Americans are leaving rural counties at higher rates than seen in the past, with the South being hit the hardest
April 2, 2025
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Rural areas of the U.S., particularly in the South, are seeing residents leave.
Rural areas of the U.S. are losing residents as people continue to move to larger metropolitan areas for better lifestyle and employment opportunities. This is especially prevalent in the South. In fact, five of the top 10 counties experiencing population declines are in Mississippi, according to housing market platform Realtor.com. Yazoo County, Miss., saw a 6.4% drop in its population between 2023 and 2024, while nearby Sunflower County has lost 10.8% of its residents since 2020. Similar trends are occurring in Georgia, Alabama, and Oregon, where smaller counties with at least 20,000 residents are struggling to retain their populations.
"A lot of people have moved out because there just isn’t much happening here—no real job opportunities or economic growth,” says Reginald Wells, a local real estate agent with The Agency Haus LLC. "Most homes are being rented rather than sold. People inherit homes or move away and end up renting them out because they don’t want to come back to live here."Read more
