Defining "Rural" Areas: Impact on Health Care Policy and Research Page: 7
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Defining "Rural" Areas:
Table 2. Ten States With The Largest Rural
Population (1980)
Rural population Percent
State (in 1,000s) of State
Pennsylvania a 3,643 30.7
North Carolina 3,059 52.0
Texas 2,896 20.4
Ohio 2,879 26.7
Michigan 2,711 29.3
New York 2,700 15.4
California 2,060 8.7
Georgia 2,054 37.6
Indiana 1,965 35.8
Illinois 1,908 16.7
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
Census, County and City Data Book: 1983
(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1983).
estimated at 4,986,000, or about 8 percent of
the rural population and 2 percent of the to
tal resident U.S. population. In contrast,
farm residents represented 30 percent of the
population in 1920(55).
According to the 1980 Census, 73.7 per
cent of the U.S. population was urban, but
the proportion ranged from a low of 33.8
percent in Vermont to 100 percent in the
District of Columbia (51). Table 1 shows the
distribution of the 1980 urban and rural pop
ulation by size of place. Over 85 percent of
the rural population live in places or areas
with fewer than 1,000 residents. Table 2
shows the ten States with the largest rural
populations. Table 3 shows the seven States
with more than one half of their population
residing in rural areas.
The Census Bureau's 'urbanized" area
concept does not apply to towns, cities, or
population concentrations of less than 50,000.
Those living nearby, but outside of the limits
of smaller cities or towns are not counted as
being part of an "urbanized" area, even
though the "suburban" population may be
large and economically integrated with the
town. For example, the population surround
ing the incorporated village of Hayward, Wis
consin (county seat of Sawyer County), exImpact on Health Care Policy and Research * 7
ceeds the 1,456 population of Hayward. The
residents of the surrounding area use
Hayward's facilities such as a nursing home
and fire station but are not included in the
village population. This "undercount" has
hampered the village's ability to obtain grants
to improve area services (13). Numerous
areas such as Hayward, that are considered
"rural" by virtue of the fact that they are out
side of an urbanized area and have a popula
tion of 2,500 or less, would be considered ur
ban if the population immediately surround
ing the corporate area were included. Many
towns and villages have resolved this problem
by annexing surrounding developed territory
(12).
Table 3 States With More Than One Half
of Their Population Residing
in Rural Areas (1980)Rural population
(in 1,OOos)Vermont
West Virginia
South Dakota
Mississippi
Maine
North Carolina
North DakotaPercent
of State
66.2
63.8
53.6
52.7
52.5
52.0
51.2SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
Census, Count and City Data Book: 1983.
(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1983).
The Office of Management and Budget:
Metropolitan Statistical Areas
A metropolitan statistical! area (MSA)4is
an economically and socially integrated geo
graphic unit centered on a large urban area.
In general terms, an MSA includes a large
population center and adjacent communities
that have a high degree of economic and so
4 From 1959 to 1983, NsAswerecalled Standard
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAS) (53 FR
51175). The term MSA is used throughout this
paper, even when referring to 1980 Census data.
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United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment. Defining "Rural" Areas: Impact on Health Care Policy and Research, report, July 1989; [Washington D.C.]. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc39942/m1/10/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.