Journal profile · Multiple
Regional Studies
ISSN 0034-3404 · eISSN 1360-0591 · Taylor & Francis
Regional Studies: CAS Zone 2 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 5.51; JCR Q1 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 368 days to acceptance (93 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 7% (journal website); 158 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Regional Studies is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 2 of Economics in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis, Regional Development and Policy and Cultural Industries and Urban Development, together about 35.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Regional Studies is a leading international journal covering the development of theories and concepts, empirical analysis and policy debate in the field of regional studies. The journal publishes original research spanning the economic, social, political and environmental dimensions of urban and regional (subnational) change. The distinctive purpose of Regional Studies is to connect insights across intellectual disciplines in a systematic and grounded way to understand how and why regions and cities evolve. It publishes research that distils how economic and political processes and outcomes are contingent upon regional and local circumstances. The journal is a pluralist forum, which showcases diverse perspectives and analytical techniques. Essential criteria for papers to be accepted for Regional Studies are that they make a substantive contribution to scholarly debates, are sub-national in focus, conceptually well-informed, empirically grounded and methodologically sound. Submissions are also expected to engage with wider debates that advance the field of regional studies and are of interest to readers of the journal. Urban and Regional Horizons is a periodic section dedicated to agenda-setting work that stimulates new thinking and novel approaches to addressing the big intellectual questions, issues and challenges in regional studies. Policy Debates is a periodic section that provides a forum for analysis and debate about important policy issues of international relevance in urban and regional development. Special Issues draw together contributions around key themes in regional studies from established and emerging researchers in the field. Book Reviews provide analysis and comment on key recent publications in regional studies. Peer Review Statement: All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two referees.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Jennifer ClarkPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 7, United States 2, Italy 1, Belgium 1 (11 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Regional Economics and Spatial AnalysisEconomics, Econometrics and Finance16.6%
- Regional Development and PolicySocial Sciences13.2%
- Cultural Industries and Urban DevelopmentSocial Sciences5.3%
- Regional resilience and developmentEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.9%
- Economic Growth and ProductivityEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.6%
- Fiscal Policy and Economic GrowthEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.5%
- Firm Innovation and GrowthEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.6%
- Global trade and economicsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Economics Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Regional & Urban Planning | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Economics Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Regional & Urban Planning | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Economics Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Regional & Urban Planning | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q1 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIECAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, RePEc, AEA, Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, British Humanities Index, CABI, Centre for Injury Prevention, CREJ Contents of Recent Economics Journals, Contents Pages in Management, De Gruyter, Economic Literature Index, ERSA, Geographical Abstracts Human Geography, International Bibliography of Book Reviews, International Labor Documentation, Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Planning Literature, LLBA (Linguistic and Language Behaviour Abstracts), NHN, NLC, PAIS, Periodica Islamica, Policy & Politics, Population Index, Sage Urban Studies Abstracts, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Social Policy, Planning and Development Abstracts
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
- 5.51LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 6.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 10LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 10Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.88LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 1.88Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.15LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 2.15Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 201OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,430OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.62OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 33.85%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 123LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 881,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,796 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 104 | 68 | 90 |
| 2025 | 158 | 95 | 685 |
| 2024 | 140 | 101 | 1,485 |
| 2023 | 190 | 149 | 2,814 |
| 2022 | 193 | 146 | 4,212 |
| 2021 | 227 | 172 | 6,561 |
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
368 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 272 days – 526 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 42 days (94 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 414 days
- Sample
- 93 articles with submission and acceptance dates (292 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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 7%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 91 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 41 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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)
Article types accepted5
- book reviewsBook Reviews provide analysis and comment on key recent publications in regional studies.Length not stated
- policy debatesPolicy Debates is a periodic section that provides a forum for analysis and debate about important policy issues of international relevance in urban and regiona…Length not stated
- research articlesAll research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two referees.Length not stated
- special issuesSpecial Issues draw together contributions around key themes in regional studies from established and emerging researchers in the field.Length not stated
- urban and regional horizonsUrban and Regional Horizons is a periodic section dedicated to agenda-setting work that stimulates new thinking and novel approaches to addressing the big intel…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Hybrid open access journal (Taylor & Francis Open Select). Model summary
Regional Studies is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and reader…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review: initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two referees. Model summary
All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two referees.
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
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 0034-3404
- Electronic ISSN
- 1360-0591
- Society / sponsor
- Regional Studies Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 60, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Regional Studies
What CAS zone is Regional Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Regional Studies is in Zone 2 of Economics, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Economics / Environmental Studies / Geography / Regional & Urban Planning; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Economics. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Regional Studies?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.51; CiteScore 10, h-index 201.
How long does peer review take at Regional Studies?
Based on the dates recorded on 93 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 368 days (interquartile range 272–526 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 7%. 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.
What JCR quartile is Regional Studies in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q1 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 2 of Economics.
Where are the editorial board members of Regional Studies based?
Of the 11 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (7), United States (2) and Italy (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Regional Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Regional Studies is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists SCIE, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Regional Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Regional Studies is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
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: .