For the first time in a decade, the population of rural America is growing again. That’s according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service’s Rural America at a Glance Report, which examines trends such as population, poverty, housing insecurity, and employment in rural America. In the past, this report has seen a decline in rural population, however, USDA’s Thomas Worth says this is changing.
“The rural population is growing. From mid-2020 to mid-2022, the rural population increased by a quarter percent. This is a period of renewed growth after years of either declines or near zero growth during the previous decade from 2010 to 2020.”
On top of growing populations in rural America, the population is experiencing declines in poverty. In 2021, persistent poverty in nonmetro counties dropped 9.7 percent compared to a decade ago. Worth adds that clean energy is also adding employment opportunities to these counties.
“About 1 percent of all nonmetro or rural employment is in clean energy industries with Texas accounting for the largest single share among U.S. states.”
According to the USDA, employment in rural America has also almost fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to grow.
