Journal profile · Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH
ISSN 0890-765X · eISSN 1748-0361 · Wiley-Blackwell · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1985
JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.14; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,480; median 176 days to acceptance (102 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 129 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Global Health Workforce Issues, Primary Care and Health Outcomes and Healthcare Policy and Management, together about 41.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Rural Health publishes original articles, commentaries, letters to the editor, and editorials. Most original research articles published in the journal are full research manuscripts, but brief research reports and reviews of the scientific literature are also published. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies are considered. Highest priority is given to manuscripts that reflect scholarly quality, demonstrate methodological rigor, and emphasize practical implications for rural health in the U.S.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Global Health Workforce IssuesHealth Professions19.9%
- Primary Care and Health OutcomesHealth Professions11.7%
- Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics, Econometrics and Finance10.2%
- Global Cancer Incidence and ScreeningMedicine4.4%
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences4.1%
- Agriculture and Farm SafetyAgricultural and Biological Sciences4%
- Geriatric Care and Nursing HomesHealth Professions3.9%
- Telemedicine and Telehealth ImplementationMedicine3.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceMEDLINEPubMedPsycINFOCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, AGRICOLA
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.14LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.41LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.47LetPub ·
- h-index
- 49LetPub ·
- h-index
- 94OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,360OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.18OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 42.91%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 108LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 120Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 279,465Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,882 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 119 | 103 | 36 |
| 2025 | 129 | 95 | 291 |
| 2024 | 90 | 69 | 411 |
| 2023 | 91 | 70 | 850 |
| 2022 | 99 | 60 | 1,247 |
| 2021 | 93 | 41 | 2,203 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
176 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 134 days – 220 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 20 days (102 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 196 days
- Sample
- 102 articles with submission and acceptance dates (266 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 20%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 20%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 163 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 17 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,480 / EUR 3,750 / GBP 3,010 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 4,500 words
Article types accepted6, with length limits
- brief reportOriginal Articles and Brief Reports: A report of research addressing a specific research question, including the methods used, the results of the research, and …main text ≤ 2,000 words
- brief reportsBrief Reports of no more than 2,000 words not including the abstract and with no more than 3 tables/figures may be submitted.Length not stated
- commentarybeing published or submitted elsewhere. Commentaries are limited to 1500 words (text and any notes) and have no abstract. The Editor makesmain text ≤ 1,500 words
- editorialOriginal Articles and Brief Reports: A report of research addressing a specific research question, including the methods used, the results of the research, and …Length not stated
- original articleOriginal Articles and Brief Reports: A report of research addressing a specific research question, including the methods used, the results of the research, and …Length not stated
- original articlesOriginal Articles and Brief Reports: A report of research addressing a specific research question, including the methods used, the results of the research, and …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Open access
- Authorship Authorship Change Process
ICMJE authorship criteria Model summary
In accordance with Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics and the Committee on Publication Ethics’ guidance, Journal of Rural Health will allow authors to correct authorship on a submitted, accepted, or published article if a valid reason exists to do so. All authors – including those to be added or removed – must agree to any proposed change. To request a cha…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest
Conflicts of interest disclosure required Model summary
Conflicts of Interest (or their absence) may be personal, commercial, political, governmental, academic, or financial.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Rural definition required in submissions Model summary
All submissions should include the rural definition (e.g., U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Rural Urban Commuting Area, or Rural Urban Continuum Codes) applied in the study.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access For authors choosing open access
If the open access option is selected the corresponding author will have a choice of the following Creative Commons License Open Access Agreements (OAA): Creative Commons Attribution License OAA, Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License OAA, or Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial -NoDerivs License OAA.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1985
- ISSN
- 0890-765X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1748-0361
- Society / sponsor
- National Rural Health Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 42, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH
What CAS zone is JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Health Policy & Services / Health Care Sciences & Services / Public, Environmental & Occupational Health. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.14; CiteScore 5.8, h-index 94.
How long does peer review take at JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH?
Based on the dates recorded on 102 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 176 days (interquartile range 134–220 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 20% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH open access, and what is the APC?
JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,480.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .