Many rural counties, mainly those with recreation amenities, are growing again; 80% of such counties gained in 2021

Custer National Forest in Powder River County, Montana,
near the state's southeast corner (U.S. Forest Service photo)

After the first decade in which U.S. rural population fell, many rural counties are growing again, but the growth is concentrated in counties with recreational amenities.

"In an article in Rural Sociology, University of New Hampshire demographer Ken Johnson says that about a third of nonmetro counties gained population from 2020 to 2021, despite a spike in deaths from Covid-19," reports Sarah Melotte of The Daily Yonder. "The growth was most pronounced in counties like Powder River, Montana, where recreational activities like hunting are a major part of the economy, or where there are attractive natural amenities like mountains, lakes, and seashores."

Powder River County is quintessential Montana, big-sky country with prime attractions, Melotte notes: "Visitors travel from all over the country to hunt big game." While visitors come and go, some have stayed. "Reports from the U.S. Postal Service show that 37 people moved to the area between 2020 and 2021, compared to 15 people between 2018 and 2019. The numbers may seem small, but they amount to 2% growth last year." The county's population fell 3% from 2010 to 2020. but grew 1.9% in 2021, "from 1,682 in 2020 to 1,702," Melotte reports. "That growth would not have occurred if it were not for migration, since deaths outnumbered births."

Overall, "Rural, or nonmetropolitan, counties grew by 0.13% from 2020-21, according to Census estimates," Melotte reports. "Johnson found that almost all of rural growth happened in retirement destinations or in counties with economies dependent on recreation; 80% of recreation and retirement-dependent counties experienced population growth because of migration between 2020 and 2021, compared to 36% of counties dependent on manufacturing and 43% of counties dependent on farming."

Daily Yonder map