States work to entice younger people back to rural communities and also attract new residents to live there

Stay Work Play NH's Policy and Pints series at Post and
Beam Brewing. (The Daily Yonder photo)

Some states are using new ways to get younger people to return to or join rural communities and put down roots. "States like Kansas, Nebraska, and New Hampshire are working hard to attract and retain younger generations," reports Caroline Tremblay for The Daily Yonder. The goal of each state's plan is to get previous rural residents to return and to attract new residents. To entice both groups, planners and policymakers have created platforms for conversations where younger people's ideas and voices are valued and used by decision makers.

In rural Kansas, the Kansas Sampler Foundation implemented a "PowerUp" identifier for younger residents "between the ages of 21 and 39ish," Tremblay explains. "A PowerUp is someone who is rural by choice. . . . Many PowerUps KSF has interviewed express wanting a sense of community, especially when it comes to raising kids, and a number have voiced entrepreneurial aspirations."

Nebraska's approach to gaining younger residents is to invite those who left to come home and add their valued gifts to their hometown communities. State activist Megan Helberg "is one of many spreading the message that young Nebraskans should go explore but then bring their greatness back," Tremblay reports. "In 2024, Helberg's senior class had six graduates, all of whom are heading off to college. But 75% are committed to coming back to help with an existing business or start one of their own."

New Hampshire has its own twist on helping younger people look at the state's rural places in a new way called Stay Work Play. The non-profit hosted conversational sessions that took place across the state's colorful brewery scene where state policymakers and planners could hear what younger residents needed to enjoy and stay in New Hampshire. "Unsurprisingly, housing and childcare were high on the list," Tremblay writes. "Stay Work Play is supporting greater investments in the state’s workforce housing fund and advocating for the ability to build smaller units on smaller lot sizes."