• Young Americans are moving to rural areas, reshaping demographics and economies.
• Census data shows a shift of people aged 25 to 44 from cities to rural areas since 2020.
• Rural districts saw new businesses and income growth in high-amenity areas.

America’s young workers no longer want to be city slickers. Instead, they go to: rural areas.

Communities with populations of less than 250,000 have seen a growing influx of Gen Zers and millennials. Approximately 63% of counties classified as rural or small metro areas saw increases in this age demographic between 2020 and 2023; this rate was 27% between 2010 and 2013. analysis By demographer Hamilton Lombard of the University of Virginia.

Young people, especially, are flocking to rural communities in Colorado Rocky MountainsGeorgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains and Montana’s lakes, Lombard’s analysis showed the appeal of new job opportunities and the appeal of living in harmony with nature.

This map shows the percent change in each U.S. county for those ages 25 to 24 between 2020 and 2023. Most of the biggest gains are in rural and exurban areas in the South and West Mountains.

The top 10 districts with the highest net percentage increase Between 2020 and 2023, all 25 to 44-year-olds lived either in rural areas or metropolitan areas with populations of fewer than 250,000 people.

On the other hand, there is a stagnation or decrease in the population in the 25-44 age group in cities. Among the 10 most populous people There were declines in five U.S. counties, and remained the same in two. Los Angeles County experienced a net loss of 4% in this demographic, while Kings County or Brooklyn lost 8%.

Lombard said an increasing number of young people are moving to South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee, often for work. He also said young people are moving back to the Flint, Mich., area after many moved away due to the water crisis.

“In Knoxville’s case, part of it has to do with the return to nuclear power; Oak Ridge was there and still has a large nuclear industry,” Lombard said. “The aviation industry is developing rapidly in Hunsville. A huge battery technology is used on the I-85 line from Atlanta to Spartansburg.”

As a matter of fact, the “Battery Belt” in the South was seen Billions of dollars of production investment It is flocking, including from South Korean companies that want to establish their own production infrastructures. A study from strategic communications firm Climate Power to create HE Georgia More than 30,500 new jobs have been added since the Inflation Reduction Act was enacted.

New business applications are growing 13% faster in rural counties and small metro areas than in large urban areas, Lombard said, citing IRS data.

In the 2010s, young people flocked to cities. They are leaving now.

Lombard said the 2010s saw the highest rate of young adults leaving rural areas and small metropolitan areas in the United States in more than half a century to move to major metropolitan areas.

But starting in 2017 and accelerating in the first few years of the 2020s, young people slipped towards moving to small towns and rural areas. Lombard found that since 2020, rural areas and small cities have attracted people ages 25 to 44 at the highest rate in almost a century. Even as many companies push for mandatory return-to-office policies, young Americans have kept going moving to rural communities More quickly in 2023.

All of these changes come as the broader economy shifts southward. Southern states have already attracted wealthier residentsand population growth thundered there – just like the economy of the region. But new data suggests that young Americans may be heading south more generally, but not just toward the urban strongholds; it could also be a well-intentioned rural boom.

While Lombard acknowledged that the influx of young people could drive up prices, he said many of these communities are experiencing a reduction in their workforce and are grateful that workers are easing some of the shortages.

“It’s tough if you don’t own your home and you have a lot of people coming into your home and your rents are going up,” Lombard said. “Sometimes people have to move farther away to afford it. But overall, when you look at this trend, a lot of rural counties think this is largely a welcome thing, as long as there’s no major flooding coming.”

Are you a young worker moving to the countryside? Contact these reporters at: [email protected] And [email protected].