Rural Urban Classification
The 2021 RUC is a statistical classification to provide a consistent and standardised method for classifying geographies as rural or urban. This is based on address density, physical settlement form, population size, and Relative Access to Major towns and cities (populations of over 75,000 people). The classification is produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with advice from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Welsh Government and colleagues from the Government Geography Profession (GGP).
This is 2021 rural-urban classification (RUC) of 2023 Upper Tier Local Authorities (UTLA) in England and Wales. This means that the 2021 RUC methodology has been applied to the 2023 UTLA boundaries. UTLA classifications are divided into four categories based on their populations:
Majority Rural: had at least 50% of their population residing in Rural OAs
Intermediate Rural: 35-50% rural population
Intermediate Urban: 20-35% rural population
Urban: 20% or less of the population lived in rural OAs.
Each 2023 UTLA category is split into one of two Relative Access categories, using the same data as the 2021 Output Area RUC. If more than 50% of a UTLA population lives in ‘Nearer a major town or city’ OAs, it is deemed ‘nearer a major town or city’; otherwise, it is classified as ‘further from a major town or city’.
It may be appropriate for users to undertake analysis at the UTLA level to get a broad idea of the overall classification of an area, but more detailed classification information will be available for the component Local Authority Districts. At the UTLA level, the categorisation works slightly differently in that most areas will include a mix of both rural and urban areas - so the UTLA RUC categorisation is a reflection of this. A statistical geography may contain substantial portions of open countryside but still be given an ‘Urban’ classification if the majority of the population within the area live in settlements that are urban in nature. Users should take this into consideration to ensure correct interpretations of any analysis of RUC UTLA categories, and should consider whether LAD level classification is more appropriate for their purposes.”
