RUCA Version 1.11
Description Of Codes And Technical Notes
For Residential & Commercial/Geographic Zip Codes: Version 1.1
This is a text tab-deliminated file with five variables as follows:
Column 1 = zip code: alpha version
Column 2 = zip code: numeric version
Column 3 = RUCA Code
Column 4 = Population Category
Column 5 = State Code
Tech Notes:
- There are 42,326 total cases. This includes both residential/geographic and PO Box commercial zip codes.
- The population categories are defined as follows:
1: 0-99
2: 100-499
3: 500-999
4: 1000 or more - The state code used is the FIPS state.
- There are 6 zip codes that overlap state boundaries:
ZIP 42223: Kentucky/Tennessee overlap
ZIP 57724: Montana/South Dakota overlap
ZIP 63673: Illinois/Missouri overlap
ZIP 71749: Arkansas/Lousiana overlap
ZIP 72395: Arkansas/Tennessee overlap
ZIP 73949: Oklahoma/Texas overlap - To address this problem, each of these zips appear TWICE—once in each state in which it appears. A decimal designation is attached to each of these zips so that the portion of the zip having the larger population is shown as xxxxx.1 and the portion having the smaller population as xxxxx.2.
- This has ramifications for national-level analyses as well as for the overall count of zip codes. Precautions must be taken in order not to double count these 6 zip codes at the national level.