This dataset contains measures of the urban/rural characteristics of each census tract in the United States. These include proportions of urban and rural population, population density, rural/urban commuting area (RUCA) codes, and RUCA-based four- and seven- category urbanicity scales. A curated version of this data is available through ICPSR at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/studies/38606/versions/V1

The rural-urban commuting area codes (RUCA) classify U.S. census tracts using measures of urbanization, population density, and daily commuting from the decennial census. The most recent RUCA codes are based on data from the 2000 decennial census. The classification contains two levels. Whole numbers (1-10) delineate metropolitan, micropolitan, small town, and rural commuting areas based on the size and direction of the primary (largest) commuting flows. These 10 codes are further subdivided to permit stricter or looser delimitation of commuting areas, based on secondary (second largest) commuting flows. The approach errs in the direction of more codes, providing flexibility in combining levels to meet varying definitional needs and preferences. The 1990 codes are similarly defined. However, the Census Bureau's methods of defining urban cores and clusters changed between the two censuses. And, census tracts changed in number and shapes. The 2000 rural-urban commuting codes are not directly comparable with the 1990 codes because of these differences. An update of the Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes is planned for late 2013.

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.

This resource is a member of a series. The TIGER/Line shapefiles and related database files (.dbf) are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) System (MTS). The MTS represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts, however, each TIGER/Line shapefile is designed to stand alone as an independent data set, or they can be combined to cover the entire nation. After each decennial census, the Census Bureau delineates urban areas that represent densely developed territory, encompassing residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. In general, this territory consists of areas of high population density and urban land use resulting in a representation of the urban footprint. There are 2,644 Urban Areas (UAs) in this data release with either a minimum population of 5,000 or a housing unit count of 2,000 units. Each urban area is identified by a five-character numeric census code that may contain leading zeros.

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.

The Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project, Version 1 (GRUMPv1): Urban Extents Grid distinguishes urban and rural areas based on a combination of population counts (persons), settlement points, and the presence of Nighttime Lights. Areas are defined as urban where contiguous lighted cells from the Nighttime Lights or approximated urban extents based on buffered settlement points for which the total population is greater than 5,000 persons. This data set is produced by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), The World Bank, and Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT).

This table uses U.S. Census data to create a dataset that identifies all Virginia localities as either Mostly Urban, Mostly Rural or Completely Rural. Total population and breakdown between urban and rural populations are included.

For information on the U.S. Census Bureau's use of these designations see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/urban-rural.html. (Source data for this dataset is found at this link and is titled "County Classification Lookup Table [XLS]".)

The web map presents the Census 2020 Urbanized Areas (UA) and Urban Clusters (UC). For the 2020 Census, an urban area will comprise a densely settled core of census blocks that meet minimum housing unit density and/or population density requirements. This includes adjacent territory containing non-residential urban land uses. To qualify as an urban area, the territory identified according to criteria must encompass at least 2,000 housing units or have a population of at least 5,000.This layer uses the US Census Bureau 2020 Urban Area source TIGER/Line data and corresponding List of 2020 Population Attributes.

The Census Bureau's urban-rural classification is fundamentally a classification of areas, identifying individual urban areas and, as a residual, the rural area of the nation. The Census Bureau�s urban area definitions represent densely developed territory, encompassing residential, commercial, and other non-residential urban land uses. The Census Bureau defines urban areas after each decennial census by applying specified criteria with decennial census and other data. The Census Bureau classifies as urban all territory, population, and housing units located within urbanized areas (UAs) and urban clusters (UCs), both defined using the same criteria. The Census Bureau delineates UA and UC boundaries to encompass densely settled territory.Urban Clusters (UCs)-An urban cluster consists of densely settled territory that has at least 2,500 people but fewer than 50,000 people. The Census Bureau introduced the UC concept for Census 2000 to provide a more consistent and accurate measure of urban population, housing, and territory throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas. Prior to Census 2000, urban places of 2,500 or more population were identified outside UAs without regard to population density. In addition, densely settled populations located outside places and outside UAs were classified as rural prior to Census 2000.For More Information go to: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/tigerwebmain/TIGERweb_geography_details.html

The Urban Place GIS Coverage of Mexico is a vector based point Geographic Information System (GIS) coverage of 696 urban places in Mexico. Each Urban Place is geographically referenced down to one tenth of a minute. The attribute data include time-series population and selected census/geographic data items for Mexican urban places from from 1921 to 1990. The cartographic data include urban place point locations on a state boundary file of Mexico. This data set is produced by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica Geografia e Informatica (INEGI) and the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) of Michigan.

NJDOT has revised the New Jersey urban area based upon the 2020 U.S. Census urban area boundaries. The U.S. Census defines an Urbanized Area as any area with a population >= 5,000. Under the 2020 Urban Area definition, Urban Clusters are no longer a classification. FHWA, however, has slightly different criteria for what defines an urban area. Under FHWA, an Urban Area is >= 5,000, with Small Urban Areas 5,000-49,999 and Urbanized Areas >= 50,000. NJDOT followed the FHWA urban area definitions for this urban area update. To perform this update, NJDOT used the 2020 US Census urban areas greater than 5,000 in population. Since census urban area boundaries are based upon census block boundaries, which can be irregular, NJDOT extended outward the urban area ("smoothed") to the nearest road, stream, political boundary, or manmade feature. When a roadway is used as the adjusted boundary, the following buffers will be applied to include the right of way of the roadway: 50’ from undivided roadway centerlines (single centerline) and 80’ from divided roadway centerlines (dual centerline). Where there was no obvious boundary to smooth to, the census boundary was retained. NJDOT also expanded the urban area to include any densely developed areas not included in the 2020 census urban areas. The urban area update underwent a thorough public review and comment period. Representatives from NJDOT and the 3 metropolitan planning organizations (NJTPA, SJTPO, and DVRPC) met during various phases of the project to review the updated urban area. All comments were logged into an Urban Area Comment Tracking Form, and an official NJDOT response was provided for each comment. Further revisions were made to the urban area based upon comments from FHWA. These revisions were limited in scope and consisted of the following: 1) Smoothed the urban boundary outward at water boundaries: 1000’ from corporate boundary / shoreline for coastal areas and 500’ from corporate boundary / shoreline for bay areas. 2) Utilize Census State Boundary for the state boundary except for coastal boundaries.

Cortical Thickness by Group and Urbanicity level.

Data for study on urbanicity

Chad TD: Urban Population data was reported at 4,707,283.000 Person in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 4,440,903.000 Person for 2022. Chad TD: Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 1,339,756.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4,707,283.000 Person in 2023 and a record low of 204,187.000 Person in 1960. Chad TD: Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Chad – Table TD.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.;World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.;Sum;

Urban population growth (annual %) in United States was reported at 1.2366 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Urban population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

†Proportion of the population refers to the proportion of the adult population (those aged ≥18 y).∧The average number of years of education has been divided by six so that the total score for the “Education facilities” component is no more than 10 points.

Cortical Thickness as a Function of Group Status, Sex and Urbanicity.

This resource is a member of a series. The TIGER/Line shapefiles and related database files (.dbf) are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). The MTDB represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts, however, each TIGER/Line shapefile is designed to stand alone as an independent data set, or they can be combined to cover the entire nation. After each decennial census, the Census Bureau delineates urban areas that represent densely developed territory, encompassing residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. In general, this territory consists of areas of high population density and urban land use resulting in a representation of the urban footprint. There are 2,646 Urban Areas (UAs) in this data release with either a minimum population of 5,000 or a housing unit count of 2,000 units. Each urban area is identified by a 5-character numeric census code that may contain leading zeroes.

Germany DE: Urban Population data was reported at 64,762,692.000 Person in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 65,067,459.000 Person for 2022. Germany DE: Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 58,885,793.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 65,067,459.000 Person in 2022 and a record low of 51,978,188.000 Person in 1960. Germany DE: Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.;World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.;Sum;

Graph and download economic data for Expenditures: Telephone Services by Type of Area: Urban: Other Urban (CXUPHONELB1804M) from 2003 to 2020 about phone, telecom, expenditures, urban, services, and USA.