Rural areas are troubled by narratives of brain drain and decline, but for most rural areas, the numbers simply don't back up those concerns.
"People who have grown up in and around small rural communities are used to hearing things like, 'small towns are dying,' 'we’re losing all our young people,' 'rural brain drain' and similar expressions," according to an article by Vicki Gerdes.
Gerdes, however, shares news of research by Kelly Asche, program coordinator for the Center for Small Towns at the University of Minnesota-Morris, who says these concerns in rural Minnesota simply aren't true, and "especially not in recent years." The first piece of evidence cited by Asche: rural population around the country has grown since 1970.
While Minnesota’s population statistics do show that rural areas are losing young people between the ages of 20-24, the same statistics also show that the only areas where this population is increasing are the communities where colleges and universities are located, Asche said.
The article provides additional insight about how different age demographics migrate between different types of communities at different stages in their lives.
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