(WHNT) – According to the U.S. Census Bureau, after a federal rule change, 24 towns in the state no longer count as towns. Two of those — Hazel Green and Moulton — are in North Alabama.

According to our news partners at AL.com, the Census announced that a change was made after the 2020 Census regarding how they classify rural and urban areas.

Urban areas must now have, at minimum, 5,000 people or 2,000 housing units. That is a substantial increase from the minimum of 2,500 that had been put in place in 1910.

Around the entire U.S. nearly 1,000 cities, towns and villages were reclassified as ‘rural’, which affected roughly 3.5 million people. The change was made to allow clerks and statisticians to better understand the makeup of the nation.

However, AL.com says that the change won’t really mean much for the residents of each town.

Two of those 24 towns were in North Alabama. Hazel Green had a population of 4,105 and 1,656 housing units. Moulton had a population of 3,398 and 1,605 housing units.

According to Al.com, with this change, 42.3% of Alabama’s population lived in rural areas, up 1.3% from 2010. The Census now states that the state is currently the 8th most rural state in the nation. There are now only 51 urban areas in Alabama.

You can find the entire list of 24 towns here.