Large demographic shifts are reshaping America. The country is growing in numbers, it’s becoming more racially and ethnically diverse and the population is aging. But according to a new analysis by Pew Research Center, these trends are playing out differently across community types.? Urban areas are at the leading edge of racial and ethnic change, with nonwhites now a clear majority of the population in urban counties while solid majorities in suburban and rural areas are white. Urban and suburban counties are gaining population due to an influx of immigrants in both types of counties, as well as domestic migration into suburban areas. In contrast, rural counties have made only minimal gains since 2000 as the number of people leaving for urban or suburban areas has outpaced the number moving in.? And while the population is graying in all three types of communities, this is happening more rapidly in the suburbs than in urban and rural counties. Additionally, majorities of urban and rural residents say people who don’t live in their type of community have a negative view of those who do. In contrast, most suburbanites say people who don’t live in the suburbs have a positive view of those who do. Read more at Pew Research Center link below:
A lot has been written about the political, cultural, and economic divide between rural and urban America. But it turns out there are also many similarities between city and country dwellers. For example, they share many of the same problems, from sinking incomes to gender inequality. What do you have in common with Americans living in a different type of community than you?