The recession of 2008–09 “continues to reverberate in rural America and is the most likely cause of a slight decline in population from 2015–16,” says the Daily Yonder, in an analysis of Census Bureau estimates. It was a record fifth consecutive year of decline, but it was so small, a net loss of 21,000 people, that it could mark a turning point in the overall trend, says the Yonder, adding, “If that question sounds familiar, it’s because we also asked it in 2015.”
One hopeful sign was that rural counties adjacent to metropolitan areas gained population last year; they generally grow faster than counties farther away from cities. “To me, that’s the biggest news about rural America,” said demographer Kenneth Johnson of the University of New Hampshire. “It’s still losing people, but it’s increasingly because of what’s going on in the remote rural counties.”
About two-thirds of metropolitan counties gained population from 2015-16; only one-third of rural counties showed gains.
The Yonder created an interactive map that shows population change by county across the nation.