Rural America is booming, but the population growth that’s boosting local economies is also putting a strain on everything from schools to housing and roads.
The influx — which started during the pandemic — has continued even as Covid restrictions have lifted. The latest government data released just last month points to a second year of increases in 2022 after years of declines.
The trend is sparking resentment as house prices in the top 10 rural counties that have seen the biggest population increases surging more than 40% over the past three years. Schools are overloaded and the shift is even impacting farmland prices.
“There’s a lot of resentment,” said Maggie Doherty, a writer and columnist who lives in Flathead County, Montana. “There’s bumper stickers that say ‘Montana’s full’ or ‘Don’t California my Montana.’”
The number of people living in non-metro areas outgrew the urban population for the first time in three decades in 2021, and the rural population expanded again last year. But growth wasn’t evenly distributed, with the top 10 counties with the largest population gains growing by […]
I have watched this trend slowly occur on the east coast over many years. It is interesting watch urban dwellers move to rural locations and then slowly transform those locations into a replica of what they were seeking escape from. Inevitably, it is the locals who pay the price and are generally pushed out. It is extremely rare for the former urban dweller to adapt to local culture. This is what creates resentment and now it is occurring on a massive scale. On the bright side rural areas hold skills and values which will be needed for survival as the climate crisis progresses. If this can be recognized and integrated, it will be a boon to everyone. If the skills and values of rural America are not valued the movement of urbanites to rural areas bringing with it excessive consumerism will be seen as a cancer spreading across the land.