For the first time in six years, rural America is gaining population rather than losing it, although the increase was a slender 0.1 percent, or 33,000 people, said the annual USDA report Rural America at a Glance. The growth came from so-called net migration, which means that more people are moving into an area than leaving it. The USDA said net migration will be key to future population growth in rural areas because the current population is aging.
“Net migration tends to favor more densely settled rural areas with attractive scenic qualities or those near large cities,” said the USDA’s Economic Research Service. “Fewer migrants are attracted to sparsely settled, less scenic, remote locations, which compounds economic development challenges in those areas.” Rising incomes and more rural jobs fueled the population growth, which occurred between July 2016 and July 2017.
Some 46.1 million people live in rural counties. “Rural America is less racially and ethnically diverse than urban areas. Whites make up nearly 80 percent of the rural population, compared with 58 percent of the urban population. Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the rural population but make up just 9 percent,” said the report. Blacks account for just 8 percent of rural Americans.