Census Bureau -In Case You Missed It: 2023, New Director's Blog, and More
Director's Blog: In the Year 2022…
2022 has been quite a year! Throughout 2022, the Census Bureau continued its excellent operations. We released data related to the 2020 Census, the American Community Survey, the Household Pulse and Small Business Pulse surveys, and many more. We’ve created new tools and data products. We participated in the release of historical data from the 1950 Census, along with the National Archives and Records Administration. We’ve been conducting the employment and finance component of the 2022 Census of Governments and gearing up for the 2022 Economic Census. And, of course, we’ve been preparing for the 2030 Census.
Nation’s Urban and Rural Populations Shift Following 2020 Census
Note: Two updates have been made to this release since it was published. They appear in bold in the press release.
The nation's urban population increased by 6.4% between 2010 and 2020 based on 2020 Census data and a change in the way urban areas are defined, according to the new list of urban areas released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Despite the increase in the urban population, urban areas, defined as densely developed residential, commercial, and other nonresidential areas, now account for 80.0% of the U.S. population, down from 80.7% in 2010. This small decline was largely the result of changes to the criteria for defining urban areas implemented by the Census Bureau, including raising the minimum population threshold for qualification from 2,500 to 5,000. The rural population — the population in any areas outside of those classified as urban — increased as a percentage of the national population from 19.3% in 2010 to 20.0% in 2020.
This is not a sign of substantial urban to rural migration – these shifts in proportions are largely the result of changes to the criteria.