Module 1: Definitions, Part I
What is Rural?
The definition of rural is a challenge, as there is no consensus.
The U.S. Census Bureau (Ratcliffe, et.al., 2016) uses four factors to determine rural locations including, density per square mile, land use, distance from a city, and the population threshold. Therefore, rural areas are usually considered areas outside of the urban corridors with a population of fewer than 50,000 people where resources and services for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind are more limited.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) designates counties as Metropolitan, Micropolitan, or Neither. A Metro area contains a core urban area with a population of 50,000, and a Micro area contains an urban core of at least 10,000 (but less than 50,000) population. All counties that are not part of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) are considered rural (HHS, 2020).
For the purposes of the IRIS Project, we have adopted the U.S. Census Bureau's definition with further consideration of deaf communities' access to credentialed interpreters via the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Links to an external site. and access to formalized interpreter education opportunities (i.e. college-based interpreter education programs).
Should you be curious to learn more, see the additional references and resources provided.