Rural America At A Glance 2018 Edition

Abstract

The decline in rural population, which began in 2010 and reached its lowest level in 2011-12 with a loss of nearly 62,000 residents, has since begun to reverse.1 In 2016-17, rural counties added population for the first time this decade. The recent upturn in rural population comes from increasing rates of net migration as opposed to natural change (births minus deaths). Increased net migration has coincided with declining rural unemployment, rising incomes, and declining poverty since 2013. However, national population trends mask variation at the local level, where changing population directly impacts rural well-being and economic development prospects. Rural population trends between 2012-13 and 2016-17 also varied considerably by race/ethnicity.