Area and Road Ruggedness Scales

The USDA, Economic Research Service’s (ERS) Area and Road Ruggedness Scales data product provides measures of topographic variation, or "ruggedness," for census tracts across the 50 U.S. States and Washington, DC. Building on USDA, ERS's longstanding work on geographic classifications, the data product serves as a resource for researchers, Federal agencies, policymakers, and practitioners. The data product enables better comprehension of the role of terrain in rural development and demographic change, as well as individual and community well-being. To our knowledge, these are the first ruggedness measures with full nationwide coverage for the United States and the first to provide a roads-only version to help study the impact of rugged terrain on travel by car.<br>