A longitudinal survey, conducted 1979-88, indicates that young adults leaving nonmetro areas followed complex migration patterns normally involving multiple moves, including 15% who returned from cities to counties of origin. Rural outmigration rates and patterns differed by race and ethnicity, income, and geographic proximity to urban areas.…

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data were used to analyze the educational goals and attainment of rural and urban youth; boys and girls; and advantaged, average, and disadvantaged youth. Boys and girls had similar educational aspirations and attainment, but family background characteristics mattered more to girls, especially rural girls.…

Rural high school graduates are less likely to graduate from college than their urban counterparts, mostly because they are less likely to attend college. Half of rural college attendees leave home and do not return by age 25. Those that do return are drawn largely by home ties and intervening life choices rather than local job opportunities.…

This report focuses on the education and work experiences of rural youth during the emerging adult years (age 20 to 24), as they make the transition from adolescence to adulthood. It documents how rural emerging adults combine work and school and experience idleness, closely examines their educational attainment, and compares their experiences…