- Younger Americans are moving to rural areas, reshaping demographics and economies.
- Census data shows a shift from cities to rural areas for people ages 25 to 44 since 2020.
America's younger workers don't want to be city slickers anymore. Instead, they're heading to rural areas.
Communities with under 250,000 residents have seen a growing influx of Gen Z and millennial movers. About 63% of counties classified as rural or in small metros had increases in this age demographic between 2020 and 2023 — compared to 27% between 2010 and 2013, based on an analysis by Hamilton Lombard, a demographer at the University of Virginia.
In particular, young people are flocking to rural communities in the Colorado Rockies, Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountains, and Montana's lakes, drawn by new work opportunities and the appeal of living surrounded by nature, Lombard's analysis showed.
This map shows the percentage change in every US county for those aged 25 to 24 between 2020 and 2023. Many of the biggest gainers are rural and exurban areas in the South and Mountain West.
The top 10 counties with the highest net percent increase between 2020 and 2023 of those aged 25 to 44 were all either rural or in metro areas with fewer than 250,000 residents.
On the other hand, cities have seen stagnant or declining populations among the 25-44 age group. Of the 10 most populous US counties, five had declines, while two stayed the same. Los Angeles County had a 4% net loss in this demographic, while Kings County — or Brooklyn — lost 8%.
Lombard said there's been a surge of young people moving to South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee, oftentimes for work. He also said young people are moving back to the Flint, Michigan, area after many moved out amid the water crisis.
"In Knoxville's case, some of that has to do with the return to nuclear power; that's where Oak Ridge was, and there's still a large nuclear industry," Lombard said. "In Huntsville, aerospace is taking off. There's huge battery technology going in along I-85 going from Atlanta up toward Spartansburg."
Indeed, the "Battery Belt" in the South has seen billions in manufacturing investments pouring in, including from South Korean firms looking to build up their own production infrastructure. A study from strategic communications firm Climate Power found that Georgia has added over 30,500 jobs since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Lombard said, citing IRS data, that new business applications rose 13% faster in rural counties and small metro areas than in larger urban areas.
In the 2010s, young people flocked to cities. Now they're leaving.
In the 2010s, Lombard said the US experienced the highest rate in over half a century of young adults leaving rural counties and small metro areas to move to large metro areas.
However, starting in 2017 — and accelerating in the first few years of the 2020s — younger people have shifted toward moving to small towns and rural areas. Since 2020, rural areas and smaller cities have attracted those 25 to 44 at the highest rate in almost a century, Lombard found. Even with many companies pushing for mandatory return-to-office policies, younger Americans continued moving to rural communities in 2023 at an accelerated pace.
All of these shifts come as the economy more broadly moves South. Southern states have already lured in wealthier residents, and population growth has boomed there — as has the region's economy. But the new data shows that while younger Americans might more broadly be moving South, it's not just to urban strongholds; there could also be a bonafide rural boom.
While Lombard acknowledged an influx of young people could drive prices up, he said many of these communities have experienced shrinking workforces and are thankful to have workers alleviate some shortages.
"It is tough if you don't own your home, and you have lots of people coming in and your rents go up," Lombard said. "Sometimes people have to move further out to be able to afford that. But overall, when you look at this trend, a lot of rural counties think it's something that's largely welcome, unless there's a massive flood coming in."
Are you a younger worker who moved into a rural area? Contact these reporters at nsheidlower@businessinsider.com and jkaplan@businessinsider.com.