Half of All Rural Counties Are Losing Population. Eastern Montana is a Hotspot. What Is Contributing to Those Declines?

For years, the dominant headline has been that rural America is growing again. And that’s partly true. But zooming in reveals a more complex picture.

Counties in pink illustrate where outmigration is driving the majority of the population decline. In rural Alaska, for example, nearly 10,000 residents were lost from outmigration alone. Other hotspots of outmigration included West Texas, Eastern Montana, North and South Dakota, and Southeastern Kansas.