Washington State Department of Health - Assessment Guidelines: Rural-Urban, pg 3

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Guidelines for Using Rural-Urban Classification Systems for Public Health Assessment

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Washington State classifications by county

Table 4 shows classifications of Washington’s counties based on the county-level classification systems described below. The DOH Community Health Systems Office recommends using Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Outside Core-Based Statistical Area classification used by the OMB, because this is the most widely used classification system nationally. It is more precise than two-level classification systems while having the advantage of a small number of categories allowing collapsing over sufficient numbers for analysis.

Metropolitan, Micropolitan and Outside Core-Based Statistical Areas: The OMB has used this national classification system since the 1940s for statistical reporting and allocating funds. Until recently, this system classified counties as Metropolitan or Non-Metropolitan. In 2003, the US Census Bureau that develops the system, divided Non-Metropolitan counties into Micropolitan and Outside Core-Based-Statistical Areas. At the same time, the US Census Bureau increased the commuting threshold for tying in outlying areas from 15% to 25%. Currently, counties with cities or urbanized areas over 50,000 are classified as Metropolitan. Counties with urban clusters of 10,000 to 49,999 persons are classified as Micropolitan. In addition, any county in which at least 50% of the population resides in an Urbanized Area are designated as Metropolitan or Micropolitan. Outlying counties meeting a complex set of conditions based on commuting patterns and population density are also designated either as Metropolitan or Micropolitan. All other areas are designated Outside a Core-Based Statistical Area. The US Census Bureau maintains the most recent national list and technical documentation. Figure 2 shows a map of Washington counties classified by this system.

Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC): The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) developed the RUCC system, also known as the Beale code system, in the mid-1970s. It was a forerunner of the Urban Influence Codes and present RUCA system. The system uses Metropolitan, Micropolitan and Outside Core-Based Statistical Area classifications as a starting point. Metropolitan counties are classified into three population categories. Non-Metropolitan counties are classified into six categories based on total population in US Census Bureau’s Urbanized Areas. Non-Metropolitan communities are further classified by adjacency to Metropolitan counties and commuting patterns. This system better differentiates between central and fringe metropolitan areas than the OMB’s three-level system. The most recent update was in 2003. For more information and to download codes see http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/Rurality/RuralUrbCon/.

Urban Influence Codes: The USDA developed a 12-level classification scheme in the mid-1990s to emphasize the tendency of economic systems to centralize around very large metropolitan counties. Metropolitan counties are classified as Large Metropolitan (population of at least one million) or Small Metropolitan (population less than one million). Micropolitan counties are classified by adjacency to Large or Small Metropolitan counties. Counties in Outside a Core-Based Statistical Area are classified by their adjacency to Metropolitan and Micropolitan counties and whether they contain a town of 2,500. This system was most recently updated in 2003. For more information and to download codes see http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/Rurality/UrbanInf/.

Other Variations: Several other classification systems that apply to subsets of areas, activities, or populations may be useful for rural public health assessment. In 1999, the Washington State Legislature passed a law defining ‘rural distressed’ counties as those with population densities of fewer than one hundred persons per square mile. Other classification systems include multiple definitions of frontier areas and county-based typologies of primary economic activity. For additional information related to county classification, see http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/Rurality/.

Table 4: Commonly Used Rural Urban Classifications for Washington Counties

County	2003 Metropolitan, Micropolitan, Outside Core Based Statistical Area (OMB)	2003 Rural Urban Continuum Codes (USDA)	2003 Urban Influence Codes (USDA)	2008 Rural Distressed(OFM)	2008 Population (OFM)
Adams	Outside CBSA	Small Rural Adjacent to Metro	Noncore adjacent to a small metro with town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	17,800
Asotin	Metropolitan	Small Metropolitan	Small-in a metro area with fewer than 1 million residents	Rural	21,400
Benton	Metropolitan	Small Metropolitan	Small-in a metro area with fewer than 1 million residents	Rural	165,500
Chelan	Metropolitan	Small Metropolitan	Small-in a metro area with fewer than 1 million residents	Rural	72,100
Clallam	Micropolitan	Large Rural Not Adjacent	Micropolitan not adjacent to a metro area	Rural	69,200
Clark	Micropolitan	Large Metropolitan	Large-in a metro area with at least 1 million residents or more	Urban	424,200
Columbia	Outside CBSA	Small Rural Adjacent to Metro	Noncore adjacent to a small metro with town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	4,100
Cowlitz	Metropolitan	Small Metropolitan	Small-in a metro area with fewer than 1 million residents	Rural	99,000
Douglas	Metropolitan	Small Metropolitan	Small-in a metro area with fewer than 1 million residents	Rural	37,000
Ferry	Outside CBSA	Isolated Rural Not Adjacent	Noncore not adjacent to a metro/micro area and does not contain a town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	7,700
Franklin	Metropolitan	Small Metropolitan	Small-in a metro area with fewer than 1 million residents	Rural	70,200
Garfield	Outside CBSA	Isolated Rural Adjacent to Metro	Noncore adjacent to a small metro and does not contain a town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	2,300
Grant	Micropolitan	Large Rural Adjacent to Metro	Micropolitan area adjacent to a small metro area	Rural	84,600
Grays Harbor	Micropolitan	Large Rural Adjacent to Metro	Micropolitan area adjacent to a small metro area	Rural	70,900
Island	Micropolitan	Large Rural Adjacent to Metro	Micropolitan adjacent to a large metro area	Urban	79,300
Jefferson	Outside CBSA	Small Rural Adjacent to Metro	Noncore adjacent to a small metro with town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	28,800
King	Metropolitan	Large Metropolitan	Large-in a metro area with at least 1 million residents or more	Urban	1,884,200
Kitsap	Metropolitan	Small Metropolitan	Small-in a metro area with fewer than 1 million residents	Urban	246,800
Kittitas	Micropolitan	Small Rural Adjacent to Metro	Micropolitan adjacent to a large metro area	Rural	39,400
Klickitat	Outside CBSA	Small Rural Adjacent to Metro	Noncore adjacent to a small metro with town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	20,100
Lewis	Micropolitan	Large Rural Adjacent to Metro	Micropolitan area adjacent to a small metro area	Rural	74,700
Lincoln	Outside CBSA	Isolated Rural Adjacent to Metro	Noncore adjacent to a small metro and does not contain a town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	10,400
Mason	Micropolitan	Small Rural Adjacent to Metro	Micropolitan area adjacent to a small metro area	Rural	56,300
Okanogan	Outside CBSA	Small Rural Adjacent to Metro	Noncore adjacent to a small metro with town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	40,100
Pacific	Outside CBSA	Small Rural Not Adjacent to Metro	Noncore adjacent to micro area and contains a town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	21,800
Pend Oreille	Outside CBSA	Isolated Rural Adjacent to Metro	Noncore adjacent to a small metro and does not contain a town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	12,800
Pierce	Metropolitan	Large Metropolitan	Large-in a metro area with at least 1 million residents or more	Urban	805,400
San Juan	Outside CBSA	Isolated Rural Not Adjacent	Noncore not adjacent to a metro/micro area and does not contain a town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	16,100
Skagit	Metropolitan	Small Metropolitan	Small-in a metro area with fewer than 1 million residents	Rural	117,500
Skamania	Metropolitan	Large Metropolitan	Large-in a metro area with at least 1 million residents or more	Rural	10,700
Snohomish	Metropolitan	Large Metropolitan	Large-in a metro area with at least 1 million residents or more	Urban	696,600
Spokane	Micropolitan	Mid-size Metropolitan	Small-in a metro area with fewer than 1 million residents	Urban	459,000
Stevens	Outside CBSA	Small Rural Adjacent to Metro	Noncore adjacent to a small metro with town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	43,700
Thurston	Metropolitan	Small Metropolitan	Small-in a metro area with fewer than 1 million residents	Urban	245,300
Wahkiakum	Outside CBSA	Isolated Rural Adjacent to Metro	Noncore adjacent to a small metro and does not contain a town of at least 2,500 residents	Rural	4,100
Walla Walla	Micropolitan	Large Rural Adjacent to Metro	Micropolitan area adjacent to a small metro area	Rural	58,600
Whatcom	Metropolitan	Small Metropolitan	Small-in a metro area with fewer than 1 million residents	Rural	191,000
Whitman	Micropolitan	Large Rural Adjacent to Metro	Micropolitan area adjacent to a small metro area	Rural	43,000
Yakima	Metropolitan	Small Metropolitan	Small-in a metro area with fewer than 1 million residents	Rural	235,900

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