Rural and High-Needs Rural Region Geographies from FHFA Duty to Serve

Federal Housing Finance Agency data identifies census tracts meeting its regulatory definition of 'rural area' and designates 'high-needs rural regions'. The dataset is based on definitions involving MSA boundaries, USDA Rural-Urban Commuting Area codes, housing density thresholds, and colonia census tracts. It was last updated in February 2025.

Use Cases

• Map census tracts designated as 'rural area' based on MSA boundaries and USDA RUCA codes for policy analysis.
• Identify 'high-needs rural regions' to target housing finance and development programs.
• Analyze the intersection of rural definitions using housing density thresholds and colonia census tract designations.

Strengths

• Data originates from the authoritative Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
• Definitions are based on specific regulatory criteria including MSA boundaries, USDA RUCA codes, and housing density thresholds.
• Dataset was updated in February 2025, indicating recent maintenance.

Limitations

• The exact number of geographic units (rows) and specific attributes (columns) are not provided in the input.
• Spatial coverage is limited to areas defined by the FHFA's U.S.-centric 'Duty to Serve' regulation.
• Data granularity and temporal coverage for the underlying census tract boundaries are not specified.

Provenance

Source

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)

Collection Method

Defined by FHFA's Duty to Serve regulation using OMB MSA designations, USDA RUCA codes, housing density, and colonia tract criteria.

Freshness

Last updated on 2025-02-12.

Geography

United States, focusing on census tracts meeting specific rural definitions.