Journal profile · GEOGRAPHY
Regional Studies Regional Science
ISSN 2168-1376 · Taylor & Francis Group · United Kingdom
Regional Studies Regional Science: CAS Zone 4 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2 (journal website); JCR Q2 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,195; median 213 days to acceptance (90 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 35% (journal website); 58 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Regional Studies Regional Science is published by Taylor & Francis Group and is in Zone 4 of Economics in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Regional Development and Policy, Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis and Regional resilience and development, together about 33.2% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Regional Studies, Regional Science is an open access journal about regional and urban issues in geography, economics, regional science, environmental studies, planning and governance. RSRS explores a wide range of topics from across the social sciences at a variety of spatial scales, which are generally subnational (such as metropolitan regions, planning regions, etc.) but can cross jurisdictional boundaries (such as cross-border regions and institutions). It does not typically publish contributions that focus exclusively on the global or national scales unless there are demonstrable implications for debates at sub-national regional scales. The journal publishes a range of paper types including full length research articles, short papers and ‘regional graphics’. Further details and requirements for article types can be found in the Instructions for Authors. RSRS also has an Early Career Papers section offering a mentored route for early career academics. If you have questions about the suitability of your manuscript, please contact the editors in advance of submitting. The journal has a streamlined peer-review process and quick turnaround times from submission to acceptance. Regional Studies, Regional Science is an interdisciplinary open access journal from the Regional Studies Association, first published in 2014. Please see our Instructions for Authors for full details of how to submit your paper. All Regional Studies, Regional Science articles will be made freely and permanently available online through gold open access publication following payment of an Article Publication Charge (APC). Details of the APC charges can be found in the Instructions for Authors. For more information on open access, including benefits, options, fees and funding please visit our open access publishing pages. The APC should be paid after acceptance of the article following peer review; corresponding authors will receive an invoice outlining payment terms. Further processing of the article will be deferred pending payment. Waivers and discounts on the APC are available to support researchers in developing and emerging regions unable to pay this charge. More information can be found here. Information on support for covering the cost of the APC and eligibility criteria are available here. 'This is an excellent and widely cited journal of regional science and already recognized as one of the leading journals in this field. I found nothing to criticize and a great deal to admire,
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GEOGRAPHY
Editor-in-chief Yi LiuPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 20%); most named Mainland China 2, United Kingdom 2, Australia 2, United States 1, Sweden 1 (10 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Regional Development and PolicySocial Sciences12.8%
- Regional Economics and Spatial AnalysisEconomics, Econometrics and Finance11.3%
- Regional resilience and developmentEconomics, Econometrics and Finance9.1%
- Cultural Industries and Urban DevelopmentSocial Sciences5%
- Rural development and sustainabilityAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.5%
- Urban Transport and AccessibilitySocial Sciences4.3%
- Urbanization and City PlanningSocial Sciences4.1%
- Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation StudiesSocial Sciences4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Economics Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Economics Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · 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
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EBSCO, RePEc, ERSA, EBSCO (TOC Premier)Publisher website
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 (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.63LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.63Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.98LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.98Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 43OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 224OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.68OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 56LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 297,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 590 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 45 | 45 | 20 |
| 2025 | 58 | 58 | 148 |
| 2024 | 51 | 51 | 245 |
| 2023 | 56 | 56 | 409 |
| 2022 | 59 | 59 | 708 |
| 2021 | 40 | 40 | 516 |
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
213 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 164 days – 299 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 33 days (90 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 247 days
- Sample
- 90 articles with submission and acceptance dates (118 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)
- about 18 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 35%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 39 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 86 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 28 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 18 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 2,195 / GBP 1,756 / EUR 2,110 / AUD 3,060 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | GBP 950 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 1,460 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open access
Regional Studies, Regional Science is an open access journal and only publishes open access articles. 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 readership of your article Make an impact and reach new readers, not…
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 Group
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2168-1376
- Society / sponsor
- Regional Studies Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 13, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Regional Studies Regional Science
What CAS zone is Regional Studies Regional Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Regional Studies Regional Science is in Zone 4 of Economics, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Geography. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Economics. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Regional Studies Regional Science?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.3, h-index 43.
How long does peer review take at Regional Studies Regional Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 90 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 213 days (interquartile range 164–299 days); authors report an average review time of about 18 weeks; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 35%. 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 Regional Science in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (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 4 of Economics.
Where are the editorial board members of Regional Studies Regional Science based?
Of the 10 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 20%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (2), United Kingdom (2) and Australia (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Regional Studies Regional Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Regional Studies Regional Science is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Regional Studies Regional Science open access, and what is the APC?
Regional Studies Regional Science is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,195.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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: .