Analysis of annual county-level migration estimates indicates that in recent decades, migrants to the rural South have persistently favored areas with specific attractions: urban access, high-tech jobs, and favorable climates. As migrants are younger and better educated than the overall population, such patterns exacerbate rural development…

A quarter of nonmetro counties lost population in the 1990s, but population loss was not related to poverty rate or low educational levels, perhaps because low-skill workers can no longer expect better wages in urban areas. Population loss was related to low population density and remoteness (which decrease access to services), lack of natural…