overview
The 2003 Rural-urban Continuum Codes form a classification scheme that distinguishes metropolitan counties by size and nonmetropolitan counties by degree of urbanization and proximity to metro areas. The standard Office of Management and Budget (OMB) metro and nonmetro categories have been subdivided into three metro and six nonmetro categories, resulting in a 9-part county codification. This scheme was originally developed in 1974. The codes were updated in 1983 and 1993, and slightly revised in 1988. The 1988 revision was first published in 1990. This scheme allows researchers to break county data into finer residential groups, beyond metro and nonmetro, particularly for the analysis of trends in nonmetro areas that are related to population density and metro influence. See the Rural-urban Continuum Code Chapter in the measuring rurality briefing room for more information.

data files

• Lookup the 2003 code for a county
• Lookup the 1993 code for a county

• Download the 2003 codes in an Excel file
• Download the 1993 codes in an Excel file
• Download the 1983 and 1993 codes in an Excel file
• Download the 1974 codes in an Excel file

release date
August 2003

instructions/helpful hints
The 2003 Rural-urban Continuum Codes are not directly comparable with the codes from previous years because of the new methodology used in developing the 2003 Metropolitan areas.

related resources

• More information about the Rural-urban Continuum Codes
• What is rural?
• Urban influence codes
• Measuring rurality briefing room
• Metropolitan and micropolitan area definitions at the Census Bureau

for more information, contact: Calvin Beale
web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov
page updated: November 18, 2003