Landwise, rural American counties make up 72 percent of the nation's surface area. In terms of people, just 15 percent of the population lived in these counties last year.
Population growth in nonmetro areas has been significantly lower than in metro regions since the mid-1990s, but that gap has widened noticeably in recent years. Young people seeking jobs in bigger cities and an overall aging U.S. population both contribute to this trend.
The movement of people to better jobs in more populated areas is a sign of a healthy, efficient national economy, noted experts in an article from The Wall Street Journal. However, population losses mean ongoing challenges for rural towns, including shrinking tax bases and limited community services.
Last year, nearly 60 percent of rural counties saw their population decline, up from 50 percent in 2009 and 40 percent in the late 1990s. Almost eight in 10 counties that lost population over the past three years were outside of metropolitan areas.
Not all rural areas are facing this trend, however. While more than 1,200 nonmetro counties have lost population since 2010, about 700 saw growth, according to USDA data. North Dakota, for example, has become the nation's fastest growing state in the wake of an oil-drilling boom.
Other portions of the Great Plains have seen population and employment growth due to the discovery and extraction of energy resources as well. As of last summer, census data showed that six of America's 10 fastest growing metro areas were in or near the Great Plains, including Fargo, N.D., and Odessa, Texas.
