WASHINGTON – Federal and other experts are expressing concern over the results of a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture study that says 700 rural counties in the U.S. are experiencing unusually high rates of population loss. Although many rural areas are losing population, U.S.D.A. researcher John Cromartie said those high-loss rural counties have lost at least 10 percent of their populations in the last 20 years. There are two major factors for the population losses, he said. One is economic — a lack of jobs for young people, who leave the areas for jobs or education and don’t’ come back. However, the biggest reason is geographic, he said. Those counties hemorrhaging people are isolated and aren’t near larger cities, or there are no big-city amenities or recreational areas that attract tourists, he said. Cromartie said some of those counties are trying to fight back by aggressively recruiting people to live there.
Monday, Dec. 13
