This perceived divide is al-so
reflected in popular as-sumptions
about the COV-ID-
19 pandemic as web
searches for homes in ru-ral
communities have spiked, ostensibly
driven by individuals seeking to flee the
dangers of density.
This narrative fails to capture the
transformation taking place across
America and the pandemic threat. Ad-vances
in AI, robotics and biotechnology
are sparking job and population growth
in large metropolitan areas. But these
same technologies are transforming ru-ral
manufacturing, agriculture, remote
finance and logistics operations and
giving rise to new recreational com-munities
while some mid-sized urban
areas struggle.
As the COVID-19 pandemic demands
a reset of American economic policy the
opportunity exists to create a new, more
inclusive urban and rural agenda.
Urban vs. rural community,
winners and losers
A study I completed with my colleague
Karen King of changes in economic vi-tality
between urban and rural commu-nities
between 2001 and 2016 reveals
the complex state of urban and rural
communities. Urban America has driv-en
population and job growth over the
last two decades. Every urban coun-ty
has experienced population growth
between 2001 and 2016 while the ru-ral
population declined. But the decline
was not uniform. Nearly half of all rural
counties grew at a rate that exceed the
national average.
Similarly, while large metro areas ac-count
for over a third of the counties in
the top 10% for job growth between 2001
and 2016, rural counties not adjacent to
large metro areas had the second largest
group of counties in the top 10%. These
were counties located in states like the
Dakotas, Iowa, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
Similar patterns exist in the growth
of talent. Urban counties in large metro
areas saw the largest increase in col-lege
grads between 2010 and 2016. But
8 of the 10 counties that saw the larg-
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