Classifications provide a means to easily and concisely communicate a lot of information in a brief way, by focusing on similarities between items. When studying rural places, classifications often highlight an area's social or economic characteristics, providing information and data to policy makers, public officials, concerned citizens, and researchers. A major source of classification data that applies to rural areas is provided by the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. Classifications developed by the ERS include ones that focus on an area's economic and social characteristics, and geographic context. These characteristics and context play an important roles in an area's development.
Of course, classifying something is not an easy process, and the resulting classification scheme is not without drawbacks. The very act of classifying things means drawing a line between two groups of objects - farming-dependant and non-farming-dependant counties, for example. This dividing line, while informed through research and analysis, is still ultimately a judgement call. Although there's often room for debate as to the extent to which any one classification captures the true nature of what is represented in the title, they still provide a useful lens with which to compare and analyze features of rural areas.
Excerpted from: McGranahan, David and Timothy Wojan. 2007. The Creative Class: A Key To Rural Growth. Amber Waves 5(2) 16-21.
Many economists and geographers point to high-tech firms, research and development (R&D) activity, and patents as sources of new economic growth, but regional scientist Richard Florida focuses on people, arguing that the knowledge and ideas requisite for economic growth are embodied in occupations involving high levels of creativity. These occupations constitute the 'creative class,' the ultimate source of economic dynamism in today's 'knowledge economy.'
The geographic mobility of the creative class is central to Florida's thesis. He argues that people in these occupations tend to seek a high quality of life as well as rewarding work, and they are drawn to cities with cultural diversity, active street scenes, and outdoor recreation opportunities. Good local universities alone will not lead to local economic dynamism as graduates may move to more attractive places upon obtaining their degrees. In this context, the key to local growth is to attract and retain talent, as talent leads to further job creation...
ERS analysts refined the [Florida] creative class measure in two ways. First, they used O*NET, a Bureau of Labor Statistics data set on skills generally used in occupations, to identify occupations in Florida's list that typically involve 'thinking creatively.' This skill element is defined as 'developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.'
Second, the analysts screened out as many occupations as possible that typically require high levels of creativity (such as schoolteachers, judges, and medical doctors) but whose numbers are proportional to the residential population they serve. These refinements resulted in an estimated creative class share of the workforce of 21 percent in 1990 (23 percent in metro areas and 14 percent in nonmetro areas)...
In 2000 (as in 1990), about 260 or 11 percent of nonmetro counties ranked as creative-class counties. Regional differences are more pronounced than with metro creative-class counties; New England and the mountain areas of the West have higher shares of rural creative-class-counties than the Midwest and South. Consistent with the thesis that quality-of-life considerations strongly motivate the creative class, counties high in natural amenities are most likely to be creative-class magnets...
The creative class was highly associated with growth in rural areas in 1990-2004. Other nonmetro counties grew relatively slowly in the 1990s, but creative-class nonmetro counties tended to gain jobs over the period at a faster rate than their metro counterparts...
While rural creative-class counties may grow because of the presence of the creative class, it is possible that the amenities that attracted the creative class were responsible for the higher job growth in creative-class counties in the 1990s. However, whether considering high-amenity, recreation, high-education, or other attributes, counties with a high proportion of creative-class residents generally had job growth rates that were twice as high as counties with less creative class presence.
What kind of county do you live in? Do you think of it as metropolitan or non-metropolitan? Do you think it qualifies as a 'creative class' county? What about housing stress - is that a problem? What other characteristics about your county might these classifications suggest?
Launch the Oregon Communities Reporter Tool
2013 USDA (US Department of Agriculture) Urban Influence Codes:
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/urban-influence-codes.aspx
2013 USDA Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, which distinguishes metropolitan counties by the population size of their metro area, and nonmetropolitan counties by degree of urbanization and adjacency to a metro area.:
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/rural-urban-continuum-codes.aspx
You can use the Oregon Communities Reporter and Advanced Mapping Tool to explore social and economic classifications of a county by using the following variables:
One of six mutually exclusive economic categories developed by the US Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (only 5 apply in Oregon):
When listed, the county falls into one or more of these non-mutually exclusive designations developed by the US Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service:
Creative Class County: Creative Class County: if yes, this county scored in the top quarter nationwide for creative class employment rates. Creative Class employment is in occupations that involve a high level of "thinking creatively." This skill element is defined as "developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions." Source: Economic Research Service, USDA
Metropolitan Status: A metro area, as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, includes one or more counties containing a core urban area of 50,000 or more people, together with any adjacent counties that have a high degree of social and economic integration (as measured by commuting to work) with the urban core. OMB also defines micropolitan statistical areas using the same method but centered around urban areas with at least 10,000 but no more than 50,000 people. 2004 designation used for 2005. Source: Economic Research Service, USDA
McGranahan, David and Timothy Wojan. 2007. The Creative Class: A Key To Rural Growth. Amber Waves 5(2) 16-21.