The rural U.S. population is growing, but not as fast as the nation’s overall population.
A net 134,000 people were added to nonmetro areas between July 2023 and July 2024, bringing the rural population to 46.2 million, but the rural share of the nation’s total population slipped from 13.7% to 13.6% over that time, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service.
The metro U.S. population increased by 1.08% over the same period, ERS reported Tuesday.
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“The total nonmetro population increased each year from 2020 to 2024 (figure 1), driven by positive net migration (more people moving in than moving out). However, net migration from 2022 to 2024 has remained relatively stable,” ERS said.
Metro areas have consistently grown faster both because of net migration and because of net number of births and deaths.
