Examines the contribution of various-sized places and rural areas to aggregate United States and nonmetropolitan change from 1950 to 1980 using decennial census data. Shows that rural areas were growing faster than urban areas during the 1970s, accounting for over 80 percent of aggregate nonmetropolitan change. (NEC)

The 1970's ushered in widespread population deconcentration, seen in the pervasive shift of the United States population down the size-of-place scale. To document population changes in various sized places in the country from 1950 to 1980 and to show the pervasiveness of urban-rural deconcentration in nonmetropolitan areas, researchers examined…

Compositional change in migration streams between nonmetropolitan and metropolitan areas are examined in relation to the post-1970 migration "turnaround." Analysis focuses on (1) changes in the sex, age, educational and occupational selectivity, and interchange of migration, and (2) the impact of migration on population composition. (Author)