CBS television never produced the "Real Beverly Hillbillies." They did not explain why or say that it would not be produced. They just stopped talking about it.
We count that as a victory for rural America.
• Learn More
• Point of View
• Take Action
• Anatomy of Campaign
• For Press
|
 |
Facts about Rural America
Approximately 56.4 million people live in rural areas in
2001. If Rural America were a nation, it would rank just behind Italy,
France, and Great Britain in population.
Approximately one in five, or 20 percent, of the U.S. population is
rural.
The U.S. population has been predominately rural throughout most of its
history. The number of people living in rural America first dipped
below the metropolitan population in 1920.
The world’s population is still predominately rural, but metropolitan
population will exceed rural population internationally in 2005,
according to some estimates.
Rural America is not homogenous. Seventeen percent of rural residents
are non-white. Overall, non-whites make up 25 percent of the U.S.
population.
Rural America is home to nearly half of the Native American population,
15 percent of African Americans, 9 percent of Hispanics, and 5 percent
of Asians and Pacific Islanders.
Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic population in rural America.
Only 1.78 percent of rural residents earn their primary living from the
farm. Most work in service or manufacturing industries. Only about
600,000 American farms and ranches earn $40,000 or more per year.
Rural residents earn less than their metropolitan counterparts. In
2000, the rural median household income was $32,837, which is 27
percent less than the metropolitan median household income of $44.984.
In 2001 a rural worker earned only 80 percent of the wage a
metropolitan worker earned.
Rural Americans have a higher poverty rate than the rest of the nation.
In 2000 13.4 percent of rural residents fell below the federal poverty
line, while in metropolitan areas the figure was 10.8.
Nearly one in five rural children, or 18.7 percent, lives in poverty.
The figure for metropolitan children was 15.4 percent.
Rural areas have a higher proportion of uninsured and individually
insured residents than metropolitan areas.
Rural residents aged 25-34 are less likely to have a college degree but
more likely to have graduated from high school. In 1996 15.6 percent of
this rural age group had a baccalaureate degree, while 28.7 percent of
the metropolitan age group did. In same year, 70.1 percent of this
rural age group had a high school diploma, while 58.4 percent of this
metropolitan age group did.
The Center for Rural Strategies, 2003
|
