Ohio Rural-Urban Interface Series: RU-1

 

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Section 5: Rural Population Change by Metro/Nonmetro Character

Because of the way metropolitan and rural status are designated, rural residents can be found in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. For example, a county that has been designated as metropolitan (with central city of greater than 50,000) may have within its boundaries residents who are urban (living in urban areas of 2,500 residents or more) and rural (living in communities of less than 2,500 or the open country). Rural population can grow as a result of people moving into small towns or open country neighborhoods, but there is a limit. A rural place that grows larger than 2,500 residents will be designated as urban in a subsequent census and urban areas can annex rural country neighborhoods as its borders expand outward.

In this section, the rural and urban composition of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties of Ohio is examined for the time period 1950 to 1990. Tables 5.1 and 5.2 show the population and changes in rural and urban population within metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties.

• In 1990 only 9.2 percent of Ohio’s 8 million urban residents (residing in urban place of 2,500 or more residents) live in nonmetropolitan counties. Perhaps surprisingly, though, 54.5 percent of Ohio’s 2.8 million rural residents are found in metropolitan counties (Table 5.1).

• During the 1960s and 1970s, percent growth of urban population was larger in metropolitan counties than in nonmetropolitan counties. In the 1950s, the size of the urban population in metropolitan counties grew 28.8 percent, but grew only 13.5 percent during the 1960s. In nonmetropolitan counties, urban population grew 18.2 percent during the 1950s and 5.1 percent during the 1960s.

• During the 1970s, urban population growth was relatively flat in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties. During the 1970s, Ohio’s rural population grew 9.6 percent, with 15.5 percent rural population growth in nonmetropolitan counties and only 5.5 percent in metropolitan counties during the 1970s.

• In the 1980s, the rural population decreased 5.8 percent in metropolitan counties but increased 1.8 percent in nonmetropolitan counties.

Breakdown by Core and Fringe Metro Status

• Table 5.3 and Figure 5.1 illustrate a steady decline in the proportion of Ohio’s rural population living in the core counties of the largest metropolitan areas and steady growth in the proportion found in fringe counties of these large metro areas. The proportion of Ohio’s rural population in nonmetro areas has gradually edged up during this time period as well.

• In 1950, there were 321,061 rural residents or 13.5 percent of Ohio’s total rural population located within one of the seven large core metropolitan counties and 490,966 rural residents or 20.7 percent of the state’s total rural population located in one of the small core metropolitan counties. By 1990, only 7.1 percent of the state’s total rural population were located in the large core metro counties and 15.9 percent was located in the small core metro counties.

• In 1950, the fringe counties of the largest metro counties contained 336,929 rural residents or 14.2 percent of the state’s rural population. By 1990, the fringe counties of the largest metro areas contained 584,491 rural residents or 20.8 percent of the state’s rural population.

Figure 5.1: Distribution of Rural Population by Metro Character (1950-1990)

• One can infer that some of the 122,776 decline in rural residents in the large, core metro counties is the result of rural residences being either annexed into a larger urban area or rural communities growing larger than 2,500 residents. One might also anticipate that future population increases in fringe counties will lead to more formerly rural places achieving urban status as the central city and suburbs further expand.

• Table 5.5 shows rural population change by metro character of the largest metro areas. During the 1950s, rural growth in the fringe counties was 33.9 percent. Rural growth moderated some during the 1960s and 1970s (11.0 and 15.2 percent respectively during these two decades). In the 1980s, the rural population grew slightly in the fringe counties of the large metro areas while rural population fell in all other types of metropolitan counties.
• For the entire time period, 1950 to 1990, percent growth of the rural population in the fringe counties of the largest metropolitan areas exceeded growth in nonmetro counties, 73.5 percent compared to 30.0 percent. During the same time period, the rural population of the core counties of the large and small metropolitan areas fell (declining 38.2 and 9.0 percent respectively).