As a non-American, I’m very confused by this. If it’s a town, it’s not rural by definition. Because, you-know, it’s urban.
Also, could we get a definition of town vs small town. Do you not have the concept of a village? (Village in the UK would be a settlement with a population of a couple of thousand, with usually a pub, local shop, maybe a post office and primary school if you’re lucky).
Poor OP. They’re leaving this thread more confused than ever.
The United States is huge and every region has different definitions and expectations of “city”, “town”, “suburb”, “wide place in the road”, etc. LOL, when I was a kid we called Tulsa, OK a “small town”. Well, yeah, as opposed to Chicagoland.
You won’t find anything definitive, but we don’t use the word “village” except to connote… well, I can’t really say. But I know one when I see it!
Village usually means really upscale neighborhood. I have no idea why they’re called that, but they are.