Population change by metropolitan/nonmetropolitan status, 1971-2024

After a decade of population loss in the 2010s, the population in nonmetropolitan (rural) areas has increased each year since 2020. The growth is from migration, which has offset the population loss in nonmetro areas, caused by natural change (birth and death). Falling birth rates and an aging population have steadily slowed population growth in nonmetro counties over time. Each year since 2017, nonmetro areas have recorded more deaths than births. In the 2010s, nonmetro counties also experienced more out-migration than in-migration, further contributing to population loss. The migration pattern changed in 2020. Between 2020 and 2021, nonmetro counties experienced domestic migration gains (migration from within the United States). Since 2021, migration gains to nonmetro counties have continued; however, the gains have increasingly been because of a mix of domestic and international migration. Between 2023 and 2024, almost half of net migration gains in nonmetro counties were because of international migration.