Survey: more Americans say they want to live in rural areas

"An increasing number of Americans would prefer to live in a town or rural area as opposed to a city or the suburbs, a new Gallup poll found," Andrea Noble reports for Route Fifty. "A survey taken last month found that, if given the choice to live anywhere, 17 percent of Americans would prefer to reside in a town and 31% would prefer to live in a rural area. That’s compared to results from a 2018 survey, that found 12% of Americans would like to live in a town and 27% would like to live in a rural area." 

City dwellers' desire to get away from crowded cities during the pandemic may be partly responsible for the increasing interest in rural living. Two-thirds of people recently surveyed said they'd consider moving to a rural area if pandemic work-from-home policies were permanently adopted, Noble reports.

The influx of new remote workers could help struggling local economies, but rural areas would have to ensure robust, affordable broadband availability to attract newcomers.