What is ruca?

RUCA stands for Rural-Urban Commuting Areas, which are a classification scheme used in the United States to categorize areas based on their rural and urban status, as well as commuting patterns. Developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service, RUCA codes provide a more detailed understanding of the rural-urban continuum than the traditional metropolitan and non-metropolitan classifications.

RUCA codes take into account factors such as population density, urbanization, and commuting flows to categorize census tracts into various levels of urban and rural statuses. This results in a more nuanced classification that includes designations like "urban core," "suburban," "large rural town," "small town," and "isolated rural area," among others.

These codes are useful for researchers, policymakers, and public health officials in analyzing economic development, health care access, transportation, and other socio-economic factors that vary across urban and rural communities. The RUCA system helps to identify underserved areas and tailor programs and resources to specific community needs.