Rural areas in the United States

Rural areas in the United States, often referred to as rural America, consist of approximately 97% of the United States' land area. An estimated 60 million people, or one in five residents (17.9% of the U.S. population), live in rural America. Definitions vary from different parts of the United States government as to what constitutes those areas.

Rural areas tend to be poorer and their populations older than in other parts of the United States because of rural flight, declining infrastructure, and fewer economic prospects. The declining population also results in less access to services, such as high-quality medical and education systems.

Definitions

The United States Census Bureau defines rural areas as sparsely populated and far from urban centers, which make up an estimated 3% of the land area but are home to more than 80% of the population. The United States Office of Management and Budget defines rural areas by county; some rural areas are classified into metropolitan counties, and others are spread throughout the numerous micropolitan statistical areas. The Census Bureau updates their definition following each decennial census.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has four different systems for defining rural areas: Frontier and Remote (FAR) area codes, which define rural areas in four levels of increasing remoteness by ZIP code, Rural–Urban Commuting Areas (RUCA), Urban Influence Codes (UICs), and Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC).

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has two agencies that define rural areas.