The Center for Rural Pennsylvania

Rural / Urban PA

In 2003, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania adopted a definition of rural and urban based on population density. Population density is calculated by dividing the total population of a specific area by the total number of square land miles of that area. In 2000, the population of Pennsylvania was 12,281,054 and the number of square miles of land in Pennsylvania was 44,820. Therefore, the population density was 274 persons per square mile.

By basing the definition on population density, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania can now identify counties, municipalities, and school districts as either rural or urban.

County or school district definition
A county or school district is rural when the number of persons per square mile within the county or school district is less than 274. Counties and school districts that have 274 persons or more per square mile are considered urban.

Municipal definition
A municipality is rural when the population density within the municipality is less than 274 persons per square mile or the municipality's total population is less than 2,500 unless more than 50 percent of the population lives in an urbanized area, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. All other municipalities are considered urban.

Applying the definition
When applying the definition to counties, we find that 48 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties are rural. In 2000, nearly 3.4 million residents called these counties home, or 28 percent of the state's 12.3 million residents.

At the school district level, 243 of the state's 501 public school districts are rural. During the 2000-2001 school year, more than 522,000 public school students attended school in rural districts, or 29 percent of the state's nearly 1.8 million public school students.

At the municipal level, 1,655 municipalities are rural, or 64 percent of the state's 2,567 municipalities. Rural municipalities are found in every county except Delaware and Philadelphia. Forest, Fulton, Juniata, Pike, and Sullivan counties have no urban municipalities. In 2000, more than 2.8 million people lived in a rural municipality, or 24 percent of the state's 12.3 million residents.

A slight difference in numbers
You may have noticed that there are more rural county residents than rural municipal residents. This difference has to do with the different levels of government.

The county definition includes every resident living in every municipality in the county- both rural and urban. At the county level, when the county is considered rural, then all of the residents in the county are considered rural.

On the other hand, the municipal definition only includes those residents who live in a rural municipality, regardless of whether the county is considered rural or urban. Using this definition, it's possible to have an urban municipality in a rural county and a rural municipality in an urban county.

Population Density by County

Adams	176
Allegheny	1,755
Armstrong	111
Beaver	418
Bedford	49
Berks	435
Blair	246
Bradford	55
Bucks	984
Butler	221
Cambria	222
Cameron	15
Carbon	154
Centre	123
Chester	573
Clarion	69
Clearfield	73
Clinton	43
Columbia	132
Crawford	89
Cumberland	388
Dauphin	479
Delaware	2,990
Elk	42
Erie	350
Fayette	188
Forest	12
Franklin	168
Fulton	33
Greene	71
Huntingdon	52
Indiana	108
Jefferson	70
Juniata	58
Lackawanna	465
Lancaster	496
Lawrence	263
Lebanon	333
Lehigh	900
Luzerne	358
Lycoming	97
McKean	47
Mercer	179
Mifflin	113
Monroe	228
Montgomery	1,553
Montour	139
Northampton	714
Northumberland	206
Perry	79
Philadelphia	11,234
Pike	85
Potter	17
Schuylkill	193
Snyder	113
Somerset	74
Sullivan	15
Susquehanna	51
Tioga	36
Union	131
Venango	85
Warren	50
Washington	237
Wayne	65
Westmoreland	361
Wyoming	71
York	422

Note: Underlined counties are rural.

Rural/Urban Maps (these links will open a new browser window)