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.This record was taken from the USDA Enterprise Data Inventory that feeds into the https://data.gov catalog. Data for this record includes the following resources: Webpage with links to Excel files For complete information, please visit https://data.gov.

The 2013 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes form a classification scheme that distinguishes metropolitan counties by the population size of their metro area, and nonmetropolitan counties by degree of urbanization and adjacency to a metro area.

The official Office of Management and Budget (OMB) metro and nonmetro categories have been subdivided into three metro and six nonmetro categories. Each county in the U.S. is assigned one of the 9 codes. 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. The Rural-Urban Continuum Codes were originally developed in 1974. They have been updated each decennial since (1983, 1993, 2003, 2013), and slightly revised in 1988. Note that the 2013 Rural-Urban Continuum Codes are not directly comparable with the codes prior to 2000 because of the new methodology used in developing the 2000 metropolitan areas. See the Documentation for details and a map of the codes.

An update of the Rural-Urban Continuum Codes is planned for mid-2023.This record was taken from the USDA Enterprise Data Inventory that feeds into the https://data.gov catalog. Data for this record includes the following resources: Web page with links to Excel files For complete information, please visit https://data.gov.

{"definition": "9-level classification of counties by metro-nonmetro status, location, and urban size", "availableYears": "2010 (Released May 2013)", "name": "Rural-urban continuum code, 2013", "units": "Classification", "shortName": "RuralUrbanContinuumCode2013", "geographicLevel": "County", "dataSources": "U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau"}

© RuralUrbanContinuumCode2013 This layer is sourced from gis.ers.usda.gov.

The 2013 Urban Influence Codes form a classification scheme that distinguishes metropolitan counties by population size of their metro area, and nonmetropolitan counties by size of the largest city or town and proximity to metro and micropolitan 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 classification. 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.

An update of the Urban Influence Codes is planned for mid-2023.This record was taken from the USDA Enterprise Data Inventory that feeds into the https://data.gov catalog. Data for this record includes the following resources: Webpage with links to Excel files For complete information, please visit https://data.gov.

Urban-Rural Classifications by USDA, Economic Research Service - http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications.aspxCode Urban Influence Description1 Large Metro >1M Population2 Small Metro <1M Population3 Micropolitan Near Large Metro4 Rural Near Large Metro5 Micropolitan Near Small Metro6 Rural Near Small Metro, town >2.5K7 Rural Near Small Metro, town <2.5K8 Micropolitan Not Near Metro9 Rural Near Micropolitan, town >2.5K10 Rural Near Micropolitan, town <2.5K11 Rural Not Near Metro or Micro, town >2.5K12 Rural Not Near Metro or Micro, town <2.5Khttp://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/urban-influence-codes/documentation.aspx#.UYKQ2kpZRvYCode Rural-Urban Continuum Description1 Metro Area >1M Population2 Metro Area >250K-1M Population3 Metro Area <250K Population4 Urban >20K Near Metro5 Urban >20K Not Near Metro6 Urban 2.5K-20K Near Metro7 Urban 2.5K-20K Not Near Metro8 Rural, Near Metro9 Rural, Not Near Metrohttp://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/rural-urban-continuum-codes.aspx#.UYJuVEpZRvY

CLICK ON THE ABOVE IMAGE TO LAUNCH THE MAP - Healthcare access issues vary greatly between urban and rural areas of New Mexico. Launch the map to explore alternate ways to classify geographies as urban or rural. These classifications are often used for food access as well as healthcare access.BIBLIOGRAPHY WITH LINKS:US Census Bureau, Urban Area - Urban Cluster FAQ - https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/ua/2010ua_faqs.pdfAre the problems with Rural areas actually just a result of definitions that change?: "When a rural county grows, it transmutes into an urban one." - The real (surprisingly comforting) reason rural America is doomed to decline, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/05/24/real-surprisingly-comforting-reason-rural-america-is-doomed-decline/ (See also the complete study - http://programme.exordo.com/2018annualmeeting/delegates/presentation/130/ )Rural Definitions for Health Policy, Harvey Licht, a presentation for the University of New Mexico Center for Health Policy: : http://nmcdc.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7076f283b8de4bb69bf3153bc42e0402Rural Definitions for Health Policy, update of 2019, Harvey Licht, a presentation to the NMDOH Quarterly Epidemiology Meeting, November, 2019 - http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=a60a73f4e5614eb3ab01e2f96227ce4bNew Mexico Rural-Urban Counties Comparison Tables - October 2017, Harvey Licht, A preliminary compilation for the National Conference of State Legislators Rural Health Plan Taskforce : https://nmcdc.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=d3ca56e99f8b45c58522b2f9e061999eNew Mexico Rural Health Plan - Report of the Rural Health Planning Workgroup convened by the NM Department of Health 2018-2019 - http://nmcdc.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=d4b9b66a5ca34ec9bbe90efd9562586aFrontier and Remote Areas Zip Code Map - http://nmcdc.maps.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=56b4005256244499a58f863c17bbac8aHOUSING ISSUES, RURAL & URBAN, 2017 - http://nmcdc.maps.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=3e3aeabc04ac4672994e25a1ec94df83FURTHER READING:What is Rural? Rural Health Information Hub: https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/what-is-ruralDefining Rural. Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities: http://rtc.ruralinstitute.umt.edu/resources/defining-rural/What is Rural? USDA: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications/what-is-rural/National Center for Health Statistics Urban–Rural Classification Scheme: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/urban_rural.htm.Health-Related Behaviors by Urban-Rural County Classification — United States, 2013, CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/ss/ss6605a1.htm?s_cid=ss6605a1_wExtending Work on Rural Health Disparities, The Journal of Rural Health: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jrh.12241/fullMinority Populations Driving Community Growth in the Rural West, Headwaters Economics: https://headwaterseconomics.org/economic-development/trends-performance/minority-populations-driving-county-growth/ Methodology - https://headwaterseconomics.org/wp-content/uploads/Minorities_Methods.pdfThe Role of Medicaid in Rural America, Kaiser Family Foundation: http://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/the-role-of-medicaid-in-rural-america/The Future of the Frontier: Water, Energy & Climate Change in America’s Most Remote Communities: http://frontierus.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FUTURE-OF-THE-FRONTIER_Final-Version_Spring-2017.pdfRural and Urban Differences in Passenger-Vehicle–Occupant Deaths and Seat Belt Use Among Adults — United States, 2014, CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/ss/ss6617a1.htm

This link contains downloadable data for the Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America which provides statistics by broad categories of socioeconomic factors: People: Demographic data from the American Community Survey (ACS), including age, race and ethnicity, migration and immigration, education, household size, and family composition. Jobs: Economic data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other sources, including information on employment trends, unemployment, and industrial composition of employment from the ACS. County classifications: Categorical variables including the rural-urban continuum codes, economic dependence codes, persistent poverty, persistent child poverty, population loss, onshore oil/natural gas counties, and other ERS county typology codes. Income: Data on median household income, per capita income, and poverty (including child poverty). Veterans: Data on veterans, including service period, education, unemployment, income, and other demographic characteristics.

{"definition": "Classification of counties by metro or nonmetro definition, where 1=metro county; 0=nonmetro county; metro areas include all counties containing one or more urbanized areas: high-density urban areas containing 50,000 people or more; metro areas also include outlying counties that are economically tied to the central counties, as measured by the share of workers commuting on a daily basis to the central counties. Nonmetro counties are outside the boundaries of metro areas and have no cities with 50,000 residents or more.", "availableYears": "2010", "name": "Metro/nonmetro counties, 2010", "units": "Legend", "shortName": "METRO13", "geographicLevel": "County", "dataSources": "USDA Economic Research Service\u2014Rural Classifications (http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications.aspx)."}

© METRO13 This layer is sourced from gis.ers.usda.gov.

The US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment (CPHEA) Public Health & Environmental Systems Division (PHESD) is currently engaged in research aimed at developing a measure that estimates overall environmental quality at the census tract level for the United States. This work is being conducted as an effort to learn more about how various environmental factors simultaneously contribute to health disparities in low-income and minority populations, and to better estimate the total environmental and social context to which humans are exposed. This work contains the finalized Environmental Quality Index (EQI), as a single index combining variables from each of the associated domains for the 2006-2010 census tract level EQI: air, water, land, built environment, and sociodemographic environment as well as EQI for census tract stratified by Rural Urban Continuum Code (RUCA) as determined by a reclassification based off urbancity and commuting flow initially proposed in Urban-Rural Residence and the Occurrence of Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate in Texas, 1999-2003 published in Annals of Epidemiology (Messer, et al, 2010, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20006274/); RUCA initially was 10 classifications made by USDA Economic Research Service composed of: RUCA 1 Metropolitan Core Area, RUCA 2 Metropolitan High Commuting Area, RUCA 3 Metropolitan Low Commuting Area, RUCA 4 Micropolitan Area Core, RUCA 5, Micropolitan High Commuting, RUCA 6 Micropolitan Low Commuting Area, RUCA 7 Small Town Core, RUCA 8 Small Town High Commuting Area, RUCA 9 Small Town Low Commuting, RUCA 10 Rural Areas (https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/rural-urban-commuting-area-codes/). RUCA 1 remained it's own class, RUCA 2 remained it's own class, RUCA 3, 4, 5, 6 were combined and conveyed as RUCA 3, RUCA 7, 8, 9 were combined and now conveyed as RUCA 4 and RUCA 10 became RUCA 5 in the new classification. Within the new classification RUCA 1 is Urban Core, RUCA 2 is Suburban Area, RUCA 3 is Micropolitan Area, RUCA 4 is Small Town Area and RUCA 5 is Rural Area (Messer, et al, 2010). This dataset contains the finalized variables chosen to represent the overall environment within in a single Principal Component Analysis (PCA); data sources are: EPA's CMAQ: The Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (http://www.https://www.epa.gov/cmaq/), the National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (http://www.epa.gov/nata/), the U.S. Geological Survey Estimates of Water Use in the U.S. for 2010 (https://water.usgs.gov/watuse/data/2010/), the U.S. Drought Monitor Data (http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/), “Estimated Annual Agricultural Pesticide Use for Counties of the Conterminous United States” data for pesticide use (https://www.usgs.gov/data/estimated-annual-agricultural-pesticide-use-counties-conterminous-united-states-2013-17-ver-20), CropScape (https://nassgeodata.gmu.edu/CropScape), EPA Facility Registry Service (https://www.epa.gov/frs/geospatial-data-download-service), Dun and Bradstreet North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes(http://www.dnb.com); National Land Cover Database (NCDL) (https://www.mrlc.gov/), United States Census (http://www2.census.gov) and ESRI Crime Report (https://doc.arcgis.com/en/esri-demographics/data/crime-indexes.htm).

CLICK ON THE ABOVE IMAGE TO LAUNCH THE MAP - Healthcare access issues vary greatly between urban and rural areas of New Mexico. Launch the map to explore alternate ways to classify geographies as urban or rural. These classifications are often used for food access as well as healthcare access.BIBLIOGRAPHY WITH LINKS:Rural Definitions for Health Policy, Harvey Licht, a presentation for the University of New Mexico Center for Health Policy: : http://nmcdc.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7076f283b8de4bb69bf3153bc42e0402New Mexico Rural-Urban Counties Comparison Tables - October 2017, Harvey Licht, A preliminary compilation for the National Conference of State Legislators Rural Health Plan Taskforce : https://nmcdc.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=d3ca56e99f8b45c58522b2f9e061999eFrontier and Remote Areas Map - http://nmcdc.maps.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=56b4005256244499a58f863c17bbac8aFURTHER READING:What is Rural? Rural Health Information Hub: https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/what-is-ruralDefining Rural. Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities: http://rtc.ruralinstitute.umt.edu/resources/defining-rural/What is Rural? USDA: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications/what-is-rural/National Center for Health Statistics Urban–Rural Classification Scheme: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/urban_rural.htm.Health-Related Behaviors by Urban-Rural County Classification — United States, 2013, CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/ss/ss6605a1.htm?s_cid=ss6605a1_wExtending Work on Rural Health Disparities, The Journal of Rural Health: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jrh.12241/fullMinority Populations Driving Community Growth in the Rural West, Headwaters Economics: https://headwaterseconomics.org/economic-development/trends-performance/minority-populations-driving-county-growth/ Methodology - https://headwaterseconomics.org/wp-content/uploads/Minorities_Methods.pdfThe Role of Medicaid in Rural America, Kaiser Family Foundation: http://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/the-role-of-medicaid-in-rural-america/The Future of the Frontier: Water, Energy & Climate Change in America’s Most Remote Communities: http://frontierus.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FUTURE-OF-THE-FRONTIER_Final-Version_Spring-2017.pdfRural and Urban Differences in Passenger-Vehicle–Occupant Deaths and Seat Belt Use Among Adults — United States, 2014, CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/ss/ss6617a1.htm

Data and R code for measuring state and district public opinion in 2008 with a kriging model. Survey data are from the 2008 Cooperative Congressional Election Study. Geographic data include shapefiles, ZIP code centroids and attributes, and USDA urban-rural classifications. Demographic data are drawn from Census data and the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies' 2000 Religious Congregations and Membership Study.