Defining Rural Texas Identifying and Supporting Rural Areas

By David Green Published August 2023

Rural pride is part of the cultural fabric of Texas, a land of vast open spaces, farms, ranches, cattle and the home of Lonesome Dove. Take a road trip across the U.S., especially Texas, and you’ll spend most of that ride passing through small towns and countryside, which would easily be described as “rural.”

State and local lawmakers work hard to advocate for rural residents, ensuring they have access to the same economic opportunities and support as their urban counterparts. Comptroller Glenn Hegar, who grew up on a family farm in rural Texas and has served in the Legislature, is well acquainted with rural residents’ challenges and is committed to addressing them. “As a senator and representative, I focused on the same issues I continue to support and explore today: things like a reliable water supply and broadband connectivity.”

To best allocate resources for rural — and urban — areas is an ever-evolving task, especially for geographic researchers and policymakers who rely on definitions of rural and urban. Federal, state and local government agencies apply various population and housing thresholds to identify these areas, and criteria can vary from program to program.

Why are these delineations important? They are highly consequential for the distribution of government funds.

What is Rural?

In simplest terms, a rural area is any population, housing or territory that is not in an urban area. Therefore, to identify rural areas, one must first define the urban landscape.

Two main definitions form the basis for many of the urban-rural delineations currently in place in federal, state and local agencies, according to Michael Ratcliffe, a senior adviser in the Geography Division of the U.S. Census Bureau: 1) the U.S. Census Bureau’s urban-rural classification and 2) the core based statistical area (CBSA) classification determined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

These two entities offer different analytical approaches. The Census Bureau uses census blocks to provide information about settlement and development patterns. (Census blocks are statistical areas that are bounded by visible features, such as streets, roads, streams and railroad tracks, and by nonvisible boundaries like city, school district and county lines.) The OMB describes the socioeconomic relationships between communities and across urban and rural territory.

Census Urban-Rural Classification

In the Census Bureau’s updated 2020 urban-rural classifications, there are two criteria that must be met to qualify as an “urban area” (UA):

• An initial set of census blocks with 425 or more housing units per square mile and additional census blocks with 200 or more housing units per square mile. The areas must also contain a core made up of at least one block with 1,275 or more housing units per square mile.
• At least 2,000 housing units or at least 5,000 people in 2020.

The Census Bureau’s UA delineations incurred key criteria changes (PDF) in 2020:

• The minimum urban population threshold was revised from at least 2,500 people in 2010 to at least 2,000 housing units or at least 5,000 people in 2020, following efforts from rural stakeholders to raise the population threshold. Effectively, the number of UAs in Texas declined from 306 in 2010 to 195 in 2020.
• Delineations became based primarily on housing unit data at the census block level instead of population data, offering a more direct measure of developed landscape, according to the Census Bureau.
• The Census Bureau reduced territories with low-density populations that can connect densely developed areas, thereby creating more discrete UAs and providing a more accurate measure of urbanization and urban sprawl.
• Commuter data were introduced to determine where to split large urban agglomerations that encompass multiple urban areas.
• The Census Bureau ceased using the terms “urbanized areas” (population of 50,000 or more) and “urban clusters” (population between 2,500 and 50,000) and encompassed both into “urban areas.” According to Ratcliffe, researchers recognized that there is no scientific basis for a threshold of 50,000 people to distinguish between different types of UAs.

In 2020, the share of Texas’ population and housing units in UAs was 84 percent and 83 percent, respectively, exceeding the U.S. averages. Notably, the 2020 share of the urban population remained largely unchanged from 2010, despite the UA criteria changes introduced in 2020 (Exhibit 1).

EXHIBIT 1: Urban-Rural Shares of Population and Housing in U.S. and Texas

		2010 Percent Population	2010 Percent Housing	2020 Percent Population	2020 Percent Housing
U.S.	Urban	81%	79%	80%	79%
	Rural	19%	21%	20%	21%
Texas	Urban	85%	83%	84%	83%
	Rural	15%	17%	16%	17%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Urban Areas Team, Geography Division

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While 84 percent of the Texas population resides in urban areas, this share varies widely across the Comptroller’s 12 economic regions, ranging from 44 percent in the Upper East Texas region to 90 percent or more in the Upper Rio Grande, Metroplex and Gulf Coast regions (Exhibit 2).

EXHIBIT 2: Urban Statistics by Texas Economic Regions, 2020

Region	Urban Areas	Total Region Population	Percent Population in Urban Areas	Most Populous Urban Area
Alamo	19	2,863,800	82%	San Antonio
Capital	17	2,407,031	84%	Austin
Central Texas	14	1,254,261	68%	Killeen
Gulf Coast	19	7,297,022	92%	Houston
High Plains	16	866,122	73%	Lubbock
Metroplex	31	8,044,641	90%	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Northwest	13	549,130	57%	Abilene
South Texas	24	2,408,692	85%	McAllen
Southeast	10	768,635	54%	Beaumont
Upper East	20	1,149,993	44%	Tyler
Upper Rio Grande	3	888,720	94%	El Paso
West Texas	12	647,458	77%	Odessa

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Urban Areas Team, Geography Division

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Core Based Statistical Areas

A CBSA is a statistical area composed of one or more counties that include a core (UA) with a population of at least 10,000 and adjacent counties with a high degree of economic and social integration, as measured by commuting ties to that core. There are two types of CBSAs:

• Metropolitan Statistical Areas (metros): associated with at least one UA with a population of at least 50,000.
• Micropolitan Statistical Areas (micros): associated with at least one UA with a population of at least 10,000.

The OMB uses the Census Bureau’s UA designations to identify its central metro or micro county. Outlying counties are then included based on commuting ties to that central county or counties. By this criterion, urban areas (as measured by metro areas) accounted for about 90 percent of the state’s population in 2022 and the vast share of its population growth over the past 10 years (Exhibit 3).

EXHIBIT 3: Core Based Statistical Area Counties in Texas, Population Snapshot

CBSA Status	Number of Counties	2022 Population Estimates	2022 Share of Total Population	2012-2022 Percent Change
Metropolitan Statistical Area	80	26,941,438	89.7%	17.0%
Micropolitan Statistical Area	51	1,722,820	5.7%	2.1%
Non-CBSA Counties	123	1,365,314	4.5%	0.2%
Texas	254	30,029,572	100%	15.1%

Sources: U.S. Office of Management and Budget; U.S. Census Bureau; Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

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Though OMB advises against using the nonmetro classification as a proxy for rural areas, many agencies and researchers use a metro-nonmetro dichotomy to define urban and rural, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) report, Rural America at a Glance. According to Ratcliffe, this is because it’s easier to work with counties than block-based urban areas and there are a lot more data available for counties.

Rural-Urban Continuum Codes

The rural-urban dichotomy exemplified by the CBSA designation has its drawbacks. Low density areas, for example, are sometimes part of metro/urban counties. The most egregious example nationally is the Grand Canyon, which technically is classified as being in a metro county.

To provide a better description of rurality, the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) assigned county codes — known as Rural-Urban Continuum Codes — based on size and adjacency to metropolitan areas (Exhibit 4).

Exhibit 4: Population Snapshot of Texas Counties by Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2022

Code	CBSA Status	Description	2022 Population Estimates	2022 Share of Population	2012-2022 Percent Change
1	Metropolitan	Counties in metro areas of 1 million population or more	20,436,390	68.1%	20.5%
2	Metropolitan	Counties in metro areas of 250,000 to 1 million population	4,685,316	15.6%	6.6%
3	Metropolitan	Counties in metro areas of fewer than 250,000 population	1,861,486	6.2%	9.0%
4	Nonmetropolitan	Urban population of 20,000 or more, adjacent to a metro area	663,972	2.2%	4.3%
5	Nonmetropolitan	Urban population of 20,000 or more, not adjacent to a metro area	346,269	1.2%	0.2%
6	Nonmetropolitan	Urban population of 2,500 to 19,999, adjacent to a metro area	1,327,236	4.4%	1.7%
7	Nonmetropolitan	Urban population of 2,500 to 19,999, not adjacent to a metro area	509,183	1.7%	-3.0%
8	Nonmetropolitan	Completely rural or less than 2,500 urban population, adjacent to a metro area	136,927	0.5%	0.2%
9	Nonmetropolitan	Completely rural or less than 2,500 urban population, not adjacent to a metro area	62,793	0.2%	-12.7%

Sources: U.S. Department of Agriculture; U.S. Census Bureau; Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

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Government Applications of Rural and Urban Delineations

Government agencies often deviate from these rural-urban definitions and provide their own criteria. Some agencies use the Census Bureau’s definition to administer their programs. For example, the Federal Highway Administration identifies Metropolitan Planning Organizations based on the presence of a Census Bureau urban area of 50,000 or more population (Exhibit 5).

Exhibit 5: Examples of Rural Definitions Used by Federal Agencies for Program Eligibility and Statistics

Federal Agency/Department/Program	Purpose	Source of Rural Definition	Population Threshold
USDA, Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program	Water and waste loans and grants eligibility	Census Bureau Places	Less than 10,000
USDA, Business and Industry Loan Guarantees	Business and industry loans eligibility	Combination of Census Bureau Places and Urban Areas	Less than 50,000
USDA, ERS, State Fact Sheets	Statistics for rural and urban areas by state	OMB Core Based Statistical Areas	Less than 50,000
Department of Education, Rural Education Achievement Program	Rural school district grant eligibility	National Center for Education Statistics Locales and Census Bureau Urban Areas	5,000
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); National Center for Health Statistics, Natality and Mortality Data; Health Monitoring of Urban and Rural Residents	Statistics for rural and urban areas by county	OMB Core Based Statistical Areas	Less than 50,000
HHS, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Rural Health Clinics	Rural health clinics certification	Census Bureau Urban Areas	Less than 50,000
HHS, Health Resources and Services Administration, Federal Office of Rural Health Policy	Rural health funding eligibility	ERS Rural-Urban Commuting Areas	50,000
Department of Transportation (DOT), Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Program	MPO designation; transportation planning and funding	Census Bureau Urban Areas	50,000 or More
DOT, Transportation Infrastructure Finance And Innovation Act (TIFIA)	TIFIA rural project initiative eligibility	Census Bureau Urban Areas	150,000
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Rural Health	Statistics for rural veterans	ERS Rural-Urban Commuting Areas	50,000

Source: List provided by Michael Ratcliffe, U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division

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A 2018 report by the Texas Legislative Council compiled definitions of “rural” found in all Texas statutes and administrative codes, finding 46 definitions (with some similarities) across 18 state agencies (including a university). Like federal definitions, state programs include a range of criteria that characterize rural areas, from specific population and geographic thresholds to more subjective qualifications, like “an area which is predominantly rural in character.”

Defining “rural” can get philosophical, depending in part on the challenges being addressed. As Ratcliffe explains, “It’s being aware of … what territory and communities are included within either the urban definition or the rural definition, who is excluded from either of those definitions, and how well does that mesh with what you’re trying to achieve in either analysis or a program.

“This is why many of us working in this area have been moving away from a strict dichotomy of urban-rural or metro-nonmetro and starting to move toward a continuum of categories that reflects the landscape’s different characteristics,” he says. “A rural community on the outskirts of a large urban center like, say, Houston or Dallas, Fort Worth or San Antonio, is going to have a different character than one that’s in the Panhandle.”

Assisting Rural Areas

While the definition of rural may be fluid, state leaders and lawmakers recognize the value of small communities. (See Recent Legislation Elevates Rural Texas.) The 88th Legislature approved policy measures and allocated millions of dollars to support rural priorities including health care, public safety, education, economic development and farming. If approved by Texas voters, billions more will be available for water and rural broadband.

Lawmakers tasked the Comptroller’s office with establishing and administering a grant program for rural sheriff’s offices to help address certain needs including salaries. The Broadband Development Office, which the 87th Legislature placed in the Comptroller’s office, is responsible for connecting the state’s rural areas to high-speed internet through initiatives such as the Bringing Online Opportunities to Texas (BOOT) Program and the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

These actions demonstrate that despite varying definitions, leaders’ commitment to supporting rural Texas is unwavering.

“As our population grows, the lines between urban and rural areas are blurring. But lawmakers must ensure all Texans have access to the same resources, no matter where they live,” says Hegar. FN

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Learn more about efforts to expand broadband connectivity, challenges affecting access to health care and the Comptroller’s economic regions.