November 26, 2024
Updates to the Definition of Rural Area
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) published a final notice with updates to the criteria for defining rural areas. This update incorporates a new Road Ruggedness Scale from the Economic Research Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a technical clarification about treatment of Census Bureau-defined urban areas in the definition given the removal of the term Urbanized Areas following the 2020 Census. HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy uses this rural definition for determining rural health grant eligibility.
Click Here to view Road Ruggedness Scale
Click Here to see HRSA definition of Rural