Index of Relative Rurality (IRR) for Multiple Geographies

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. <br><br>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. <br>

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. <br>

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<br>