Tool
Rural Map and Dashboard
Our Rural Map and Dashboard helps answer the common question: “How do we define rural?” Informed by nuanced feedback from our grantee network, the Dashboard provides rural classifications for each of the country’s census tracts, and can be sorted by state, county, congressional, and legislative districts. The Dashboard also provides detailed insight into voting trends and demographics.
Identify Rural & Small City/Town
We classify geographies using a combination of county codes from the USDA and Daily Yonder, municipal population size, proximity to larger municipalities, and population density. Using these metrics, the Rural Dashboard determines the number of urban, suburban, small-town, and rural residents in each state, county, and district
Analyze an area of focus
Users can filter an area by state, county, district, or rurality. Then for that area, review its population, demographics, and past election result. This tool allows users to better understand the impact of rural and small-town voters in their state or district.
State Snapshot
Want to view detailed data for more than two states at a time? Try our State Snapshot, which ranks all 50 states by their population share and other electoral and demographic factors, drawing from our map.
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Civic Engagement Resources
Heartland Fund provides tools and original research to better understand rural voters.
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All the People, All the Places
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Rural Voter Polling
The polls explore rural attitudes and point toward ways to engage rural communities.
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