What is "Rural"?
That depends on who you ask!
There are many rural-urban classification models, each with their own purpose and way of defining “rural”. There is no perfect universal definition – it depends on which aspect of rurality you’re trying to measure.
The resources below discuss the differences and what to consider when selecting a definition.
Resources
Defining Rural for Wisconsin
A discussion of how different definitions are used for different decisions.
Putting Rural Wisconsin on the Map
A WisCONTEXT article describing how defining rural can help us better understand rural-urban differences.
Wisconsin Divided Ten Ways
A Review of Rural-Urban Classification Systems – A report defining rural Wisconsin according to ten commonly-used classification systems.
Am I Rural?
The Rural Health Information Hub’s Am I Rural? tool can be used to determine whether a specific location is considered rural based on multiple definitions.
Municipal-level Urban-Rural Classification (MURC)
MURC was developed by the Office of Rural Health to identify the level of rurality of each of Wisconsin’s 1,850 cities, towns, and villages.
