Figure 4. Data describing the WRRFs’ location and characteristics across the studied regions of Canada and the United States are retrieved from the HydroWASTE database (https://www.hydrosheds.org/products/hydrowaste), including their spatial coordinates, treatment level, treatment design capacity, and population served. The HydroWASTE database reports the WRRF treatment level as primary, secondary, and advanced treatment. Since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not define numeric nutrient water quality criteria for secondary wastewater treatment effluents, we consider that only the WRRFs with advanced treatments have specific processes for removing phosphorus from the liquid effluent. To perform the analysis at the second-level divisions, data on total population, distribution of population in urban and rural areas, total income, and average annual income per capita are retrieved at the census division and county level for Canada and the United States, respectively. Data for the year 2020 is considered since it is the most recent information available for both countries. The first-level divisions level corresponds to census divisions of the United States, which provide territorial divisions similar in terms of development, demographic characteristics, and economic activities, being extensively used for collecting and analyzing data throughout the United States. A table of the states included in each United States census division can be found in the Supplementary Information file. The equivalent of the United States census divisions for Canada is the Canadian provinces and territories, although it must be noted that, unlike the case of the United States, their definition is guided by administrative and political considerations instead of statistical criteria.

Low income cut-offs (LICOs) before and after tax by community size and family size, in current dollars, annual.