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.

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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    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      21·
      4 months ago

      Really? I grew up there. Seriously. Born in Bloomington Hospital, went to BDLC, then Bloomington Montessori, then Batchelor Middle School, then BHS South (graduated in '95), then IU (dropped out because I’m a dummy). My mom still lives there, as do a ton of my friends.

      It is definitely more queer friendly than a lot of towns, but you go over to the west side of town, a place like Highland Village, and you walk down the street holding hands with your boyfriend, you’ll probably still get harassed at the very least.

      There’s still a ton of redneck townies there.

      That said, I have the misfortune of living in Terre Haute and we’re planning to retire in Bloomington (unless Trump wins, in which case we’re using my dual citizenship to get the fuck out of here) and my daughter is queer, so I’m glad we’ll be retiring in a place where she can basically feel safe.

      What floors me is that Terre Haute got a Pride Center and had its first Pride celebration after fucking Spencer.

      • interrobang@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        2·
        4 months ago

        Well to be clear were in Ohio now, so my standards for ‘queer/trans friendly’ arent high, but the area we hang out in has been nicer than our current place, more affordable, everything we want.

        Its no west Hollywood haha but its a start

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
          21·
          4 months ago

          Please don’t tell me you are in Chillicothe, because I was there for a while too. (And North Hollywood rather than West, which is on the other side of a mountain range).