Journal profile · SOCIOLOGY
Rural Society
ISSN 1037-1656 · eISSN 2204-0536 · Taylor & Francis
Rural Society: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.8 (journal website); JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 125 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 10% (journal website); 19 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Rural Society is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Rural development and sustainability, Education Systems and Policy and Mining and Resource Management, together about 42.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Rural Society is an international, double anonymized peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes social research of interest and relating to rural communities and societies. Areas of focus include: art, commerce, crime, culture, demography, education, ecology, environments and sustainability, ethnicity, physical and mental health, healthcare, gender, globalization, government (local, regional and federal), lifestyles, media, planning, policy and politics, science and technology, social change and problems, social work and welfare, tourism, water and natural resources management. Rural Society has a broad readership, with articles relevant to researchers, educators, students, policy developers, managers, decision makers and healthcare workers who are interested in social, cultural, health, education and developmental issues in emerging and mature regional economies. All research articles will be processed via a double anonymized peer review process.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): SOCIOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Angela T RagusaPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Australia 3, Netherlands 1 (4 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Rural development and sustainabilityAgricultural and Biological Sciences27.7%
- Education Systems and PolicySocial Sciences10.7%
- Mining and Resource ManagementEngineering4.2%
- Community Development and Social ImpactEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4%
- Global Health Workforce IssuesHealth Professions3.2%
- Agricultural Innovations and PracticesAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.1%
- Youth Education and Societal DynamicsSocial Sciences3.1%
- Entrepreneurship Studies and InfluencesBusiness, Management and Accounting3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 4 |
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 Q2 · 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
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ProQuest, EBSCOhost, GalePublisher 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
- 1.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.37LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.37Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.56LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.56Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 40OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 254OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.17OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 6.67%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 17LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 30,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 993 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 17 | 7 | 4 |
| 2025 | 19 | 5 | 35 |
| 2024 | 16 | 2 | 74 |
| 2023 | 18 | 4 | 56 |
| 2022 | 15 | 1 | 119 |
| 2021 | 10 | 0 | 83 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
125 daysfirst decision after review
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 10%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 24 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 125 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 12 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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 accepted2
- book reviewBook Review | Published online: 18 Mar 2026Length not stated
- research articleResearch Article | Published online: 2 Jun 2026Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Hybrid open access Model summary
Rural Society 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 readershi…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
All research articles will be processed via a double anonymized peer review process.
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
- 1037-1656
- Electronic ISSN
- 2204-0536
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 35, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Rural Society
What CAS zone is Rural Society in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Rural Society is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Sociology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Rural Society?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.8 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.6, h-index 40.
How long does peer review take at Rural Society?
The publisher reports about 125 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 10%. 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 Rural Society 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 Sociology.
Where are the editorial board members of Rural Society based?
Of the 4 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Australia (3) and Netherlands (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Rural Society?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Rural Society is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is Rural Society open access, and what is the APC?
Rural Society 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: .