Data insight

Ohio urbanization rural urban fringe

Interactive maps of where Ohio's urban footprint expanded from 2000 to 2020.

Urban growth is often first visible along the rural-urban fringe, where formerly rural places begin to show urban land use and denser housing patterns. These maps compare two ways to identify Ohio's urban and rural areas over time: Census urban and rural population counts at the block level, and housing density at the block group level.

Block based Census urban rural classification

This map shows county-dissolved urban, rural, and rural-to-urban areas for 2000, 2010, and 2020 on 2010 Census block boundaries. A block is classified as Urban if its urban population is greater than zero; otherwise it is classified as Rural if its rural population is greater than zero. The 2000 and 2020 results are interpolated to 2010 block boundaries, and Rural to Urban marks areas that move from rural in the previous decade to urban in the selected decade.

Block group housing density classification

This map shows county-dissolved urban, rural, and rural-to-urban areas for 2000, 2010, and 2020 on 2010 Census block group boundaries. Housing density is calculated as housing units divided by area in square miles, and a 2010 block group is classified as Urban when housing density is at least 200 housing units per square mile; otherwise it is classified as Rural. The 2000 and 2020 housing units are crosswalked to 2010 block group boundaries using NHGIS crosswalks, and Rural to Urban marks areas that move from rural in the previous decade to urban in the selected decade under this density-based definition.

Sources and notes

• Geography is shown on 2010 Census block or block group boundaries so changes across years are easier to compare.
• The block based map uses Census urban and rural population counts.
• The block group map uses housing units, land area, and NHGIS crosswalks to compare 2000, 2010, and 2020 on a common geography.