This readme file was generated on 2026-Mar-13

# **GENERAL INFORMATION**

Title of Dataset: 2020 Frontier and Remote (FAR) codes for census tracts

Data Citation: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2020 Frontier and Remote Area Codes, March 2026

Contact: Elizabeth Dobis (elizabeth.dobis@usda.gov)

Last updated: March 13, 2026

## Data Overview

The USDA, Economic Research Service’s Frontier and Remote area (FAR) codes classify the remoteness of U.S. census tracts and ZIP Codes. Locations are characterized as "frontier and remote" by a combination of low population and geographic isolation from cities and towns. There are four FAR code levels that capture the varying degrees of remoteness experienced throughout the country. This allows users to choose the definition of frontier and remote that best suits their specific needs. 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, while FAR Level 4 describes difficulty accessing “low order” goods and services that are available even in small towns.

# **DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION**

File name: FAR-codes-2020-tract.csv

Data unit: ZIP Code areas

Number of variables: 27

Number of cases/rows: 1 header row, 84116 data rows

## Variable list and descriptions

TractFIPS23	Unique 11-digit 2023 census tract identification code (census tract GEOID), text with leading zeros

CountyFIPS23	Unique 5-digit 2023 county identification code (county GEOID), text with leading zeros

CountyCode23	3-digit 2023 county identification code, text with leading zeros

CountyName23	2023 county name

TractFIPS20	Unique 11-digit 2020 census tract identification code (census tract GEOID), text with leading zeros

TractCode20	6-digit 2020 census tract identification code, text with leading zeros

TractName20	2020 census tract name

CountyFIPS20	Unique 5-digit 2020 county identification code (county GEOID), text with leading zeros

CountyCode20	3-digit 2020 county identification code, text with leading zeros

CountyName20	2020 county name

StateFIPS20	Unique 2-digit state identification code (state GEOID), text with leading zeros

StateName20	2020 state name

FAR1		Frontier and Remote (FAR) classification, Level 1: 0=Not FAR Level 1, 1=FAR Level 1

FAR2		Frontier and Remote (FAR) classification, Level 2: 0=Not FAR Level 2, 1=FAR Level 2

FAR3		Frontier and Remote (FAR) classification, Level 3: 0=Not FAR Level 3, 1=FAR Level 3

FAR4		Frontier and Remote (FAR) classification, Level 4: 0=Not FAR Level 4, 1=FAR Level 4

GridPop		Total grid population, 2020

GridArea	Total grid area, square miles, 2020

PopDensity	Grid-level population density, people per square mile, 2020

FAR1Pop		Grid-level population classified as FAR Level 1, 2020

FAR2Pop		Grid-level population classified as FAR Level 2, 2020

FAR3Pop		Grid-level population classified as FAR Level 3, 2020

FAR4Pop		Grid-level population classified as FAR Level 4, 2020

FAR1PopPct	Grid-level population classified as FAR Level 1, percent, 2020

FAR2PopPct	Grid-level population classified as FAR Level 2, percent, 2020

FAR3PopPct	Grid-level population classified as FAR Level 3, percent, 2020

FAR4PopPct	Grid-level population classified as FAR Level 4, percent, 2020

# **METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION**

## Definitions

Urban area = A statistical unit delineated by the U.S. Bureau of the Census to capture the built environment of an urban location. In 2020, an urban area was required to have at least 5,000 residents or 2,000 housing units, in addition to population density and contiguity requirements. The complex criteria used to define urban areas is available in Federal Register document  2022-06180 (87 FR 80114).

Rural area = Any location outside of an urban area.

## Methodology

1\. Travel times to the edges of urban areas of various sizes (populations of 5,000–9,999; 10,000–24,999; 25,000–49,999; and 50,000 or more) were measured at the 3-arc-second (approximately 90 meter) grid level, using routing algorithms applied to a road and ferry network that included posted speed limits for all federal, state, county, and municipal roads, as well as the location of bodies of water that may impede travel.

2\. A key methodological innovation allowed with this approach is the ability to apply longer travel-time bands around larger urban areas. The qualifying travel time (beyond which areas are considered to be frontier and remote) should be longer around larger urban areas because people tend to travel farther and less frequently for high-order services.

3\. Frontier levels were delineated at the grid-cell level using the following criteria:

   3.1 ***Level 1***<i> - Rural areas and urban areas of up to 50,000 people may be classified as frontier and remote (FAR). Level 1 FAR areas are 60 minutes or more from an urban area of 50,000 or more people.</i>

   3.2 ***Level 2***<i> - Rural areas and urban areas up to 25,000 people may be classified as frontier and remote (FAR). Level 2 FAR 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.</i>

   3.3 ***Level 3***<i> - Rural areas and urban areas up to 10,000 people may be classified as frontier and remote (FAR). Level 3 FAR 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.</i>

   3.4 ***Level 4*** - *Rural areas may be classified as frontier and remote (FAR). Level 4 FAR areas that are 15 minutes or more from an urban area of 5,000–10,000 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.*

4\. The grid-cell level results were aggregated to census tracts and the percent of the population defined as frontier was calculated. For census tracts containing a mix of frontier and non-frontier populations, classification was based on the status of the majority population.

# **SOURCES**

1\. Census tract boundaries and identifying information (e.g., name, county, state) are from the 2010 Decennial Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2020 Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER)/Line boundary file.

2\. Road network and speed limit data are from HERE Technologies, North America Roads and Routing data set (v13.0, 2024 Q1, for NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, RI, SC, SD, WV; v13.2, 2024 Q3, for the other 40 states and Washington, DC).

3\. 2020 Urban area boundaries and population are from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau.

4\. Grid cell population data are from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 2020 LandScan USA Nighttime Population.

5\. Waterways and water bodies are from the U.S. Geological Survey, 2024 National Hydrography Dataset.

# **NOTE**

1\. Throughout the data a value of  "N/A" indicates no data are available for that observation. For census tracts, this occurs for the water-only tracts of inland lakes or when no grid cell centroids are within the area's boundaries.

2\. Census tract and county identifiers are provided for 2023, in addition to the 2020 location identifiers, due to the change from counties to planning regions in Connecticut. The change from counties to planning regions did not affect census tract boundaries or names, only their associated county-equivalent.

3\. The census tract version of the FAR codes is created by aggregating the proportion of the grid-estimated population that is considered frontier and remote (FAR) by the criteria listed for each level. FAR status is determined by calculating travel time to the edge of the nearest urban areas using a cost algorithm that accounts for the location and speed limits of roads, as well as bodies of water that may impede travel.

