Jobs recovery is spotty in rural counties
Only 43 percent of rural counties have the same number of jobs, or more, as they had before the pandemic, said the Daily Yonder, based on an analysis of Labor Department data. Recovery was strongest in counties on the fringes of metropolitan area and weakest in counties the furthest from town.
Georgia is more likely to investigate rural voters than city dwellers
The Daily Yonder says its analysis of State Election Board records for 2015 and 2016 in Georgia "shows that rural voters are about twice as likely to be investigated as urban voters are." The secretary of state's office, which oversees elections, says if there's a disparity, it's because rural poll workers are not as well trained rather than bias of any form.
Local landslides rule in a narrowly decided national election
The presidential election was decided by a fraction of a percentage point, but most voters – slightly more than 60 percent – live in politically lopsided counties where President-elect Donald Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton carried the vote by at least 20 points, says the Daily Yonder. "Even bigger is the percentage of rural voters who lived in a landslide county," amounting to three out of every four.
Farmers go wireless
When they want to go on the Web, farmers are moving firmly to wireless and satellite connections and leaving behind the traditional terrestrial line, according to a biennial USDA report.
Political diversity grows in often-conservative rural America
A political rule of thumb is that rural America is socially and fiscally conservative, so Republicans fare well in rural districts. "Voting trends in this vast area are far from monolithic," say two University of New Hampshire researchers, who say there are important pockets of Democratic strength and they are gaining population.
Two of three rural counties gained jobs in past year
"Two out of every three rural counties gained jobs between June 2014 and June of this year," reports the Daily Yonder, drawing on data released by the Labor Department.
Rural unemployment rate is down
"Job gains in rural America have returned," says the Daily Yonder, citing Labor Department data that show there were 232,000 more jobs in rural counties than one year earlier.
Recreational amenities not as strong a draw for rural counties
So-called recreation counties - areas with parks, beautiful scenery and room for outdoor activities - are still the fastest-growing type of rural county, but their growth rate has slowed dramatically since the 2008-09 recession, says the Daily Yonder.
“Two different worlds based on population density”
Republican candidates for the U.S. House won in 82 percent of counties in last fall's general election "and Democrats did best in the most densely populated counties," says the Daily Yonder.
Counties with good broadband grow faster, says study
"Counties with better broadband access are adding population at 10 times the rate of counties that lack good broadband connections," says the Daily Yonder in summarizing a study that appears in the trade publication Broadband Communities.
Fewer jobs in 2 of 3 of rural counties than before recession
"There are 1,260 rural counties with fewer people working than seven years ago; 711 rural counties have more jobs than in November 2007," writes Bill Bishop at the Daily Yonder in looking at the recovery from the 2008-09 recession.
Do rural areas only vote Republican and cities Democratic?
One of the rules of thumb in politics is that rural America is populated by social and fiscal conservatives, so residents vote Republican. The Daily Yonder looked at vote totals in all 3,143 counties in the Nov 5 elections for U.S. House...
As rural moves right, Democrats face obstacles
Book-ending the Daily Yonder's data on Republicans winning a larger share of the rural vote in the mid-term election, political analyst Matt Barron says Democrats face problems ranging from poor recruitment of candidates...
Rural voters shifted toward Republicans, like rest of US
Rural Americans, often socially and fiscally conservative, tend to vote at higher rates for Republicans than the nation overall. This year, when the country leaned Republican, the rate went up in rural areas too, says the Daily Yonder.
Mississippi town sees gigabyte network as economic stimulus
With a population of 2,300, Quitman, Mississippi, will be one of 10 communities in the state to get a 1 gigabyte per second broadband network, says the Daily Yonder.
Low jobless rate in Plains states – a silver lining with a cloud
Unemployment rates in the Plains state are lower than the U.S. average during the continued slow recovery from recession, says the Daily Yonder, which summarizes a USDA report on the matter.
Home loan volume in small towns, rural areas remain low
Loans to purchase homes in small towns and in rural America are running far below pre-recession totals, says the Housing Assistance Council in a story on Daily Yonder.
Rural job growth is half of urban rate
Job growth in rural America was half the rate of urban areas over the past year, says the Daily Yonder, in a look at Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Half of Americans who don’t use Internet are rural residents
While only one-fifth of the U.S. population, rural Americans account for half of people who don't use the Internet, say the Daily Yonder, citing a McKinsey and Co report.