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…

In Pennsylvania, high-poverty nonmetro counties are attracting additional poor immigrants, especially the least educated, at the same time that college graduates are showing a net outmigration from rural areas. This pattern increases the strain on rural educational and social services. Survey results suggest that the poor move primarily for…

Growth in nonmetropolitan areas is expected to cause some of the most important land use debates of the 1980's. This volume is intended to provide professionals in the land use field with a better understanding of the extent and nature of population change in nonmetropolitan areas, the type of development associated with this change, and the…

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…

The hearing's purpose was to begin building a record, from a national perspective, regarding older Americans who live in smaller towns and rural areas. It is not fully known what the real impact is of such matters as lack of transportation, nutritional deficiencies, distance to and shortage of health care, non-availability of adult education…

Examining the reversal in out migration since 1970, this study of seven coal-producing, non-metropolitan counties in Eastern Kentucky explored employment related reasons for moving and compared socioeconomic characteristics of residents and migrants. Viewed as typical of major social and economic trends in central Appalachia, Kentucky was chosen…

From 1950 to 1970, the shift from agriculture to industry dominated Ashe County, North Carolina, isolated on the Blue Ridge by rugged terrain and severe weather. Rural farm population declined by 2/3 but rural non-farm population tripled. Many new industries helped shift the bulk of the work force to industry. In 1950, 45% of the work force farmed…