Americans continued to move to smaller towns and cities, resulting in a fourth straight year of growth in rural areas.
Rural communities in the United States grew for a fourth straight year, according to Census estimates.
“Nonmetropolitan, or rural, counties grew by 134,000 residents between 2023 and 2024, reversing a decade-long trend of population decline that happened between 2010 and 2020.” Although deaths still outnumber births in rural areas, a phenomenon known as natural decrease, more people moved to rural areas than the number of people who left.
According to Melotte, “A similar trend occurred in smaller metropolitan areas. Metro counties with populations fewer than 250,000, referred to simply as small metros in the table below, lost just over 2,000 residents to natural decrease in 2024. These counties, however, also gained an additional 226,200 residents by people moving in.” Only the nation’s largest and medium-sized metros had growth that was a combination of in-migration and natural growth.
The South saw the largest growth, with two-thirds of the rural population growth happening there. The South gained an additional 130,100 residents in 2024, resulting in a net growth of 88,200 people after natural decrease. “In terms of percent change, however, the largest growth last year happened in the Interior Northwest. Between 2023 and 2024, the Interior Northwest, which includes the states of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, grew by 12,000 residents, a 0.68% increase.”
FULL STORY: Migration to Rural America Resulted in Population Growth Last Year, Census Shows
The Hollowing Out of Rural Georgia
America’s rural population is declining for the first time in history. In Georgia, it amounts to a demographic crisis.
Rural Communities Growing Faster Than Cities
After a decade of sustained population loss, rural America is bouncing back thanks to shifting demographics and pandemic-induced migration.
US Population Growth Slowest Since 2020 Due to Declining Immigration
Net international migration dropped from 2.7 million to 1.3 million in the year spanning July 2024 to July 2025.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association