Migration data from the Current Population Survey indicate a small population gain for rural areas during the period from 1990 to 1994. Examination of data by age, education, and poverty level suggests a reversal of the "brain drain" trend of the 1980s, as more working-age people with children and college graduates move into rural areas,…

From 1995 through 1997, the rural population increased, especially in the South and West, due to net migration from urban areas. The largest rural gains were among people ages 26 to 30, including many young families. College graduates were well represented among rural in-migrants. Includes migration data by age group, educational attainment,…

In the late 1990s, the nonmetro population continued to increase from net migration but at a lower rate than previously. Compared to the early 1990s, the nonmetro West experienced a substantial drop in net migration during 1996-99. Metro-to-nonmetro migration also dropped substantially among college graduates and was higher for low-wage workers…

During 1999-2001, the combined effects of far fewer rural inmigrants and many more outmigrants led to the first significant nonmetro population loss since the 1980s. The rural West showed the greatest percentage loss through migration, and only the rural Midwest showed a gain during the period. Nonmetro college graduates showed a large decline,…