Examines rural growth of 1970s and 1980s, suggesting ongoing movement of middle class to small towns and rural areas. Describes benefits and problems associated with increasing urban to rural migration. Describes community responses designed to preserve rural integrity. Includes statistics and maps showing population changes. (TES)

Increased migration to the sunbelt and the metropolitan-nonmetropolitan "turnaround" represent departures from longstanding redistribution trends. Although these patterns have been examined from a number of perspectives, their consequences for individiual metropolitan areas have not been brought to light. In the present study, stream-disaggregated…

Rapid rural outmovement began around 1940. This trend continued in the 1950's as farm adjustments rapidly took place and the worker-short cities welcomed rural manpower. The majority of nonmetro counties had greater retention of population in the 1960's. The peak of potential migration was reached and passed by the mid-1960's. Due to emerging…

The industrial composition of employment growth in urban areas in the 1960s is contrasted with that in rural areas to assess recent strengths and weaknesses of rural economies. The relationship between aggregate labor force growth and aggregate job opportunities in rural areas is analyzed to determine the adequacy of employment opportunities to…

Summarizes population redistribution trends in nonmetropolitan areas between 1980 and 1987. Examines the contribution of net migration and natural increase to rural growth, the change in counties based on their involvement in the 1970s population turnaround, and the impact of variables typically associated with population change. Contains 27…

Consequences of population turnaround for rural economic development are examined in a 9-county region of Northern Lower Michigan. Data from census reports and 374 usable responses to a questionnaire mailed to a random sample of property owners drawn from 1982 county tax assessment rolls were used to test competing hypotheses about rural…

To explain the migration turnaround of the 1970s, it has been suggested that the United States may be approaching an equilibrium state in the exchange of populations between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. As metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas have become more similar in population composition and industrial and socioeconomic…

This analysis addresses the need for including age-structure effects in migration analysis as important for determining effects of a demographic process on an area's socioeconomic characteristics. It examines: (1) patterns of age-specific net migration across age groups for Texas' 254 counties in 1960-1970 and 1970-1980 using cluster analysis and,…

All through the 1970-1980 decade, growth of population took place in the rural and small town areas of the United States where very little had occurred in earlier recent decades. In general, the trend can be viewed as one that was primarily socially motivated but facilitated by improved rural economic conditions. By contrast, in the first 3 years…

Study objectives were to: compare in-migrants with non-migrants in order to ascertain the migrants' demographic and socioeconomic contributions to rural areas; analyze the patterns of this in-migration to determine the presence and extent of return migration; contrast returned migrants with in-migrants who had no prior residence in the rural area;…

As a result of trends toward increasing instead of decreasing population growth in rural areas (as confirmed by the 1980 Census of Population), a sample of 2,752 rural residents from 967 households in 9 West Virginia counties were surveyed in 1981 to gain information that might be useful in public policy, education, and related programs. The…