Rural areas in the United States

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. The Health Resources and Services Administration addresses the shortcomings of the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and RUCA definitions to produce a definition that is balanced between them. ==History==

Rural America was the center of the Populist movement in the 1880s and 1890s. Farmers tried to solve their problems using co-ops and the National Grange movement. They failed to win elections, and that movement ended in the two defeats of William Jennings Bryan in 1896 and 1900. Since the 1940s and 1950s, the rural districts of the northern United States have largely been a stronghold for the Republican Party. The rural South turned Republican in the 1990s. A notable exception in recent years is Vermont. Despite being one of the most rural states in the nation, Vermont has a very heavy partisan lean in favor of the Democratic Party. It was Joe Biden's strongest state in the 2020 United States presidential election and Kamala Harris' strongest in the 2024 United States presidential election. ==Demographics==

Most rural counties are experiencing persistent population decline. Compared with households in urban areas, rural households had lower median household income ($52,386 compared with $54,296), lower median home values ($151,300 compared with $190,900), and lower monthly housing costs for households paying a mortgage ($1,271 compared with $1,561). A higher percentage owned their housing units "free and clear," with no mortgage or loan (44.0 percent compared with 32.3 percent).States with the highest median household incomes in rural areas were Connecticut ($93,382) and New Jersey ($92,972) (not statistically different from each other). The state with the lowest rural median household income was Mississippi ($40,200). Among rural areas, poverty rates varied from a low in Connecticut (4.6 percent) to a high in New Mexico (21.9 percent). ==Health==

There are significant health disparities between urban and rural areas. The per capita rate of primary care physicians is lower in rural areas (65 primary care physicians per 100,000 rural Americans, compared to 105 primary care physicians for urban and suburban Americans). Rural Americans are more likely than other Americans to suffer from chronic health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Notwithstanding the economic and health challenges, a 2018 survey of rural adults found a majority felt they were better off financially than their parents at the same age. They thought their children would also experience such improvement. Forty percent said their lives came out better than they expected. ==See also==