Index of Relative Rurality (IRR) for Multiple Geographies

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) W Jay Christian, University of Kentucky College of Public Health and AppalTRUST (Appalachian Tobacco Regulatory Science Team, the University of Kentucky TCORS [Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science] Center); Jeff Levy, University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences and AppalTRUST; Mary Kay Rayens, University of Kentucky College of Nursing and AppalTRUST; Ann Kingsolver, University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences and AppalTRUST; Ellen Hahn, University of Kentucky College of Nursing and AppalTRUST; Teresa Waters, Augusta University School of Public Health and AppalTRUST; Mikhail Koffarnus, University of Kentucky College of Medicine and AppalTRUST; Seth Himelhoch, University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division and Pritzker School of Medicine and AppalTRUST; Shyanika Rose, University of Kentucky College of Nursing and AppalTRUST

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
IRR_2020_County.xlsx application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet 752.3 KB 04/09/2025 08:28:AM
IRR_2020_Tracts.xlsx application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet 19.2 MB 04/09/2025 06:54:AM
IRR_2020_ZCTA.xlsx application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet 6.7 MB 04/09/2025 06:54:AM
IRR_2020_ZIP3.xlsx application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet 177.4 KB 04/09/2025 06:54:AM
IRR_User Guide_AppalTRUST.pdf application/pdf 224.7 KB 04/09/2025 09:24:AM

Project Citation: 

Christian, W Jay, Levy, Jeff, Rayens, Mary Kay, Kingsolver, Ann, Hahn, Ellen , Waters, Teresa, … Rose, Shyanika. Index of Relative Rurality (IRR) for Multiple Geographies. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-04-30. https://doi.org/10.3886/E226101V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary This project introduces researchers and other users to the Index of Relative Rurality (IRR), a continuous, multi-dimensional, and scalable measure for characterizing the rurality of areas or regions in the United States.  First proposed by Waldorf in 2006,[1] and later operationalized by Waldorf & Kim,[2,3] the IRR is an alternative to categorical measures such as the Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC), Rural-Urban Commuting Areas (RUCA), and Frontier and Remote (FAR) Codes, or binary classifications researchers derive from them.  We are distributing these data because IRR values for some of these US geographies have not been available previously, and because we want to clearly and fully document the data sources and methods necessary to calculate the IRR.  

1.   Waldorf, B.S., 2006. A continuous multi-dimensional measure of rurality: Moving beyond threshold measures. Accessed 3/26/2025 at https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/21383?v=pdf.
2.   Waldorf, B. and Kim, A., 2015. Defining and measuring rurality in the US: From typologies to continuous indices. In Commissioned paper presented at the Workshop on Rationalizing Rural Area Classifications, Washington, DC. Accessed 3/26/2025 at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/dbassesite/documents/webpage/dbasse_168031.pdf.
3.   Kim, A. and Waldorf, B., 2023. The Index of Relative Rurality (IRR): US County Data for 2020. Accessed 3/26/2025 at https://zenodo.org/records/7675745. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7675745
Funding Sources:  View help for Funding Sources National Institute of Health and the Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products (U54DA05825601)

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms rural areas; urban areas; geographic distribution
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage Counties, census tracts, zip code tabulation areas (ZCTAs), and 3-digit ZCTAs
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 2020 – 2020
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) census/enumeration data; geographic information system (GIS) data

Methodology

Data Source:  View help for Data Source The 2020 Index of Relative Rurality (IRR) is based on 2020 data from the US Census Bureau and the US Department of Transportion, with specific citations included in the IRR User Guide.
Geographic Unit:  View help for Geographic Unit Counties, census tracts, zip code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) and 3-digit ZCTAs

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Published Versions

V1 [2025-04-30]

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