Rural population (% of total population) in United States was reported at 16.48 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Rural population - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

United States US: Rural Population: % of Total Population data was reported at 17.942 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 18.138 % for 2016. United States US: Rural Population: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 24.985 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 30.004 % in 1960 and a record low of 17.942 % in 2017. United States US: Rural Population: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Weighted average;

In 2023, there were approximately ***** million people living in rural areas in the United States, while about ****** million people were living in urban areas. Within the provided time period, the number of people living in urban U.S. areas has increased significantly since totaling only ****** million in 1960.

In 2020, about 82.66 percent of the total population in the United States lived in cities and urban areas. As the United States was one of the earliest nations to industrialize, it has had a comparatively high rate of urbanization over the past two centuries. The urban population became larger than the rural population during the 1910s, and by the middle of the century it is expected that almost 90 percent of the population will live in an urban setting. Regional development of urbanization in the U.S. The United States began to urbanize on a larger scale in the 1830s, as technological advancements reduced the labor demand in agriculture, and as European migration began to rise. One major difference between early urbanization in the U.S. and other industrializing economies, such as the UK or Germany, was population distribution. Throughout the 1800s, the Northeastern U.S. became the most industrious and urban region of the country, as this was the main point of arrival for migrants. Disparities in industrialization and urbanization was a key contributor to the Union's victory in the Civil War, not only due to population sizes, but also through production capabilities and transport infrastructure. The Northeast's population reached an urban majority in the 1870s, whereas this did not occur in the South until the 1950s. As more people moved westward in the late 1800s, not only did their population growth increase, but the share of the urban population also rose, with an urban majority established in both the West and Midwest regions in the 1910s. The West would eventually become the most urbanized region in the 1960s, and over 90 percent of the West's population is urbanized today. Urbanization today New York City is the most populous city in the United States, with a population of 8.3 million, while California has the largest urban population of any state. California also has the highest urbanization rate, although the District of Columbia is considered 100 percent urban. Only four U.S. states still have a rural majority, these are Maine, Mississippi, Montana, and West Virginia.

Rural population growth (annual %) in United States was reported at --0.33134 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Rural population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

This statistic shows the share of the rural population in the United States with broadband access in 2014 and 2016. According to the most recent data, 73.1 percent of the American rural population had access to broadband, compared to 66.1 percent in 2014.

People using at least basic sanitation services, rural (% of rural population) in United States was reported at 98.53% in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - People using at least basic sanitation services, rural (% of rural population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

The dataset contains Decade and State wise Urban, Rural, Total Population and Decadal Growth Rate

Note: 1. The Population figures exclude population of areas under unlawful occupation of Pakistan and China, where Census could not be taken. 2. In Arunachal Pradesh, the census was conducted for the first time in 1961. 3. Population data of Assam include Union Territory of Mizoram, which was carved out of Assam after the 1971. 4. The 1981 Census could not be held in Assam. Total Population for 1981 has been worked out by Interpolation. 5. The 1991 Census could not be held in Jammu & Kashmir. Total Population for 1991 has been worked out by Interpolation. 6. India and Manipur figures include estimated Population for those of the three sub-divisions viz., Mao Maram,Paomata and Purul of Senapati district of Manipur as census result of 2001 in these three sub-divisions were cancelled due to technical and administrative reasons

Rural population (% of total population) in India was reported at 63.13 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Rural population - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Access to electricity, rural (% of rural population) in United States was reported at 100 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Access to electricity, rural (% of rural population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

The lowest rural population rates are found in some of the smallest countries in the world and city-states and areas, such as Gibraltar, Monaco, and Singapore, where the whole population lives in urban areas. Apart from these, Qatar is the country with the lowest rural population rate in the world. There, less than one percent of the population lives in rural areas. Belgium follows behind Qatar with less than two percent living in rural areas. On the other hand, Papua New Guinea has the largest rural population in the world.

More than 71 percent of the rural United States population were covered by at least one 5G network as of late 2023, while around 43 percent were covered by two or more. Expanding rural 5G coverage presents a challenge for U.S. mobile network operators, with low density and difficult terrain driving up the cost per potential customer.

Rural population (% of total population) in Nigeria was reported at 45.72 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Nigeria - Rural population - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

United States US: Rural Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Population data was reported at 0.249 % in 2010. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.256 % for 2000. United States US: Rural Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 0.249 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.256 % in 2000 and a record low of 0.246 % in 1990. United States US: Rural Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Rural population below 5m is the percentage of the total population, living in areas where the elevation is 5 meters or less.; ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/lecz-urban-rural-population-land-area-estimates-v2.; Weighted Average;

A survey conducted from 2021 to 2022 reported that around ** percent of all rural households surveyed across India were engaged in agriculture. The share increased from 2017 to 2022, with ***************** reporting the highest share of agricultural to rural households among other states.

United States US: Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data was reported at 2.264 % in 2010. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.246 % for 2000. United States US: Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 2.264 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.329 % in 1990 and a record low of 2.246 % in 2000. United States US: Urban Population Living in Areas Where Elevation is Below 5 meters: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Urban population below 5m is the percentage of the total population, living in areas where the elevation is 5 meters or less.; ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/lecz-urban-rural-population-land-area-estimates-v2.; Weighted Average;

This scatter chart displays rural population (people) against birth rate (per 1,000 people) in the United States. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the Rural Valley population over the last 20 plus years. It lists the population for each year, along with the year on year change in population, as well as the change in percentage terms for each year. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population change of Rural Valley across the last two decades. For example, using this dataset, we can identify if the population is declining or increasing. If there is a change, when the population peaked, or if it is still growing and has not reached its peak. We can also compare the trend with the overall trend of United States population over the same period of time.

Key observations

In 2023, the population of Rural Valley was 809, a 1.10% decrease year-by-year from 2022. Previously, in 2022, Rural Valley population was 818, a decline of 0.97% compared to a population of 826 in 2021. Over the last 20 plus years, between 2000 and 2023, population of Rural Valley decreased by 197. In this period, the peak population was 1,006 in the year 2000. The numbers suggest that the population has already reached its peak and is showing a trend of decline. Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Data Coverage:

• From 2000 to 2023

Variables / Data Columns

• Year: This column displays the data year (Measured annually and for years 2000 to 2023)
• Population: The population for the specific year for the Rural Valley is shown in this column.
• Year on Year Change: This column displays the change in Rural Valley population for each year compared to the previous year.
• Change in Percent: This column displays the year on year change as a percentage. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Rural Valley Population by Year. You can refer the same here

We used individual-level death data to estimate county-level life expectancy at 25 (e25) for Whites, Black, AIAN and Asian in the contiguous US for 2000-2005. Race-sex-stratified models were used to examine the associations among e25, rurality and specific race proportion, adjusted for socioeconomic variables. Individual death data from the National Center for Health Statistics were aggregated as death counts into five-year age groups by county and race-sex groups for the contiguous US for years 2000-2005 (National Center for Health Statistics 2000-2005). We used bridged-race population estimates to calculate five-year mortality rates. The bridged population data mapped 31 race categories, as specified in the 1997 Office of Management and Budget standards for the collection of data on race and ethnicity, to the four race categories specified under the 1977 standards (the same as race categories in mortality registration) (Ingram et al. 2003). The urban-rural gradient was represented by the 2003 Rural Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC), which distinguished metropolitan counties by population size, and nonmetropolitan counties by degree of urbanization and adjacency to a metro area (United States Department of Agriculture 2016). We obtained county-level sociodemographic data for 2000-2005 from the US Census Bureau. These included median household income, percent of population attaining greater than high school education (high school%), and percent of county occupied rental units (rent%). We obtained county violent crime from Uniform Crime Reports and used it to calculate mean number of violent crimes per capita (Federal Bureau of Investigation 2010). This dataset is not publicly accessible because: EPA cannot release personally identifiable information regarding living individuals, according to the Privacy Act and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This dataset contains information about human research subjects. Because there is potential to identify individual participants and disclose personal information, either alone or in combination with other datasets, individual level data are not appropriate to post for public access. Restricted access may be granted to authorized persons by contacting the party listed. It can be accessed through the following means: Request to author. Format: Data are stored as csv files. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Jian, Y., L. Neas, L. Messer, C. Gray, J. Jagai, K. Rappazzo, and D. Lobdell. Divergent trends in life expectancy across the rural-urban gradient among races in the contiguous United States. International Journal of Public Health. Springer Basel AG, Basel, SWITZERLAND, 64(9): 1367-1374, (2019).

This layer represents USDA Food Access Research Atlas data at the census tract geography. Low Income is defined as tracts with a poverty rate of 20% or higher, or tracts with median family income less than 80% of median family income of the state or metropolitan area. Low Access is defined as tracts where a significant number or share of residents is more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket.http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/go-to-the-atlas.aspxFood accessLimited access to supermarkets, supercenters, grocery stores, or other sources of healthy and affordable food may make it harder for some Americans to eat a healthy diet. There are many ways to measure food store access for individuals and for neighborhoods, and many ways to define which areas are food deserts—neighborhoods that lack healthy food sources. Most measures and definitions take into account at least some of the following indicators of access:Accessibility to sources of healthy food, as measured by distance to a store or by the number of stores in an area.Individual-level resources that may affect accessibility, such as family income or vehicle availability.Neighborhood-level indicators of resources, such as the average income of the neighborhood and the availability of public transportation.In the Food Access Research Atlas, several indicators are available to measure food access along these dimensions. For example, users can choose alternative distance markers to measure low access in a neighborhood, such as the number and share of people more than half a mile to a supermarket or 1 mile to a supermarket. Users can also view other census-tract-level characteristics that provide context on food access in neighborhoods, such as whether the tract has a high percentage of households far from supermarkets and without vehicles, individuals with low income, or people residing in group quarters.Low-income neighborhoodsThe criteria for identifying a census tract as low income are from the Department of Treasury’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program. This program defines a low-income census tract as any tract where:The tract’s poverty rate is 20 percent or greater; orThe tract’s median family income is less than or equal to 80 percent of the State-wide median family income; orThe tract is in a metropolitan area and has a median family income less than or equal to 80 percent of the metropolitan area's median family income.Low-access census tractsIn the Food Access Research Atlas, low access to healthy food is defined as being far from a supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store ("supermarket" for short). A census tract is considered to have low access if a significant number or share of individuals in the tract is far from a supermarket.In the original Food Desert Locator, low access was measured as living far from a supermarket, where 1 mile was used in urban areas and 10 miles was used in rural areas to demarcate those who are far from a supermarket. In urban areas, about 70 percent of the population was within 1 mile of a supermarket, while in rural areas over 90 percent of the population was within 10 miles (see Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Updated Estimates of Distance to Supermarkets Using 2010 Data). Updating the original 1- and 10-mile low-access measure shows that an estimated 18.3 million people in these low-income and low-access census tracts were far from a supermarket in 2010.Three additional measures of food access based on distance to a supermarket are provided in the Atlas:One additional measure applies a 0.5-mile demarcation in urban areas and a 10-mile distance in rural areas. Using this measure, an estimated 52.5 million people, or 17 percent of the U.S. population, have low access to a supermarket;A second measure applies a 1.0-mile demarcation in urban areas and a 20-mile distance in rural areas. Under this measure, an estimated 16.5 million people, or 5.3 percent of the U.S. population, have low access to a supermarket; andA slightly more complex measure incorporates vehicle access directly into the measure, delineating low-income tracts in which a significant number of households are located far from a supermarket and do not have access to a vehicle. This measure also includes census tracts with populations that are so remote, that, even with a vehicle, driving to a supermarket may be considered a burden due to the great distance. Using this measure, an estimated 2.1 million households, or 1.8 percent of all households, in low-income census tracts are far from a supermarket and do not have a vehicle. An additional 0.3 million people are more than 20 miles from a supermarket.For each of the first three measures that are based solely on distance, a tract is designated as low access if the aggregate number of people in the census tract with low access is at least 500 or the percentage of people in the census tract with low access is at least 33 percent. For the final measure using vehicle availability, a tract is designated as having low vehicle access if at least one of the following is true:at least 100 households are more than ½ mile from the nearest supermarket and have no access to a vehicle; orat least 500 people or 33 percent of the population live more than 20 miles from the nearest supermarket, regardless of vehicle access.Methods used to assess distance to the nearest supermarket are the same for each of these measures. First, the entire country is divided into ½-km square grids, and data on the population are aerially allocated to these grids (see Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Updated Estimates of Distance to Supermarkets Using 2010 Data). Then, distance to the nearest supermarket is measured for each grid cell by calculating the distance between the geographic center of the ½-km square grid that contains estimates of the population (number of people and other subgroup characteristics) and the center of the grid with the nearest supermarket.Once the distance to the nearest supermarket is calculated for each grid cell, the estimated number of people or housing units that are more than 1 mile from a supermarket in urban tracts, or 10 miles in rural census tracts, is aggregated at the census-tract level (and similarly for the alternative distance markers). A census tract is considered rural if the population-weighted centroid of that tract is located in an area with a population of less than 2,500; all other tracts are considered urban tracts.Food desertsThe Food Access Research Atlas maps census tracts that are both low income (li) and low access (la), as measured by the different distance demarcations. This tool provides researchers and other users multiple ways to understand the characteristics that can contribute to food deserts, including income level, distance to supermarkets, and vehicle access.Additional tract-level indicators of accessVehicle availabilityA tract is identified as having low vehicle availability if more than 100 households in the tract report having no vehicle available and are more than 0.5 miles from the nearest supermarket. This corresponds closely to the 80th percentile of the distribution of the number of housing units in a census tract without vehicles at least 0.5 miles from a supermarket (the 80th percentile value was 106 housing units). This means that about 20 percent of all census tracts had more than 100 housing units that were 0.5 miles from a supermarket and without a vehicle. This indicator was applied to both urban and rural census tracts.Overall, 8.8 percent of all housing units in the United States do not have a vehicle, and 4.2 percent of all housing units are at least 0.5 mile from a store and without a vehicle. Vehicle availability is defined in the American Community Survey as the number of passenger cars, vans, or trucks with a capacity of 1-ton or less kept at the home and available for use by household members. The number of available vehicles includes those vehicles leased or rented for at least 1 month, as well as company, police, or government vehicles that are kept at home and available for non-business use.Whether a vehicle is available to a household for private use is an important additional indicator of access to healthy and affordable food. For households living far from a supermarket or large grocery store, access to a private vehicle may make accessing these retailers easier than relying on public or alternative means of transportation.Group quarters populationUsers may be interested in highlighting tracts with large shares of people living in group quarters. Group quarters are residential arrangements where an entity or organization owns and provides housing (and often services) for individuals residing in these buildings. This includes college dormitories, military quarters, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, residential treatment centers, and assisted living or skilled nursing facilities. These living arrangements frequently provide dining and food retail solely for their residents. While individuals living in these areas may appear to be far from a supermarket or grocery store, they may not truly experience difficulty accessing healthy and affordable food. Tracts in which 67 percent of individuals or more live in group quarters are highlighted.General tract characteristicsPopulation, tract totalGeographic level: census tractYear of data: 2010Definition: Total number of individuals residing in a tract.Data sources: Data are from the 2012 report, Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Updated Estimates of Distances to Supermarkets Using 2010 Data. Population data are reported at the block level from the 2010 Census of Population and Housing. These data were aerially allocated down to ½-kilometer-square grids across the United States.Low-income tractGeographic level: census tractYear of data: 2010Definition: A tract with either a poverty rate of 20