# How can one construct an "urban/rural" variable from the ACS "Metro" item? Are unidentifiable records metro?

**URL:** <https://forum.ipums.org/t/how-can-one-construct-an-urban-rural-variable-from-the-acs-metro-item-are-unidentifiable-records-metro/1454>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [October 25, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/how-can-one-construct-an-urban-rural-variable-from-the-acs-metro-item-are-unidentifiable-records-metro/1454 "2016-10-25T00:49:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jrobbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@jrobbin](https://forum.ipums.org/u/jrobbin)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/how-can-one-construct-an-urban-rural-variable-from-the-acs-metro-item-are-unidentifiable-records-metro/1454/1 "2016-10-25T00:49:00Z")

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Decennial censuses provided an “urban/rural” indicator which utilized the concept of an “urbanized area”. I wish to empoly a similar concept using the 2010-2014 ACS data but am unable to find any item but “metro” that addresses this charactistic. Is “metropolitan/non-metropolitan” a reasonable substitute for "urban/rural? Why does the ACS not include an "urban/rural"variable?

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**Author:** ![JeffBloem](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.ipums.org/jeffbloem/32/40_2.png) [@JeffBloem](https://forum.ipums.org/u/JeffBloem)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/how-can-one-construct-an-urban-rural-variable-from-the-acs-metro-item-are-unidentifiable-records-metro/1454/2 "2016-10-25T15:37:00Z")

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IPUMS-USA has the variable [URBAN](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/URBAN#description_section) that acts as an indicator of whether a household’s location was urban or rural. This variable, however, is very problematic due to the constantly changing definitions of “urban” and “rural”. The [variable description](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/URBAN#description_section) for the URBAN variable has a nice history of the Census Bureau’s use of the rural/urban distinction through the years. Ultimately, it is very difficult for a rural/urban variable to carry any meaning or comparability over samples that span multiple years. The [METRO](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/METRO#description_section) variable may be of best use for your purposes, although you should be aware of the confidentiality and sampling issues associated with the METRO variable, available on the [comparability tab](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/METRO#comparability_section).