Billions are at stake in how the government defines a place as rural

A town of 1,000 people feels like a rural place to someone from Chicago. To a person living in a town of 200 people, that population of 1,000 feels almost urban. But what the government defines as rural determines tens of billions of dollars a year in spending aimed at propping up America’s small or remote places. Houston, Missouri, a town of 2,500 tucked into the hills of the Ozarks near the Arkansas border, takes pride as the hometown of famous clown Emmett Kelly. It holds an annual festival named in his memory. The residents pride themselves on a small-town, rural lifestyle with easy access to wide-open, outdoor spaces. But for some federal grants, Houston is not rural.
Source: KCUR News