Most counties, whether metropolitan or nonmetropolitan, contain a combination of urban and rural populations. According to official U.S. Census Bureau definitions, rural areas comprise open country and settlements with fewer than 2,500 residents.

ERS has developed several classifications to measure rurality and assess the economic and social diversity of rural America. These classification schemes have been used to determine eligibility for Federal programs that assist rural areas. They include the:

• Frontier and Remote Area Codes,
• Rural-Urban Continuum Codes,
• Urban-Influence Codes,
• Rural-Urban Commuting Areas, and the
• ERS typology code, which classifies rural counties by their economic and policy types.

Last updated: Thursday, November 08, 2012

For more information contact: John Cromartie and Timothy Parker