Urban Area Boundaries

An Urban Area (UA) is defined as a developed community comprising one or more cities or villages with a population of at least 5,000 people.

Urban Areas with a population of 50,000 or more are referred to urbanized areas by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). These large urban areas are designated as Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs).

As part of the decennial census, the US Census Bureau redefines urban areas nationwide and delineates the boundaries encompassing these urban areas. Because these census decisions are made independent of the transportation system, the FHWA grants states the right to adjust the census-defined urban areas to better address transportation planning and funding issues. Adjustments to an Urban Area Boundary (UAB) consider the anticipated growth and development of the urban area during the ten years, until the next decennial census.

Approximately two years after the Census, Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) staff in the Division of Transportation Investment Management (DTIM) Bureau of Planning and Economic Development (BPED) and Division of Transportation System Development (DTSD) regions coordinate with local officials across the state and FHWA’s Wisconsin division to review, revise, and approve all UA and MPA boundaries in Wisconsin.

UAB adjustments are formally approved by local officials and WisDOT; FHWA has final approval of Urban Area Boundaries.

Urban Area Boundary Maps
Antigo Appleton Ashland Baraboo-West Baraboo Beaver Dam Beloit Berlin Burlington-Rochester-Waterford Columbus-Fall River Delavan East Troy Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls Edgerton Elkhorn Evansville Fond du Lac Fontana on Geneva Lake Fort Atkinson Grafton-Port Washington-Cedarburg Green Bay Hartford-Slinger Houlton-Stillwater Hudson-North Hudson Hurley-Montreal-Ironwood Jackson Janesville Jefferson	Kenosha La Crosse Lake Delton-Wisconsin Dells Lake Geneva Lake Mills Madison Manitowoc-Two Rivers Marinette-Menominee Marshfield-Hewitt Mayville Menomonie Merrill Milwaukee Monroe Mount Horeb Mukwonago New London New Richmond Niagara_Iron Mountain-Kingsford Oregon Oshkosh Platteville Plymouth Portage Prairie du Chien Prairie du Sac-Sauk City	Racine Reedsburg Rhinelander Rice Lake Ripon River Falls Round Lake Beach-McHenry-Grayslake Shawano-Cecil Sheboygan Sparta Stevens Point-Park Ridge-Plover-Whiting Stoughton Sturgeon Bay Superior-Duluth Tomah Union Grove Wales Watertown Waupaca Waupun Wausau West Bend West Salem Whitewater Wisconsin Rapids-Biron-Nekoosa-Port Edwards

The Urban/Rural distinction is important for the determination of eligible funding for highway projects. Roads inside a UA are eligible for STBG/STP-Urban program funding. Roads outside a UA, designated as rural, are eligible for STBG/STP-Rural program funding, and some may be eligible for STP-Local program funding. See the program pages for more information.

Funding eligibility is also dependent on the functional classification of the road or street.

Functional classification

Contact

John Nordbo
john.nordbo@dot.wi.gov
(608) 267-7751