Rural Statistical Areas

State Data Centers’ Training Conference

April 3, 2017

Rural Statistical AreasBackground

• Discussion began as a follow-on to an ACS Data Product Redesign Group (DPRG) presentation.

• One suggestion from DPRG was the establishment of rural geographies that meet the ACS 65,000 1-year population threshold.

• SDC Steering Committee members offered to engage with and assist the Census Bureau in evaluating and creating a stable rural geography.

• Building off lessons learned from last decade’s Rural Statistical Areas pilot project.

• Discussion sessions in October and January to identify potential criteria and methodologies.

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Rural Statistical AreasProject Goals

• Develop an objective process for identifying and grouping sub-state areas of 65,000 or more people for purposes of tabulating and disseminating ACS 1-year data.

• Focus on meeting need for annual data for rural areas.• However, if the classification includes all counties, then we cannot

apply the term “rural.”

• Process should result in areas that are comparable from one state to another.

• Use counties as building blocks.• Counties are recognizable geographic units.

• Greater availability of statistical and other data at the county-level.

• But, large counties in the West pose challenges.

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Rural Statistical AreasConceptual and Definitional Issues to Consider

What is “rural?” What characterizes “rurality?”

• Low population density.

• Small numbers of people.

• Low levels of urbanization/urban population.

• Distance from/proximity to [larger] urban centers.

• Isolation and remoteness.

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Rural Statistical AreasProposed Criteria and Concept

Each statistical area:

• Must have a population of 65,000 or more.

• Should encompass one or more contiguous counties (or other geographic unit).

• Should, to the extent possible, encompass areas with similar levels of rurality.

• Statistical areas should be comparable from one state to another.

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Rural Statistical AreasUSDA/Economic Research Service Rural-Urban Continuum Codes

• 9-level classification commonly used with rural programs, research, and analysis.

• County-based.• Classifies nonmetropolitan counties based on amount of urban

population and adjacency or lack of adjacency to a metropolitan area.

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Code Description

Metropolitan Counties

1 Counties in metro areas of 1 million population or more

2 Counties in metro areas of 250,000 to 1 million population

3 Counties in metro areas of fewer than 250,000 population

Nonmetropolitan Counties

4 Urban population of 20,000 or more, adjacent to a metro area

5 Urban population of 20,000 or more, not adjacent to a metro area

6 Urban population of 2,500 to 19,999, adjacent to a metro area

7 Urban population of 2,500 to 19,999, not adjacent to a metro area

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Completely rural or less than 2,500 urban population, adjacent to a metro

area

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Completely rural or less than 2,500 urban population, not adjacent to a

metro area

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Rural Statistical AreasUsing Rural-Urban Continuum Codes to Group Counties

Potential methods for grouping counties

1) Group based on specific RUCC category only. For example, all counties with RUCC 4 are grouped to form an RSA, and so forth.

2) Group based on adjacency/non-adjacency to an MSA; that is, group categories 4, 6, and 8 or 5, 7, and 9.

3) Group based on amount of urban population; that is, group categories 4 and 5; 6 and 7; 8 and 9.

4) Group to form contiguous regions, with RUCC codes guiding the aggregation process.

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Nevada RUCCs and Potential RSAs

RSA 2010 Population1-Douglas-Lyon 98,9772-Churchill-Esmeralda-

Lincoln-Mineral-Nye 79,7233-Elko-Eureka-Humboldt-

Lander-Pershing-White Pine 89,881

Nevada Rural-Urban Continuum Codes

Nevada Potential Rural Statistical Areas

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Vermont and New Hampshire RUCCs and Potential RSAs

RSA 2010 PopulationNH1-Merrimack 146,445NH2-Belknap-Carroll 107,906NH3-Cheshire 77,117NH4-Coos-Grafton-Sullivan 165,915VT1-Windham-Windsor 101,183VT2-Caledonia-Essex-Orange-Orleans 93,700VT3-Addison-Lamoille-Washington 86,142VT4-Bennington-Rutland 98,76710

Rural Statistical AreasUsing Rural-Urban Continuum Codes to Group Counties

Under this approach:

• Four states lack “rural” counties: Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia

• Contiguous RSAs cannot be formed for all “rural” counties in Maryland and Massachusetts.

• Predominantly rural counties located within metropolitan areas are not included in RSAs.

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Rurality Index (RI) RI = pct rural pop/pct rural land area

Rurality Index: New England

With a Rurality Index approach: Connecticut gains two

“rural” counties. New Hampshire and

Vermont counties become more similar in terms of rurality.

Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket—the two island counties in Massachusetts—“look” more like Barnstable County.

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Rural Statistical AreasComparative Density Approach

• In this approach, counties are ranked based on population density within state as well as nationally.

• Each county is assigned a percentile score based on its population density relative to other counties in the state and other counties in the nation. An overall score can be computed by combining the state and national scores.• Score = (# of counties – county rank from top)/# of counties• Overall Score = National Score x State Score

• Counties can be grouped based on similarity of scores.

• Proposed by John Adams (University of Minnesota) as part of research into new approaches to defining metropolitan areas commissioned by the Office of Management and Budget, 1995.

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Rural Statistical AreasComparative Density Approach: National Percentage Scores

Based on J. Adams, “Classifying Settled Areas of the United States: Conceptual Issues and Proposals for New Approaches,” in D. Dahmann and J. Fitzsimmons (eds.), Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas: New Approaches to Geographical Definition. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Working Paper Number 12, September 1995.

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Rural Statistical AreasComparative Density Approach: State Percentage Scores

Based on J. Adams, “Classifying Settled Areas of the United States: Conceptual Issues and Proposals for New Approaches,” in D. Dahmann and J. Fitzsimmons (eds.), Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas: New Approaches to Geographical Definition. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Working Paper Number 12, September 1995.

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Rural Statistical AreasComparative Density Approach: Overall Scores

Based on J. Adams, “Classifying Settled Areas of the United States: Conceptual Issues and Proposals for New Approaches,” in D. Dahmann and J. Fitzsimmons (eds.), Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas: New Approaches to Geographical Definition. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Working Paper Number 12, September 1995.

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Rural Statistical AreasComparative Density: State Percentage Scores, Maryland

Rural Statistical AreasConcluding Thoughts and Items for Consideration

• Population density should be a primary factor considered when defining areas. Socio-economic integration, proximity to larger urban centers, and common regional ties should be considered.

• Delineation of areas should be rural-centric.

• The classification should encompass the entirety of the United States and Puerto Rico.

• Should areas be state-based? Or, should they be allowed to cross state lines?

• Should counties be the “building blocks?”

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Contact Information

Thank you!

Michael Ratcliffe

michael.r.ratcliffe@census.gov

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