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RAISE Grant Urbanized Area

To determine if a project is located in an urban or rural area for purposes of a RAISE grant application, please use this new map tool! Instructions are below on this page.

A project is designated as urban if it is located within or on the boundary of a 2010 Census-designated Urbanized Area (UA), and that UA had a population greater than 200,000. If a project is not designated as urban, it is designated as rural.  

A project will be designated as rural if it is located:

  • In an UA that had a population less than 200,000 in the 2010 Census, or
  • In a Census designated Urban Cluster, or
  • Outside an UA.

For example, a project located in an Urbanized Area with a population of 150,000 will be designated as rural under the  RAISE program.  In contrast, a project located in an Urbanized Area with a population of 250,000 will be designated as urban, even if the city or town in which the project is located has a population of 100,000.

For projects that include expenditures in both urban areas and rural areas, the Department will designate the project as urban or rural based on where the majority of project funds will be spent.

How to use RAISE Mapping Tool:

  1. Access the Mapping Tool at: https://maps.dot.gov/BTS/GrantProjectLocationVerification/
  2. Locate the project location by searching or zooming. Utilize the "+" and "-" BUTTONS in the upper left-hand to fit the full project scope within the display area.
  3. Ensure all layers are active by checking the boxes via the LAYER LIST tab in the upper right-hand corner. Layers are zoom-dependent. If the label is greyed out in the legend, the layer is not showing on the map because it is not zoomed in far enough.
  4. Refer to the LEGEND and/or the LAYER LIST tab in the upper right-hand corner to understand the color shading and designations for your project area.
  5. The BASEMAP GALLERY tab in the upper right-hand corner provides viewing options including satellite imagery, terrain and topographical reference information, if needed.

The following Urbanized Areas, as designated by the U.S. Census Bureau, with a population of 200,000 or more, are considered urban for the purposes of the RAISE grants:

Urbanized Areas
Urbanized Area Name Population
New York--Newark, NY--NJ--CT 18,351,295
Los Angeles--Long Beach--Anaheim, CA 12,150,996
Chicago, IL--IN 8,608,208
Miami, FL 5,502,379
Philadelphia, PA--NJ--DE--MD 5,441,567
Dallas--Fort Worth--Arlington, TX 5,121,892
Houston, TX 4,944,332
Washington, DC--VA--MD 4,586,770
Atlanta, GA 4,515,419
Boston, MA--NH--RI 4,181,019
Detroit, MI 3,734,090
Phoenix--Mesa, AZ 3,629,114
San Francisco--Oakland, CA 3,281,212
Seattle, WA 3,059,393
San Diego, CA 2,956,746
Minneapolis--St. Paul, MN--WI 2,650,890
Tampa--St. Petersburg, FL 2,441,770
Denver--Aurora, CO 2,374,203
Baltimore, MD 2,203,663
St. Louis, MO--IL 2,150,706
San Juan, PR 2,148,346
Riverside--San Bernardino, CA 1,932,666
Las Vegas--Henderson, NV 1,886,011
Portland, OR--WA 1,849,898
Cleveland, OH 1,780,673
San Antonio, TX 1,758,210
Pittsburgh, PA 1,733,853
Sacramento, CA 1,723,634
San Jose, CA 1,664,496
Cincinnati, OH--KY--IN 1,624,827
Kansas City, MO--KS 1,519,417
Orlando, FL 1,510,516
Indianapolis, IN 1,487,483
Virginia Beach, VA 1,439,666
Milwaukee, WI 1,376,476
Columbus, OH 1,368,035
Austin, TX 1,362,416
Charlotte, NC--SC 1,249,442
Providence, RI--MA 1,190,956
Jacksonville, FL 1,065,219>
Memphis, TN--MS--AR 1,060,061
Salt Lake City--West Valley City, UT 1,021,243
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY--IN 972,546

Nashville-Davidson, TN

969,587

Richmond, VA

953,556

Buffalo, NY

935,906

Hartford, CT

924,859

Bridgeport--Stamford, CT--NY

923,311

New Orleans, LA

899,703

Raleigh, NC

884,891

Oklahoma City, OK

861,505

Tucson, AZ

843,168

El Paso, TX--NM

803,086

Urban Honolulu, HI

802,459

Birmingham, AL

749,495

Albuquerque, NM

741,318

McAllen, TX

728,825

Omaha, NE--IA

725,008

Dayton, OH

724,091

Rochester, NY

720,572

Allentown, PA--NJ

664,651

Tulsa, OK

655,479

Fresno, CA

654,628

Sarasota--Bradenton, FL

643,260

Springfield, MA--CT

621,300

Concord, CA

615,968

Albany--Schenectady, NY

594,962

Baton Rouge, LA

594,309

Mission Viejo--Lake Forest--San Clemente, CA

583,681

Grand Rapids, MI

569,935

Akron, OH

569,499

New Haven, CT

562,839

Colorado Springs, CO

559,409

Knoxville, TN

558,696

Columbia, SC

549,777

Charleston--North Charleston, SC

548,404

Ogden--Layton, UT

546,026

Cape Coral, FL

530,290

Bakersfield, CA

523,994

Toledo, OH--MI

507,643

Worcester, MA--CT

486,514

Provo--Orem, UT

482,819

Wichita, KS

472,870

Palm Bay--Melbourne, FL

452,791

Des Moines, IA

450,070

Harrisburg, PA

444,474

Murrieta--Temecula--Menifee, CA

441,546

Little Rock, AR

431,388

Poughkeepsie--Newburgh, NY--NJ

423,566

Syracuse, NY

412,317

Lancaster, PA

402,004

Madison, WI

401,661

Greenville, SC

400,492

Reno, NV--CA

392,141

Winston-Salem, NC

391,024

Spokane, WA

387,847

Youngstown, OH--PA

387,550

Augusta-Richmond County, GA--SC

386,787

Scranton, PA

381,502

Chattanooga, TN--GA

381,112

Port St. Lucie, FL

376,047

Stockton, CA

370,583

Oxnard, CA

367,260

Denton--Lewisville, TX

366,174

Modesto, CA

358,172

Flint, MI

356,218

Jackson, MS

351,478

Boise City, ID

349,684

Palm Coast--Daytona Beach--Port Orange, FL

349,064

Durham, NC

347,602

Indio--Cathedral City, CA

345,580

Lancaster--Palmdale, CA

341,219

Pensacola, FL--AL

340,067

Victorville--Hesperia, CA

328,454

Mobile, AL

326,183

Corpus Christi, TX

320,069

Kissimmee, FL

314,071

Lansing, MI

313,532

Fort Wayne, IN

313,492

Greensboro, NC

311,810

Bonita Springs, FL

310,298

Fayetteville, NC

310,282

Santa Rosa, CA

308,231

Aguadilla--Isabela--San Sebastián, PR

306,196

Ann Arbor, MI

306,022

Shreveport, LA

298,317

Rockford, IL

296,863

Trenton, NJ

296,668

Fayetteville--Springdale--Rogers, AR--MO

295,083

Round Lake Beach--McHenry--Grayslake, IL--WI

290,373

Lexington-Fayette, KY

290,263

Huntsville, AL

286,692

Asheville, NC

280,648

Davenport, IA--IL

280,051

Canton, OH

279,245

South Bend, IN--MI

278,165

Antioch, CA

277,634

Springfield, MO

273,724

Peoria, IL

266,921

Reading, PA

266,254

Fort Collins, CO

264,465

Montgomery, AL

263,907

Lakeland, FL

262,596

Savannah, GA 260,677
Lincoln, NE 258,719
Santa Clarita, CA 258,653
Columbus, GA--AL 253,602
Lafayette, LA 252,720
Anchorage, AK 251,243
Atlantic City, NJ 248,402
Eugene, OR 247,421
Barnstable Town, MA 246,695
Tallahassee, FL 240,223
Conroe--The Woodlands, TX 239,938
Lubbock, TX 237,356
Salem, OR 236,632
Laredo, TX 235,730
York, PA 232,045
Evansville, IN--KY 229,351
Nashua, NH--MA 226,400
Wilmington, NC 219,957
Visalia, CA 219,454
Killeen, TX 217,630
Brownsville, TX 217,585
Appleton, WI 216,154
Myrtle Beach--Socastee, SC--NC 215,304
Concord, NC 214,881
Thousand Oaks, CA 214,811
Aberdeen--Bel Air South--Bel Air North, MD 213,751
Hickory, NC 212,195
Kennewick--Pasco, WA 210,975
Roanoke, VA 210,111
Kalamazoo, MI 209,703
Norwich--New London, CT--RI 209,190
Gulfport, MS 208,948
Green Bay, WI 206,520
Portland, ME 203,914
Huntington, WV--KY--OH 202,637
Winter Haven, FL 201,289
Last updated: Wednesday, January 11, 2023