This series of interactive maps that can help you explore the various levels of need for human services in rural counties throughout the United States. They were developed by 2M Research as part of a study to advance the understanding of human services delivery in rural contexts. To view more information about this study, including a comprehensive report and briefs of associated topics that may be of interest, please visit our dedicated project site: Human Services Programs in Rural Contexts
How Did We Define Rural?
We used the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCCs) codes to identify rural counties. We chose RUCCs for the study because they allow for the categorization of rural counties by population size and adjacency to metropolitan areas, RUCCs provide the ability to draw distinctions between different types of rural counties, and RUCCs are county-level categories well-suited for quantitative analysis.
RUCCs define counties as rural if they lie outside a metropolitan area (also referred to as a core-based statistical area). USDA uses the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) definition of a metropolitan area as a “geographic entity associated with at least one core of 10,000 or more population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.”
Overview of Rural-Urban Continuum Codes
There are nine RUCCs. The first three categories (RUCCs 1, 2, and 3) correspond to urban counties and lie outside the focus of this study. The remaining six categories (RUCCs 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) correspond to the following rural counties:
- Urban population of 20,000 or more, adjacent to a metropolitan area
- Urban population of 20,000 or more, not adjacent to a metropolitan area
- Urban population of 2,500 to 19,999, adjacent to a metropolitan area
- Urban population of 2,500 to 19,999, not adjacent to a metropolitan area
- Completely rural or less than 2,500 urban population, adjacent to a metropolitan area
- Completely rural or less than 2,500 urban population, not adjacent to a metropolitan area
Rural Regions
In this study we wanted to ensure that key rural regions were represented during data collection and included in the final analysis. These regions include the U.S. Census Regions (Midwest, Northeast, South, and West) as well as the following four rural regions commonly defined in federal program:
- Appalachia. Using the service area of the federal Appalachian Regional Commission, Appalachia consists of 420 counties across 13 states, ranging from southern New York to northern Mississippi.
- The Colonias. The Colonias consist of distinct rural communities along the U.S.-Mexico border that are home to predominantly Hispanic populations and characterized by extreme poverty and a historical lack of potable water, sewer services, and electricity.
- The Delta. Using the service area of the federal Delta Regional Commission, the Delta region consists of 252 counties in an eight-state region in the Southeastern United States and is distinct for its unique culture and complicated racial history, particularly for Black people.
- Native Lands. While other rural regions tend to be clustered together geographically, Native Lands are spread throughout the United States. The Native Lands consist of a combination of American Indian reservations, trust lands, tribal jurisdiction statistical areas, tribal designated statistical areas, Alaska Native Regional Corporations, and Alaska Native Villages.
Below you will find a map that will allow you to see which counties fall within each rural region.
Community Characteristics Associated with the Need for Human Services
The study included three community characteristics that we found in our research to have an association with the need for human services:
- Low levels of broadband internet access. At least 60 percent of the population in the county lacks access to fixed terrestrial 25/3 megabytes per second (Mbps) and/or mobile long-term evolution (LTE) with a minimum advertised speed of 5/1 Mbps.
- High percentages of households without a vehicle. At least 10 percent of households in the county lack a vehicle.
- Persistent poverty. The poverty rate in the county has been at least 20 percent for 30 years or more.
Categories of Economic and Social Well-Being Need
The study examined various economic and social well-being needs, and the maps below provide a way to examine the level of need based on the following 7 need categories:
- Family health and well-being
- Healthcare jobs in high demand
- Healthy child development
- Infant health
- Individual self-sufficiency
- Marital or family stability
- Maternal health and prenatal care.
Each category of need is depicted visually using a standardized composite score (ranging from 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest need and 10 being the highest) of several key indicators.
Below you will find maps that overlay community characteristics with a specific category of need. The arrows to the right of each map can be used to rotate between maps. Each map may also be zoomed or shifted to see rural counties in Hawaii and Alaska.