Rural America At A Glance, 2008 Edition highlights the most recent indicators of social and economic conditions in rural areas for use in developing policies and programs to assist rural areas. The 2008 edition focuses on employment, poverty, population change, and demographic characteristics of nonmetro areas.

After several years of moderate growth, nonmetro employment growth slowed sharply in 2007 and early 2008, as did metro employment growth. Nonmetro unemployment rose in the second quarter of 2008 to the highest level in nearly 3 years. The economic slowdown that began in 2007 was widely attributed to two major factors: high energy and commodity prices and tighter credit due to the home mortgage crisis. To date, it appears that nonmetro banks have tightened credit less than metro banks have, and the subprime crisis is having less of a direct impact in most nonmetro areas than in metro areas.

In 2007, the overall poverty rate was 12.5 percent, but 18 percent of children younger than 18 were poor. Further, the poverty rate is greater for children in families living in more sparsely settled rural areas. Nonmetro children also have higher mortality rates than do their metro counterparts in all age groups, and poor children who reside in nonmetro areas tend to have higher rates of obesity, injury, socioemotional difficulty, and moderate to severe health conditions than do poor metro children.

Between July 2000 and July 2006, the nonmetro population increased by 0.4 percent per year, compared with 1.1 percent per year in metro areas. Most of this difference is due to migration. Population change varies significantly among nonmetro counties, with most losing population despite the overall gain. Counties experiencing population loss are found throughout the country but dominate certain regions.

Hispanic populations in nonmetro America continue to grow rapidly; but the rate of growth for Hispanics has dropped considerably since the 1990s. Recent population data indicate that non-Hispanic Whites made up 81 percent of the nonmetro population, a decline of about 1 percentage point since 2000.

The largest minority groups are Blacks and Hispanics, with 8 percent and 6 percent of the nonmetro population, respectively.

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United States Department of Agriculture
Economic Research Service
Economic Information Bulletin Number 40
October 2008

More Research on Rural America at ERS . . .
USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) analyzes ongoing changes in rural areas and assesses Federal, State, and local strategies to enhance economic opportunity and quality of life for rural Americans. Included in this report are current indicators of social and economic conditions in rural areas.

The following recent publications feature research on rural America:
“Education’s Role in the Metro-Nonmetro Earnings Divide,” by Lorin Kusmin, Robert Gibbs, and Timothy Parker, Amber Waves, February 2008, pp. 30-35.
www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/February08/Features/EducationRole.htm

“Defining the ‘Rural’ in Rural America,” by John Cromartie and Shawn Bucholtz, Amber Waves, June 2008, pp. 28-34.
www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/June08/Features/RuralAmerica.htm

Profile of Hired Farmworkers, A 2008 Update, by William Kandel, ERR-60, USDA, Economic Research Service, July 2008.
www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR60/

Economic Research Service: Overview
The Economic Research Service is a primary source of economic information and research in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With 450 employees, ERS conducts a research program to inform public and private decisionmaking on economic and policy issues involving food, farming, natural resources, and rural development.

ERS's highly trained economists and social scientists conduct research, analyze food and commodity markets, produce policy studies, and develop economic and statistical indicators. The agency’s research program is aimed at the information needs of USDA, other public policy officials, and the research community. ERS information and analysis is also used by the media, trade associations, public interest groups, and the general public.

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