this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2024
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There is a deepening sense of fear as population loss accelerates in rural America. The decline of small-town life is expected to be a looming topic in the presidential election.

America’s rural population began contracting about a decade ago, according to statistics drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau.

A whopping 81 percent of rural counties had more deaths than births between 2019 and 2023, according to an analysis by a University of New Hampshire demographer. Experts who study the phenomena say the shrinking baby boomer population and younger residents having smaller families and moving elsewhere for jobs are fueling the trend.

According to a recent Agriculture Department estimate, the rural population did rebound by 0.25 percent from 2020 to 2022 as some families decamped from urban areas during the pandemic.

But demographers say they are still evaluating whether that trend will continue, and if so, where. Pennsylvania has been particularly afflicted. Job losses in the manufacturing and energy industries that began in the 1980s prompted many younger families to relocate to Sun Belt states. The relocations helped fuel population surges in places like Texas and Georgia. But here, two-thirds of the state’s 67 counties have experienced a drop in population in recent years.

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[–] CherenkovBlue@lemmy.myserv.one 17 points 4 months ago (9 children)

Really? That's your go-to glib answer? No discussion about education opportunities or job prospects? No question about why the downturn was really noted in 2014? Just immediately jumping to the conclusion that rural people MUST be hateful?

Disappointing.

[–] lennybird@lemmy.world 64 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

Look I'm from such a small Pennsylvania town. Rural Appalachian. Coal mines and specialty steel production most notably.

Both of you are right, and the problems feed back into each other to some extent.

After my family migrated west more than a decade ago, every single time we go back to PA to visit family, attend a funeral and so forth — it just keeps looking more and more run down. Honestly the place is a shit-hole nowadays. I'm sad to see my old county went for Trump by 70%. You couldn't pay me enough to move my family back.

The young, educated, smart, and compassionate folks leave and GTFO asap — both for jobs, and for more diversity and tolerance. The sad part is I remember watching a slew of documentaries in the early 2000s forewarning of what would happen to these small-towns...

  • Because of shipping manufacturing off elsewhere.
  • Because of big box corporate eating up local shops, eroding community and draining out the money.
  • Because administrations were unwilling to break the hard news that things like coal mines wouldn't last forever and we'd have to help retrain and get them to new modern job sectors.

No doubt these communities feel the pressures they're complaining about; they've just been exploited by right-wing media about who is responsible: the southern migrant more desperate than them, the trans, the homosexuals, the liberals, etc...

@FlyingSquid is also right that there is FAR more bigotry among these communities as well; and that ties back to not being well-traveled, our education system collapsing, and the right-wing fearmongering machine.

Edit: Shit, Inside Out 3 should be about being inside the head of a MAGA supporter.

[–] samus12345@lemmy.world 18 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Inside Out 3 should be about being inside the head of a MAGA supporter.

Pixar doesn't make horror movies.

[–] Ragnarok314159@sopuli.xyz 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It would just be five Rage characters screaming at each other.

[–] hydrospanner@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago

Knocked it out of the park with this comment.

Sincerely,

Someone originally from the same town as you, basically.

[–] pixeltree@lemmy.blahaj.zone 32 points 4 months ago

Uhhhhh, I don't care much for their response either but like a solid 80% of rural houses are flying trump flags, even in states like new york. You can pretty safely assume that old rural people are hateful.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 28 points 4 months ago

You're right, it's probably one of those rural Republican-voting towns full of residents who love queer people and migrants.

[–] coffeecoffeecoffee89@lemmy.world 18 points 4 months ago

I left because of the bigotry and hate. I work remotely and don't have kids. That is the only thing stopping me.

Diversity leads to education opportunities and jobs. Hate and discrimination are the reason there are no jobs and shitty education. Please stop white washing our society. The hate is a cancer.

[–] Dkarma@lemmy.world 14 points 4 months ago

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time...and every time after.

These assholes don't change.

[–] lennybird@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Look I'm from such a small Pennsylvania town. Rural Appalachian. Coal mines and specialty steel production most notably.

Both of you are right, and the problems feed back into each other to some extent.

After my family migrated west more than a decade ago, every single time we go back to PA to visit family, attend a funeral and so forth — it just keeps looking more and more run down. Honestly the place is a shit-hole nowadays. I'm sad to see my old county went for Trump by 70%. You couldn't pay me enough to move my family back.

The young, educated, smart, and compassionate folks leave and GTFO asap — both for jobs, and for more diversity and tolerance. The sad part is I remember watching a slew of documentaries in the early 2000s forewarning of what would happen to these small-towns...

  • Because of shipping manufacturing off elsewhere.
  • Because of big box corporate eating up local shops, eroding community and draining out the money.
  • Because administrations were unwilling to break the hard news that things like coal mines wouldn't last forever and we'd have to help retrain and get them to new modern job sectors.

No doubt these communities feel the pressures they're complaining about; they've just been exploited by right-wing media about who is responsible: the southern migrant more desperate than them, the trans, the homosexuals, the liberals, etc...

@FlyingSquid is also right that there is FAR more bigotry among these communities as well; and that ties back to not being well-traveled, our education system collapsing, and the right-wing fearmongering machine.

Edit: Shit, Inside Out 3 should be about being inside the head of a MAGA supporter.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

You're right, it's probably one of those rural Republican-voting towns full of residents who love queer people and migrants.

[–] tiredofsametab@kbin.run 1 points 4 months ago

That was true of the small Ohio town I grew up in. Tons of anti-semitism, racism, hatred of non-straights, hatred of non-christians, etc. Most of the jobs were in agriculture and manufacturing. I no longer live in the US but, if I had to move back, I don't think you could pay me enough to live in that place again.