Request for public comment on proposed use of Road Ruggedness Scale
In 2023 the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) produced a census tract-based scale of topographic variation or ruggedness. On April 25, 2024 FORHP issued a Federal Register Notice proposing use of the Road Ruggedness Scale (RSS) developed by ERS to designate rural census tracts in metropolitan counties. The Excel file available here contains 84 census tracts that are at least 20 square miles in area with RRS category 5 and Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes 2 or 3 that are in metropolitan counties. These tracts would be designated rural if this proposal is adopted. (All census tracts in metropolitan counties with RRS 5 and RUCA codes 4 – 10 are already designated as rural based on their RUCA codes.)
RRS 5 Proposed Tracts (XLSX - 24 KB)
Note: We have not included these proposed census tracts in the data files below which identify existing rural areas.
Use data files to identify rural areas
The files available below were created to assist researchers, government agencies and the public by providing different ways to identify or analyze rural areas. We updated the data files below to match the Metropolitan Areas of OMB Bulletin No. 20-01 (PDF - 3 MB) and to include Outlying Metro Counties with no Urbanized Areas as described in the Federal Register Notice, Revised Geographic Eligibility for Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Grants. We have not updated the Eligibility files based on the 2020 Census or OMB’s July 2023 listing of Metropolitan Areas. We will be able to update our files after the 2020 RUCA data release estimated Fall 2024.
Do these files replace the Eligibility Analyzer?
These files do not replace the use of the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer for determination of eligibility for Rural Health Grants.
When should I use these files?
The “Non-Metro Counties (Micropolitan and non-core based counties) and Eligible Census Tracts in Metropolitan Counties” Excel file is the same data that is used for the Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer.
Use the ZIP code files when:
- You don’t know local addresses
- ZIP codes are the only available geographic unit
Non-Metro Counties (Micropolitan and non-core based counties) and Eligible Census Tracts in Metropolitan Counties (XLSX - 162 KB)
- In some counties, all Census Tracts in the county are eligible. You’ll see this note in the memo field: “This county is eligible even though it is designated as a metropolitan county. All census tracts in the county qualify as rural.”
- If there are no entries in the Census Tract cell or Memo field, then the entire county is eligible.
- Note: This file includes rural areas in Puerto Rico and the US territories.
Eligible ZIP Codes (XLSX - 325 KB) *
- We used the U.S. Census Bureau’s Relationship Files to produce the ZIP code files. Census reviews how Census Tracts relate to ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs).
- We used the ZIP Code to ZCTA Crosswalk to identify individual ZIP codes within the ZCTAs.
- Note: The file includes 19,959 ZIP codes. They’re in numeric order, and we only identify the state where the ZIP is located. A ZIP code is designated rural if more than 50% of the population in that ZIP code is in a rural area.
ZIP Codes by County (XLSX - 986 KB) *
- Review 27,633 records by state, county, and ZIP code. We include tabs that show:
- The percentage of the ZIP codes’ population that resides in that county (not census tract)
- The county’s Federal Information Processing System (FIPS) code
- How the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) classifies the county (Metro, Micro, or Neither)
- Some ZIP codes are for businesses or PO boxes or have an unknown number of people. We mark these with a “U” in the population field.
- ZIP codes can include area and population in more than one county. There may be multiple records for one ZIP code.
*The ZIP Code files have been updated to include the change described in the Federal Register Notice, Revised Geographic Eligibility for Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Grants.
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