Rural areas in the United States, often referred to as rural America,[1] consists of approximately 97% of the United States' land area. An estimated 60 million people, or one in five residents (17.9% of the total U.S. population), live in rural America. Definitions vary from different parts of the United States government as to what constitutes those areas.
Rural areas tend to be poorer and their populations are older than in other parts of the United States because of rural flight, declining infrastructure, and fewer economic prospects. The declining population also results in less access to services, such as high-quality medical and education systems.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has four different systems for defining rural areas: Frontier and Remote (FAR) area codes, which define rural areas in four levels of increasing remoteness by ZIP code,[5]Rural–Urban Commuting Areas (RUCA), Urban Influence Codes (UICs), and Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC).[2][6]
Most rural counties are experiencing persistent population decline.[12]
Compared with households in urban areas, rural households had lower median household income ($52,386 compared with $54,296), lower median home values ($151,300 compared with $190,900), and lower monthly housing costs for households paying a mortgage ($1,271 compared with $1,561). A higher percentage owned their housing units "free and clear," with no mortgage or loan (44.0 percent compared with 32.3 percent).[13]
States with the highest median household incomes in rural areas were Connecticut ($93,382) and New Jersey ($92,972) (not statistically different from each other). The state with the lowest rural median household income was Mississippi ($40,200). Among rural areas, poverty rates varied from a low in Connecticut (4.6 percent) to a high in New Mexico (21.9 percent).[13]
About 13.4 million children under the age of 18 live in rural areas of the nation.[13]
Children in rural areas had lower rates of poverty than those in urban areas (18.9 percent compared with 22.3 percent), but more of them were uninsured (7.3 percent compared with 6.3 percent). A higher percentage of "own children" in rural areas lived in married-couple households (76.3 percent compared with 67.4 percent). ("Own children" includes never-married biological, step and adopted children of the couple).[13]
There are significant health disparities between urban and rural areas of the United States. The per capita rate of primary care physicians is lower in rural areas of the country (65 primary care physicians per 100,000 rural Americans, compared to 105 primary care physicians for urban and suburban Americans).[15] Rural Americans are also more likely than other Americans to suffer from chronic health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.[15]
A study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in 2015 analyzed data on U.S. youth suicide rates from 1996 to 2010. It found that the rates of suicides for rural Americans aged 10 to 24 was almost double the rate among their urban counterparts. This was attributed to social isolation, greater availability of guns, and difficulty accessing healthcare.[16]
Notwithstanding the economic and health challenges, a 2018 survey of rural adults found a majority felt they were better off financially than their parents at the same age. They thought their children would also experience such improvement. Forty percent said their lives came out better than they expected.[17]
↑ Montgomery, David H. "Methodology". github.com. GitHub. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
↑ ""Populism and Political Realignment"". Austin Community College District. Retrieved 2021-09-03. In the 1860s and 1870s the American agricultural community suffered from innumerable problems as the United States became increasingly urban and industrial. Farmers first sought to solve their own problems through the economic cooperatives founded by the Grange. When these self-help programs proved a failure, farmers began to demand that government respond to their plight. They increasingly turned to the Farmers Alliance, a new agrarian group which sought to pressure the major political parties and the Congress into adopting their demands. When, because of the nature of the Gilded Age party system, the Republicans and Democrats as well as Congress refused to respond or responded superficially, the Farmers Alliance evolved into a third political party known as the Populists. They were intent on wresting power from the Republicans and Democrats at both the state and federal level. While they failed to take over the national government through the electoral process, they would end the Gilded Age party system and prepare America for fundamental changes in government accomplished by others after the turn of the century.
The United States had an official estimated resident population of 333,287,557 on July 1, 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This figure includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia but excludes the population of five unincorporated U.S. territories as well as several minor island possessions. The United States is the third most populous country in the world. The Census Bureau showed a population increase of 0.4% for the twelve-month period ending in July 2022, below the world average annual rate of 0.9%. The total fertility rate in the United States estimated for 2022 is 1.665 children per woman, which is below the replacement fertility rate of approximately 2.1.
East Pasadena is an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 6,144 at the 2010 census, up from 6,045 at the 2000 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined East Pasadena as a census-designated place (CDP).
West Carson is an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 22,870 at the 2020 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined West Carson as a census-designated place (CDP).
Lake Los Angeles is a census-designated place (CDP) in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 12,328 at the 2010 census, up from 11,523 at the 2000 census. It is located 17 miles (27 km) east of Palmdale's Civic Center. According to the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance report of 2009, the Palmdale / Lancaster urban area has a population of 483,998, of which Lake Los Angeles is a part.
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for the average adult. The cost of housing, such as the rent for an apartment, usually makes up the largest proportion of this estimate, so economists track the real estate market and other housing cost indicators as a major influence on the poverty line. Individual factors are often used to account for various circumstances, such as whether one is a parent, elderly, a child, married, etc. The poverty threshold may be adjusted annually. In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries.
A family farm is generally understood to be a farm owned and/or operated by a family; it is sometimes considered to be an estate passed down by inheritance.
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are described as rural. Different countries have varying definitions of rural for statistical and administrative purposes.
Social class in the United States refers to the idea of grouping Americans by some measure of social status, typically by economic status. However, it could also refer to social status and/or location. The idea that American society can be divided into social classes is disputed, and there are many competing class systems.
Kansas's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in eastern Kansas, the district encompasses all of Anderson, Franklin, Johnson and Miami counties and parts of Wyandotte County. The district includes most of the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, including all of Overland Park, Leawood, Lenexa, Shawnee, Gardner, and Olathe and parts of Kansas City.
The Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia as defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The combined population is: 201,559, 218,615 & 235,232
Garfield Ridge is the 56th of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located 10 miles (16 km) from the Loop, it is on the city's far southwest side. As of 2017, the area had 36,396 inhabitants.
Clinton is a census-designated place in Findlay Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It had a population of 905 at the 2020 census. The community is located adjacent to the Pittsburgh International Airport within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
The homeownership rate in the United States is the percentage of homes that are owned by their occupants. In 2009, it remained similar to that in some other post-industrial nations with 67.4% of all occupied housing units being occupied by the unit's owner. Homeownership rates vary depending on demographic characteristics of households such as ethnicity, race, type of household as well as location and type of settlement. In 2018, homeownership dropped to a lower rate than it was in 1994, with a rate of 64.2%.
In the United States, poverty has both social and political implications. In 2020, there were 37.2 million people in poverty. Some of the many causes include income inequality, inflation, unemployment, debt traps and poor education. The majority of adults living in poverty are employed and have at least a high school education. Although the US is a relatively wealthy country by international standards, it has a persistently high poverty rate compared to other developed countries due in part to a less generous welfare system.
Rural–urban commuting areas (RUCAs) categorize U.S. census tracts based on measures of urbanization, population density, and daily commuting. RUCA codes range from urban (1) to highly rural (10). RUCAs are a classification scheme that use the standard Census Bureau urban area definitions in combination with commuting information to characterize all of the nation's census tracts. Census tracts are used to establish RUCAs because they are the smallest geographic building block for which reliable commuting data are available.
Modern social statistics of Native Americans serve as defining characteristics of Native American life, and can be compared to the average United States citizens’ social statistics. Areas from their demographics and economy to health standards, drug and alcohol use, and land use and ownership all lead to a better understanding of Native American life. Health standards for Native Americans have notable disparities from that of all United States racial and ethnic groups. They have higher rates of disease, higher death rates, and a lack of medical coverage.
The Pittsburgh–Weirton–Steubenville, PA–OH–WV Combined Statistical Area is a 13-county combined statistical (CSA) in the United States. The largest and principal in the area is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but the CSA includes population centers from three states: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio.
Food security in the Central Valley, California, United states is a widespread issue. The Central Valley is where most of the state's and the nation's agriculture is produced. Despite this, many people living and working in the valley's agriculture industry are food insecure in some way, with contributing factors including lack of food sources, lack of healthy food choices, or income barriers. About a third of many Central Valley counties' populations were documented as food insecure in 2009. Due to the lack of healthy food choices, high rates of obesity have also been found in the Central Valley.
Housing insecurity is the lack of security in an individual shelter that is the result of high housing costs relative to income, poor housing quality, unstable neighborhoods, overcrowding, and, but may not include, homelessness.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
