20260305 09241900 1.0 FALSE 5000000 50000 002 far2020_tract -179.148909 179.778470 18.910361 71.365162 1 Geographic GCS_North_American_1983 Angular Unit: Degree (0.017453) <GeographicCoordinateSystem xsi:type='typens:GeographicCoordinateSystem' xmlns:xsi='http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance' xmlns:xs='http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema' xmlns:typens='http://www.esri.com/schemas/ArcGIS/3.5.0'><WKT>GEOGCS[&quot;GCS_North_American_1983&quot;,DATUM[&quot;D_North_American_1983&quot;,SPHEROID[&quot;GRS_1980&quot;,6378137.0,298.257222101]],PRIMEM[&quot;Greenwich&quot;,0.0],UNIT[&quot;Degree&quot;,0.0174532925199433],AUTHORITY[&quot;EPSG&quot;,4269]]</WKT><XOrigin>-400</XOrigin><YOrigin>-400</YOrigin><XYScale>999999999.99999988</XYScale><ZOrigin>-100000</ZOrigin><ZScale>10000</ZScale><MOrigin>-100000</MOrigin><MScale>10000</MScale><XYTolerance>8.983152841195215e-09</XYTolerance><ZTolerance>0.001</ZTolerance><MTolerance>0.001</MTolerance><HighPrecision>true</HighPrecision><LeftLongitude>-180</LeftLongitude><WKID>4269</WKID><LatestWKID>4269</LatestWKID></GeographicCoordinateSystem> ISO19115_3 20251230 11271500 20260122 7335400 ERS has developed the Frontier and Remote area (FAR) codes to assist in providing policy-relevant information about conditions in sparsely-settled, remote areas of the U.S. to public officials, researchers, and the general public. <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><P STYLE="margin:0 0 8 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-size:12pt">This updated set of codes, based on data from the 2020 decennial census, provides four FAR definition levels, ranging from one that is relatively inclusive (FAR Level 1) to one that is more restrictive (FAR Level 4). This allows users to choose the definition of frontier and remote that best suits their specific needs.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 8 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-size:12pt">Locations are characterized as "frontier and remote" by a combination of low population and geographic isolation from cities and towns. FAR codes are assigned to areas based on the time it takes to travel by car to the edges of nearby urban areas. The four FAR code levels capture variation in the goods and services available in urban areas. This variation depends, in part, on the size of the urban area. FAR Level 1 describes difficulty accessing “high order” goods and services that are available in larger cities, such as advanced medical procedures, stores selling major household appliances, regional airport hubs, or professional sports franchises. At the other end of the spectrum, FAR Level 4 describes difficulty accessing “low order” goods and services that are available even in small towns, such as grocery stores, gas stations, and basic healthcare services.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 8 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-size:12pt">FAR Level 1 (FAR1): Rural areas and urban areas of up to 50,000 people may be classified as frontier and remote. Level 1 areas are 60 minutes or more from an urban area of 50,000 or more people.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 8 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-size:12pt">FAR Level 2 (FAR2): Rural areas and urban areas up to 25,000 people may be classified as frontier and remote. Level 2 areas are 45 minutes or more from an urban area of 25,000–49,999 people, and 60 minutes or more from an urban area of 50,000 or more people.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 8 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-size:12pt">FAR Level 3 (FAR3): Rural areas and urban areas up to 10,000 people may be classified as frontier and remote. Level 3 areas are 30 minutes or more from an urban area of 10,000–24,999 people, 45 minutes or more from an urban area of 25,000–49,999 people, and 60 minutes or more from an urban area of 50,000 or more people.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 8 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-size:12pt">FAR Level 4 (FAR4): Rural areas may be classified as frontier and remote. Level 4 areas are 15 minutes or more from an urban area of fewer than 10,000 people, 30 minutes or more from an urban area of 10,000–24,999 people, 45 minutes or more from an urban area of 25,000–49,999 people, and 60 minutes or more from an urban area of 50,000 or more people.</SPAN></P></DIV> USDA REE-ERS U.S. Census Bureau Oak Ridge National Labs HERE Technologies, Inc. U.S. Geological Survey Frontier and Remote Area Codes (FAR)-Tract level FAR Codes - Tract 2025-12-30T00:00:00 Economic Research Service US Department of Agriculture Economist Frontier Remote Rural Census Tract 2020 decennial census Frontier Remote Goods Services Remote 1 -179.231086 179.859681 -14.601813 71.439786 Economic Research Service US Department of Agriculture Research Support Branch Chief Esri ArcGIS 13.5.3.57366 1 -179.148909 179.778470 71.365162 18.910361 F6AB66B1-2261-4EB7-9745-C904A36F935E 20260122 Economic Research Service US Department of Agriculture Geographer Economic Research Service The origins data are 3-arc-second (approximately 90 meter) nighttime population grid cell data for 2020 from Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s LandScan USA . These data use information about the built infrastructure (e.g., buildings and roads), natural features (e.g., rivers and mountains), and socioeconomic characteristics (e.g., journey-to-work) of a location to estimate the spatial distribution of the residential population within each census block. This results in a more detailed understanding of where people live than can be obtained from using census statistical units alone. This is particularly true in rural areas of the United States where census blocks can be so large that they have the same boundaries as their associated county. The destination data are the 2020 urban areas from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau). Urban areas are densely developed locations that include residential, commercial, and other non-residential and uses. They are defined using population density, size, and built environment criteria and often include several adjacent communities. Because “high order ” goods and services are generally only available in larger urban areas, while “low order” goods and services are available in urban areas of all sizes, the population size of the urban areas is another important element of the destinations data. The connections data model the barriers and catalysts to movement between locations. Catalysts to movement occur when travel between locations is easier due to roads or ferries. The network of roads and ferries, as well as associated speed limits, was obtained from HERE Technologies’ North America Roads and Routing data set. Version 13.0 (2024 Q1) was used for 10 States (NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, RI, SC, SD, WV), while Version 13.2 (2024 Q3) was used for the other 40 States and Washington, DC. Any location without a road was assigned a base speed of 5 kilometers-per-hour, which is the approximate usual walking speed for healthy adults according to Murtagh, et al. (2021) . Barriers to movement occur when travel between locations is impossible due to rivers and lakes. The location wWater features was were obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2024 National Hydrography Dataset. Travel over these water features was only possible via bridges and ferries. Calculate travel time to urban areas Classify grid cells as FAR The travel time calculations are used to determine whether a grid cell is frontier and remote (FAR). FAR areas are defined and adjusted along two dimensions: • A population size dimension: Frontier and remote areas only include urban areas up to a certain size. • A distance dimension: Rural areas and smaller urban areas will be counted as frontier and remote only if they are located beyond defined proximity bands of proximity to larger urban areas. Urban areas are defined by the Census Bureau (see Data Sources ), and rural areas include all territory outside those urban areas. The travel time beyond which areas are considered FAR should be longer around larger urban areas because people tend to travel farther and less frequently for high-order goods and services. Aggregate Grid cells to Census Tract and Zip Code boundaries. Thematic Process Data was produced from source content. 1 File Geodatabase Feature Class dataset EPSG 6.5(3.0.1) 84116 Simple FALSE 84116 TRUE FALSE far2020_tract Feature Class 84116 Polygon representing area USDA REE-ERS OBJECTID OBJECTID OID 4 0 0 Internal feature number. Esri Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. Shape Shape Geometry 0 0 0 Feature geometry. Esri Coordinates defining the features. TractFIPS20 TractFIPS20 String 255 0 0 An 11 digit number with first two assigned to state, next three to county within state, final 6 assigned by census bureau for tracts defined for that census year. Federal Information Processing Standards Valid identifier TractCode20 TractCode20 String 255 0 0 A six number code assigned by US Census Bureau for tract within a county. US Census Bureau has value including leading zeros TractName20 TractName20 String 255 0 0 descriptive name of tract within the county, preceding zeros usually not used, and a decimal point if either of last two digits of code is non zero. 020501 would become Census Tract 205.01. US Census Bureau valid string CountyFIPS20 CountyFIPS20 String 255 0 0 FIPS code for county, where first two digits ID the state containing the county. Federal Information Processing Standards validID CountyCode20 CountyCode20 String 255 0 0 3 digit county ID portion of FIPS code. Each state has an 001, 002, etc. Federal Information Processing Standards 3 digit integer with leading zeros as needed. CountyName20 CountyName20 String 255 0 0 Name of county or its equivalent. State valid string StateFIPS20 StateFIPS20 String 255 0 0 Two digit identifier for state. Federal Information Processing Standards validValue StateName20 StateName20 String 255 0 0 Name of the state by which it is known. USA validString TractFIPS23 TractFIPS23 String 255 0 0 Areas were re-organized between 2020 and 2023. This field contains FIPS codes for tracts in 2023. Federal Information Processing Standards valid 11 digit code CountyFIPS23 CountyFIPS23 String 255 0 0 Areas were re-organized between 2020 and 2023. This field contains FIPS codes for counties or their equivalents in 2023. Federal Information Processing Standards valid 5 digit ID where first two digits represent state CountyCode23 CountyCode23 String 255 0 0 Areas were re-organized between 2020 and 2023. This field contains FIPS codes for counties or their equivalents in 2023. This is just the three digit county portion Federal Information Processing Standards 3 digit portion of county ID within the state. CountyName23 CountyName23 String 255 0 0 Name by which county or its equivalent is known State validString FAR1 FAR1 Double 8 0 0 Binary indicator of FAR1 qualification. 1 = FAR1 0 = not FAR1 USDA REE-ERS 1 or 0 FAR2 FAR2 Double 8 0 0 Binary indicator of FAR2 qualification. 1 = FAR2 0 = not FAR2 USDA REE-ERS 1 or 0 FAR3 FAR3 Double 8 0 0 Binary indicator of FAR3 qualification. 1 = FAR3 0 = not FAR3 USDA REE-ERS 1 or 0 FAR4 FAR4 Double 8 0 0 Binary indicator of FAR4 qualification. 1 = FAR4 0 = not FAR4 USDA REE-ERS 1 or 0 GridPop GridPop Double 8 0 0 Sum of the population in grid cells aggregated to tract USDA REE-ERS number GridArea GridArea Double 8 0 0 Sum of the area of grid cells aggregated to tract in units converted to square miles. USDA REE-ERS square miles PopDensity PopDensity Double 8 0 0 GridPop / GridArea displayed in people/sq mile. USDA REE-ERS Number > 0 FAR1Pop FAR1Pop Double 8 0 0 number of FAR1 qualified persons living in the Tract. USDA REE-ERS number FAR2Pop FAR2Pop Double 8 0 0 number of FAR2 qualified persons living in the Tract. USDA REE-ERS number FAR3Pop FAR3Pop Double 8 0 0 number of FAR3 qualified persons living in the Tract. USDA REE-ERS number FAR4Pop FAR4Pop Double 8 0 0 number of FAR4 qualified persons living in the Tract. USDA REE-ERS number FAR1PopPct FAR1PopPct Double 8 0 0 number of FAR1 qualified persons living in the tract divided by total tract population (GridPop) x 100 (percentage). USDA REE-ERS percentage FAR2PopPct FAR2PopPct Double 8 0 0 number of FAR2 qualified persons living in the tract divided by total tract population (GridPop) x 100 (percentage). USDA REE-ERS percentage FAR3PopPct FAR3PopPct Double 8 0 0 number of FAR3 qualified persons living in the tract divided by total tract population (GridPop) x 100 (percentage). USDA REE-ERS percentage FAR4PopPct FAR4PopPct Double 8 0 0 number of FAR4 qualified persons living in the tract divided by total tract population (GridPop) x 100 (percentage). USDA REE-ERS percentage Shape_Length Shape_Length Double 8 0 0 Length of feature in internal units. Esri Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. Shape_Area Shape_Area Double 8 0 0 Area of feature in internal units squared. Esri Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.