Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recently proposed to raise the definition of "rural" to include areas up to 50,000 inhabitants. USDA Rural Development programs consider areas up to 20,000 population to be "rural".
However, to me, an area is not rural unless the population is measured in hundreds, not thousands. If you have retail stores, restaurants, banks, a hospital, etc., there is no way you are in a rural area. Just because there is no indoor mall and no Starbucks does not mean you are rural or even in a small town. You might be in a small city.
I live in the country 3.5 miles from our village of 850 people. Believe me I live in a rural area. The village contains a Casey's convenience store, one tavern, 3 churches, one school, one beauty shop at someone's home and a motorcycle repair place in someone's home garage. Believe me, a town of 25,000 looks like a huge city and definitely not rural.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recently proposed to raise the definition of "rural" to include areas up to 50,000 inhabitants. USDA Rural Development programs consider areas up to 20,000 population to be "rural".
However, to me, an area is not rural unless the population is measured in hundreds, not thousands. If you have retail stores, restaurants, banks, a hospital, etc., there is no way you are in a rural area. Just because there is no indoor mall and no Starbucks does not mean you are rural or even in a small town. You might be in a small city.
On the other hand, the US Census considers a municipalities or communities(cdp) of 2500 or more to be "urban". So, it may depend on location.
As for a West Fargo, I wouldn't call it rural, given the size and location.
Rural to me is about location and distance from metropolitan areas, nothing to do with population. Town, city, etc, titles are what refers to population in my perspective.
I think it depends on your perspective. Growing up in a town of around 15,000, a town of 25,000 seems large, but coming from a city of over 2 million, it would seem rural. Right now, I live in a very rural area. Our nearest neighbor is over a half mile away!
I put yes. I live in a city of 110,000 people with a MSA of 160,000 people and when I travel to canon city I consider it to be rural. I think their MSA is about 25,000 people.
West Fargo is attached to Fargo (pop 107,000) which in turn is connected to Moorhead, Minnesota (38,000). The total population of the "metro" is 212,000.
So while I could see some cities with a 25K population being considered rural, I hardly think West Fargo fits the description.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
