Last year 46.2 million people lived outside metropolitan areas, accounting for almost 15 percent of U.S. residents, continuing a two-year decline. "While hundreds of individual counties have lost population over the years, this is the first period of overall population decline in nonmetro America," says the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. For a video of a C-SPAN discussion of the phenomenon, click here.
Between July 2011 and July 2012, the non-metro population was estimated to have declined by 47,500 residents. Between July 2012 and 2013, it was estimated to have lost about 28,000. More than 1,200 non-metro counties are estimated to have lost population since 2010. Since the mid-1990s, non-metro areas have seen much less growth than metro areas, and the disparity has recently become greater. (Read more)
In Nebraska, years of rural population loss have left more than half of Nebraska's population in three counties: Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy, noted David Drozd of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Center for Public Affairs Research. Lawmakers are discussing what to do about it, Christine Scalora reports for The Associated Press.
Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus suggested establishing a new city close to the interchange of Interstates 80 and 76 in the western part of the state. "I think we need to just start talking about something, because western Nebraska is being evacuated by the fact that people have a hard time seeing an exciting future for it," Schumacher said. Sen. Kate Sullivan said the state is offering support to rural Nebraska, but it's incremental. "For example, a prison reform bill that just received first-round approval includes loan repayment assistance for attorneys who will practice in rural areas," Scalora writes. "The state also has a tax credit for beginning farmers."
Sullivan said rural communities need to work together, using resources effectively and drawing upon ideas from those who live in the area and know it best. Sen. Tyson Larson said that young leaders need to rise up and repopulate rural areas, although he understands that this can be difficult because of high land prices and property taxes. He suggested property tax relief as a potential encouragement for people to move back into agriculture.
Also important to note is that living in a small town offers benefits that a big city does not have to offer. Small town life offers "a true sense of community and a true sense of coming together on a lot of things," Larson said. (Read more)
In Nebraska, years of rural population loss have left more than half of Nebraska's population in three counties: Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy, noted David Drozd of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Center for Public Affairs Research. Lawmakers are discussing what to do about it, Christine Scalora reports for The Associated Press.
Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus suggested establishing a new city close to the interchange of Interstates 80 and 76 in the western part of the state. "I think we need to just start talking about something, because western Nebraska is being evacuated by the fact that people have a hard time seeing an exciting future for it," Schumacher said. Sen. Kate Sullivan said the state is offering support to rural Nebraska, but it's incremental. "For example, a prison reform bill that just received first-round approval includes loan repayment assistance for attorneys who will practice in rural areas," Scalora writes. "The state also has a tax credit for beginning farmers."
Sullivan said rural communities need to work together, using resources effectively and drawing upon ideas from those who live in the area and know it best. Sen. Tyson Larson said that young leaders need to rise up and repopulate rural areas, although he understands that this can be difficult because of high land prices and property taxes. He suggested property tax relief as a potential encouragement for people to move back into agriculture.
Also important to note is that living in a small town offers benefits that a big city does not have to offer. Small town life offers "a true sense of community and a true sense of coming together on a lot of things," Larson said. (Read more)
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