Rural population fell a bit over past decade while metro rose

Screenshot of interactive map produced by The Daily Yonder

Daily Yonder graph, adapted by The Rural Blog

The populations of non-metropolitan counties fell slightly from 2010 to 2020 while populations in other areas grew, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates made public in advance of the full decennial census count.

There were 238,000 fewer people living in non-metropolitan counties in 2020 than in 2010, the Census Bureau estimates. That amounts to a half of a percent decline in the total number of people living in rural counties (46.2 million people in 2020). Rural, or nonmetropolitan, counties lost population for seven out of the last 10 years," Bill Bishop reports for The Daily Yonder. "The nation’s medium-sized and large cities showed the largest gains in population in the decade. The core counties of these metropolitan areas of 250,000 or more residents grew by 7.8%, or 10.3 million people. Suburban counties in these larger metro areas gained 9%, or 9.3 million people. Smaller cities (under 250,000) gained 1.4 million, or 5%. Rural counties lost population."

Click here for more graphs and analysis from the Yonder, including an interactive, county-level map.