Economic Research Service

Economic Information Bulletin Number 261

November 2023

By James C. Davis, John Cromartie, Tracey Farrigan, Brandon Genetin, 

Austin Sanders, and Justin B. Winikoff

Rural

at a Glance

2023 Edition

America
Recommended citation format for this publication:

Davis, J. C., Cromartie, J., Farrigan, T., Genetin, B., Sanders, A., & Winikoff, J. B. (2023). Rural America at a Glance 2023 Edition 

(Report No. EIB-261). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. 

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T

he U.S. rural population is growing again after a decade of overall population loss, with 

growth of approximately a quarter percent from 2020 to 2022. This growth occurred 

because rural in-migration was larger than declines in the natural rate (the number 

of births compared with the number of deaths) of population growth. The rural population 

is also experiencing declines in poverty. In 2021, 9.7 percent fewer nonmetropolitan counties experienced persistent poverty (20 percent or more of the population had poverty level 

household incomes in each of the last four decennial Census years) compared with a decade 

earlier. Still, more than half of extremely low-income nonmetropolitan renter households experienced housing insecurity. This issue was particularly acute for American Indian or Alaska 

Native and Hispanic households. This report examines recent issues such as rural population 

and migration trends, poverty, housing insecurity, employment, and clean energy jobs. The 

report finds that rural employment levels and annual growth rates nearly returned to those 

seen in the years prior to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Finally, highlighting an 

emerging employment area of interest, approximately 1 percent of nonmetropolitan workers 

hold clean energy jobs. 
2 Rural America at a Glance

Overview

The U.S. population residing in nonmetropolitan areas in July 2022 was 46 million people, or 13.8 percent of 

the U.S. population.1

 The nonmetropolitan population grew approximately a quarter percent from mid-2020 

through mid-2022, a period of renewed growth after declining or near-zero annual growth rates between 2010 

and 2020. The increases in nonmetropolitan population resulted from gains in net domestic migration. These 

gains exceeded natural declines due to more deaths than births in the same period. Most nonmetropolitan 

counties experienced net domestic in-migration, particularly counties located near large metro areas and in 

recreation and retirement destinations. However, 42 percent of nonmetropolitan counties decreased in population from net domestic out-migration. 

The share of the nonmetropolitan population experiencing poverty or housing insecurity is a key indicator of 

population well-being. Of particular interest are nonmetropolitan counties that are experiencing persistent 

poverty, defined as counties with poverty rates greater than 20 percent over the prior three decades (specific 

definition provided on pages 10–11). Of the 270 nonmetropolitan persistent poverty counties in 2021, 55 are 

no longer persistent poverty counties compared to 2011. Only 26 became newly persistent poverty counties 

over the same period. 

People living below the poverty line have a higher risk of housing insecurity. Over the 5-year period from 

2015 to 2019, more than half of extremely low-income and one-quarter of very low-income nonmetropolitan 

renter households experienced housing problems. These problems include a severe housing cost burden, 

1

 Throughout this report, the terms “rural” and “nonmetro” are used interchangeably, as are the terms “urban” and “metro.” Unless otherwise stated, 

statistics are calculated using the 2013 U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) metropolitan area definitions based on data from the 2010 U.S. 

Census. Of the 3,143 counties in U.S. States, 1,976 are nonmetropolitan and 1,167 are metropolitan. The exact number of counties in a category may 

differ depending on data source used. For more on definitions of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, as well as related concepts such as urbanized 

areas and central counties, visit the USDA, Economic Research Service web page “What Is Rural?”.
| 2023 Edition 3

lack of full kitchen or plumbing facilities, and/or dwelling unit overcrowding. Further, almost one-quarter of 

American Indian, Alaska Native, or Hispanic (any race) nonmetropolitan households experienced severe housing problems (as defined above), about 10 percentage points higher than for all other racial groups. 

Jobs are a major contributor to rural household well-being. Following nonmetropolitan job losses of 10 

percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nonmetropolitan household employment rebounded in 

2021 and continued to recover throughout 2022 and 2023. By the first quarter of 2023, total nonmetropolitan employment had nearly fully recovered, returning to 99 percent of prepandemic employment levels.2

Nonmetropolitan annual employment growth for 2022 was 0.5 percent, a return to a growth rate similar to 

those rates observed for the years prior to the pandemic. Similarly, the nonmetropolitan unemployment rate 

declined from 11.3 in 2020 to 3.8 percent in 2022. 

More than 243,000, or 1 percent, of jobs in nonmetropolitan counties were in clean energy in 2021. In comparison, around 239,000 nonmetro jobs were in coal, petroleum, and natural gas fuels. The U.S. Department 

of Energy defines clean energy in its 2023 U.S. Energy and Employment Report as jobs in the technologies 

that align with net-zero3

 greenhouse gas emissions, including those in renewable energy and biofuels. The 

nonmetropolitan clean energy employment share varied across U.S. States, ranging from less than one-half 

a percent in Arizona to 2.6 percent in Vermont. Of all States, Texas had the most clean energy jobs (15,000 

representing 0.96 percent) in nonmetropolitan counties. 

2 Urban employment returned to 100 percent of prepandemic employment by the second quarter of 2022.

3 Net-zero emissions refers to achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced, avoided, and removed from the atmosphere.
4 Rural America at a Glance

Nonmetropolitan Population Has Recently Grown 

Due to Migration

The 46 million U.S. residents living in nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) areas in July 2022 made up 13.8 percent 

of the U.S. population. The COVID-19-related renewal of nonmetro population growth first seen in 2020–21 

(July through June) continued at roughly an equal rate in the same period the following year (0.14 percent 

and 0.12 percent growth, respectively), according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of 

the Census population estimates as shown in figure 1. This growth represents a large upward shift from a 

0.09-percent population decline in the previous year (2019–20), which came at the end of a decade of overall 

nonmetro population loss. The population number in metro areas followed a different trend in 2019–20 and 

2020–21, dropping from 0.42 to 0.16 percent growth between the two periods before returning to 0.42 percent in 2021–22. 

Overall, population change in a given area can be subdivided into changes due to net migration (the number 

of people moving in minus the number of people moving out) and natural change (the number of births minus the number of deaths). The population numbers in nonmetro areas experienced COVID-19-related gains 

despite a population loss due to a natural decrease (more deaths than births), which shifted from -0.09 percent 

in 2019–20 to -0.33 percent in both 2020–21 and 2021–22. While hundreds of individual nonmetro counties 

have experienced more deaths than births for decades, a natural decrease for nonmetro areas (as a whole) is 

a new phenomenon, first appearing in 2017–18. Given decreasing fertility rates for the United States overall 

and the aging of the nonmetro population, a natural decrease is likely a permanent fixture for nonmetro areas. 

Thus, future population growth in nonmetro areas as a whole will depend on retaining current residents and 

attracting newcomers. 
| 2023 Edition 5

Figure 1

Population change and components of change, metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, 2019–20, 

2020–21, and 2021–22

 

Note: The 1-year periods comprise July through June.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Fear of exposure to COVID-19 in metro areas and the subsequent increase in remote work contributed to a 

major shift in migration patterns.4

 Net migration declined for metro areas (from 0.17 to 0.06 percent between 

2019–20 and 2020–21), and a mirror-image jump in nonmetro net migration (from 0.01 to 0.47 percent) 

occurred at the same time. As shown in figure 2, net migration can be further subdivided into domestic net 

migration (occurring between areas within the United States) and international migration. In 2020–21, 

more people moved from metro to nonmetro areas than in the opposite direction, resulting in a 0.07-percent 

decline in metro population and a 0.43-percent gain for nonmetro areas due to net domestic migration. Net 

domestic migration favoring nonmetro locations continued in 2021–22. The overall increase in net migration 

for metro areas in the past 2 years was due almost exclusively to a near tripling of international migration, 

from a 0.12-percent gain in 2020–21 to a 0.34-percent gain in 2021–22. Figure 2 summarizes the changes in 

net migration, broken down by domestic and international components. 

4

 Nonmetropolitan net migration growth rates were negative from 2010 to 2016 and near zero from 2017 to 2020, as shown in figure 1 in USDA’s 

Rural America at a Glance, 2022 Edition. 
6 Rural America at a Glance

Figure 2

Net migration change and components of change, metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, 2019–20,

2020–21, and 2021–22 

 

Note: The 1-year periods comprise July through June.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Population growth from domestic net migration was not evenly distributed across all nonmetro counties. In 

figure 3, for the two yearly periods of 2020–21 and 2021–22 (July through June in both periods) combined, 

829 nonmetro counties (out of 1,976) continued to experience net domestic out-migration, with more than 

half of the counties losing more than 1 percent of their population. These included many high-poverty counties in the South, some farming counties in the Midwest, and several isolated and sparsely settled counties in 

the West. The majority of counties with out-migration were located in the Great Plains, including in some 

regions dependent on oil and gas extraction,5

 which saw COVID-19-related downturns in production. Most 

nonmetro counties saw gains in population due to net domestic migration, with 481 growing by 2 percent 

or more during 2020–22. These counties are located on the periphery of large metro areas and in recreation 

and retirement destinations such as the northern Great Lakes, the southern Appalachians and Ozarks, and the 

Rocky Mountains. Based on previous research, this increase in “amenity migration” (people choosing locations 

to live based on quality-of-life factors) is not surprising given that baby boom retirement is reaching its peak, 

and remote work is allowing more locational freedom for working-age adults.

5

 Such regions include the Williston Basin in western North Dakota and eastern Montana, the Oklahoma panhandle, southeastern New Mexico, 

and west Texas. 
| 2023 Edition 7

Figure 3

Net domestic migration rate, nonmetropolitan counties, 2020–22

 

Note: The figure shows the net domestic migration rate for each nonmetropolitan county for the period July 2020 through June 2022. 

The rate is defined as the difference between the number of people moving into a county and the number moving out per 100 of the 

population of the county at the beginning of the period.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
8 Rural America at a Glance

Changes in Metropolitan Areas in 2023 Caused a 

Small Reduction in Nonmetro Population

Most demographic and economic studies of rural conditions and trends (including this report) refer to conditions in nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) counties, which lie outside metropolitan (metro) areas, as defined by 

the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Every 10 years, OMB identifies a new set of metro areas 

based on the most recent decennial census. While many nonmetro counties continue to lose population, others have grown large enough over the past decade to become reclassified as metro. Historically, this reclassification each decade has led to large nonmetro population losses. In the latest decennial update announced by the 

OMB in July 2023, 72 nonmetro counties with 2,289,693 million people switched to metro status (dark grey 

on the map in figure 4). At the same time, 52 metro counties with 2,127,332 residents switched to nonmetro 

status (dark yellow on the map). The net loss for nonmetro areas due to reclassification (162,361 people) is by 

far the lowest for any decade since 1950 when metro areas were first delineated. The change marks a historic 

downturn in urbanization during 2010–20 caused by a number of factors, including a much lower overall 

population growth rate for the United States and lower levels of suburbanization through much of the decade.

Figure 4

Counties changing metropolitan status, 2013–23

 

Note: Connecticut switched from counties to planning regions for the Census reporting between 2013 and 2023 and thus cannot be 

classified here.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
| 2023 Edition 9

Recent Trends Suggest Progress in Reducing 

Rural Poverty

High poverty (poverty rate greater than or equal to 20 percent)6 area status, an indicator of low well-being 

of area residents, is a persistent problem for some counties. For other residents, transitions into and out of 

high poverty happen in concert with macroeconomic cycles or major events—such as the Great Recession, 

the 2010–19 economic expansion, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These transitions often reflect short-run, 

circumstantial poverty rather than a permanent change in areawide poverty conditions. Therefore, absolute 

changes in poverty rates over a relatively short period can be misleading. Combining information about macroeconomic cycles or major events with trend analysis offers greater insight into whether poverty conditions are 

likely to improve, deteriorate, or stagnate. 

An analysis of annual county-level poverty rate estimates for 2007 through 2021 indicates that the majority 

(86 percent) of all nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) counties experienced a downward trend in poverty over the 

15-year period. The decrease in poverty rate was statistically significant (i.e., clearly declining) for 109 nonmetro counties. Poverty rates rose in 13 percent or 252 of all nonmetro counties, with a statistically significant 

increase in poverty rates for 26 of those counties. (The remaining 1 percent was stagnant or inconclusive.) 

6

 The poverty rate is defined by the Office of Management and Budget Statistical Policy Directive 14. The poverty rate is the ratio of the number of 

people whose income falls below the poverty line. The poverty line is defined by income thresholds that vary by family size and composition. For more 

information, see the Census Bureau’s “How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty” and USDA, ERS’s “Poverty Area Measures” websites. 
10 Rural America at a Glance

Figure 5

Poverty rate trends for nonmetropolitan counties, 2007–21

 

Note: Significant change is based on statistical significance at the 90-percent level. “Inconclusive” represents low data reliability or 

missing data for one or more data periods.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) using U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Small Area Income and 

Poverty Estimates, 2007 to 2021 and nonmetropolitan county designations derived from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s 2010 

Standards of Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas.

The downward trend in poverty rates for nonmetro counties resulted in a decrease in the number of persistent 

poverty counties as well. Persistent poverty counties for the period ending in 2007–11 are those counties with 

poverty rates equal to or greater than 20 percent in every decade, as measured by the 1980, 1990, and 2000 

Decennial Census and 2007–11 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year period estimates. Persistent 

poverty for the period ending in 2017–217

 includes the 1990 and 2000 Decennial Census and ACS 5-year 

periods 2007–11 and 2017–21. These counties represent areas where poverty conditions have persisted for 

30 years or more. In the period ending in 2021, there were 318 (combined metro and nonmetro) persistent 

poverty counties, compared with 353 for the period ending in 2011. Overall, there were 282 counties that 

remained persistently poor from one period to the next, 36 counties that entered into persistent poverty

7

 Estimates for 2020 are constructed using the 5-year period estimates published by the American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS 5-year files 

pool together years of the survey to release data for detailed geographies. 
| 2023 Edition 11

status, and 70 counties that left persistent poverty status. Nonmetro counties comprise 84.9 percent (270 

counties) of the 318 persistently poor counties for the period ending in 2021. This number includes 244 

counties that remained persistently poor since the prior period, 26 persistent poverty entrants, and 55 leavers. 

The nonmetro counties that entered into a persistent poverty area status are largely characterized by poverty 

among the resident Hispanic population, as well as re-entrants (previously left persistent poverty status and 

then returned) within historically poor areas such as central Appalachia. 

These trends suggest that regardless of changing and often challenging macroeconomic conditions between 

2007 and 2021, there was some progress toward persistent poverty reduction in nonmetro counties, including 

those where poverty has historically been intractable. 

Figure 6

Change in nonmetropolitan county persistent poverty area status, 2007–21

 

Note: Change in persistent poverty status is based on the comparison of persistent poverty county status for the period ending in 

2007–11 (1980, 1990, and 2000 Decennial Census and 2007–11 American Community Survey) to the period ending in 2017-21 (1990, 

and 2000 Decennial Census and 2007–11, and 2017–21 American Community Survey). “Data not available” represents low data reliability or missing data for one or more data periods.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) using USDA, ERS’s Poverty Area Measures data product and nonmetropolitan 

county designations derived from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s 2010 Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and 

Micropolitan Statistical Areas.
12 Rural America at a Glance

Housing Insecurity Risk Is Greater for Some Rural 

Household Groups

Housing insecurity is an umbrella term that refers to housing-related problems that contribute to shelter 

instability, poverty, and health concerns for individuals and families. This insecurity may include high housing 

costs relative to income, poor housing quality and housing shortages, overcrowding, lack of safety in the home 

and neighborhood, and homelessness. The threat of housing insecurity is particularly high for rural households with low income and historically underserved racial/ethnic population groups. 

Housing cost as a percentage of household income is one of the most commonly used measures of housing 

affordability. A household is considered to be cost-burdened if that cost percentage exceeds 30 percent and 

severely cost-burdened if it exceeds 50 percent. Severe housing cost-burden is a high-risk indicator of shelter 

instability. Housing units characterized by substandard housing (lacks full kitchen or plumbing facilities) and 

overcrowding (more than one person per room) are associated with greater health and safety risks for residents 

than units without these characteristics. Renter households in the lowest income categories disproportionately 

experience these risks. 

Over the 5-year period ending in 2019, more than half of extreme low-income (less than or equal to 30 

percent of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s [HUD] area median family income 

[HAMFI]) nonmetro renter occupied households experienced one or more of four housing unit problems (severe housing cost burden, lack of full kitchen facilities, lack of full plumbing facilities, or overcrowding). The 

percentage shares were lower for all other nonmetro renter income groups and all nonmetro owner income 

groups that experienced one or more of these problems.
| 2023 Edition 13

Figure 7

Compared with homeowners, low-income renters in nonmetropolitan areas are more likely to experience severe housing problems

 

Note: Income categories are based on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) area median family income 

(HAMFI). Extreme low income is <= 30 percent of HAMFI, very low income is 30.1 to 50 percent of HAMFI, low income is 50.1 to 80 

percent of HAMFI, moderate income is 80.1 to 100 percent of HAMFI, and higher income is > 100 percent of HAMFI. Severe housing 

unit problems are defined by the household experience of one or more of four problems: lacking complete kitchen facilities, lacking 

complete plumbing facilities, overcrowding (more than 1 person per room), or severe housing cost burden (monthly housing cost 

as a percent of household income exceeds 50 percent). Nonmetropolitan area status is based on U.S. Office of Management and 

Budget’s 2010 Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from HUD’s Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, 

2015–19.

Over the 5-year period ending in 2019, the share of housing units with severe housing problems for all other 

racial groups was about 10 percentage points lower than it was for the American Indian or Alaska Native (24.2 

percent) and Hispanic (23.1 

percent) groups. An understanding of these and other differences 

in housing insecurity risks can 

help inform efforts to ensure that 

affordable, stable, and livable 

housing is available to all people 

regardless of tenancy, income 

level, and racial/ethnic identity. 
14 Rural America at a Glance

Figure 8

Severe housing unit problems by race and ethnicity, total renters and owners, all income levels in 

nonmetropolitan areas over the 2015–19 period

 

Note: All race categories are single race (alone), non-Hispanic; the Hispanic category includes any race. Severe housing unit problems are defined by the household experience of one or more of four problems: lacking complete kitchen facilities, lacking complete 

plumbing facilities, overcrowding (more than 1 person per room), or severe housing cost burden (monthly housing cost as a percent 

of household income exceeds 50 percent). Nonmetropolitan area status is based on U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s 2010 

Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data, 2015–19.

Nonmetro Employment Resumed Slow Growth 

and Unemployment Rates Reached Record Lows 

in 2022

The total number of rural residents employed had not yet recovered to prepandemic levels by early 2023. 

Rural employment decreased 10 percent (from 20.2 million to 18.3 million employed) from the first to the 

second quarter of 2020, as stay-at-home orders were put in place across much of the Nation in response to the 

COVID-19 outbreak. Employment increased quickly in the third and fourth quarters of 2020 as stay-at-home 

orders were lifted, but employment remained 3 percent below the prepandemic levels of 2019 in rural areas. 

Following the rapid gains in late 2020, rural employment growth slowed to an annual rate of 1.4 percent in 

2021 and 0.5 percent in 2022. As of the second quarter of 2023, rural employment stood at 20.2 million 

people, 1 percent below the prepandemic (fourth quarter, 2019) level of 20.4 million.
| 2023 Edition 15

Figure 9

Quarterly employment change in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties: first quarter 2019 to 

second quarter 2023

 

Q1 = first quarter; Q2 = second quarter; Q3 = third quarter; Q4 = fourth quarter.

Note: Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan designations are based on the 2013 definition of metropolitan counties as determined by 

the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Data are seasonally adjusted.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area 

Unemployment Statistics program (August 2, 2023, release).

The impact of the pandemic on unemployment rates affected people in rural and urban areas differently and 

varied by educational attainment levels. Unemployment rates were slightly higher in rural areas (4.1 percent) 

than urban areas (3.6 percent) before the pandemic. However, that pattern reversed during the pandemic 

when unemployment rates increased to 13.3 percent in urban areas and 11.3 percent in rural areas in the 

second quarter of 2020. Unemployment rates remained higher in urban areas throughout 2020 and 2021 as 

the economy recovered. Urban workers ages 25 to 64 with less than a bachelor’s degree were particularly affected, as their unemployment rates remained 2.6 percentage points higher in 2021 than the rates were before 

the pandemic in 2019. In rural areas, the unemployment rate for workers with less than a bachelor’s degree 

remained 1.2 percentage points higher in 2021 than in 2019. The unemployment rate for urban workers 

with a bachelor’s degree or higher also remained 1.2 percentage points higher in 2021, while the rate for rural 

workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher was only 0.7 percentage points higher. The urban unemployment 

rate dropped below the rural rate once again in the second quarter of 2022. However, at 3.8 percent or less 

throughout 2022 and early 2023, rural unemployment rates remained at their lowest point since before 1990. 
16 Rural America at a Glance

The slow employment growth rate (0.5 percent) in rural areas in 2022 was similar to the rural growth rates in 

the years between the Great Recession of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2010 to 2019, the annual average employment growth rate in rural areas was only 0.4 percent compared with 1.6 percent in urban 

areas. In fact, employment growth during this period was sufficiently low that, by 2019, rural total employment had still not fully recovered from the Great Recession. Overall, by 2023, the rural economy had mostly 

recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed the familiar employment growth rates from the 2010s. 

Figure 10

Nonmetropolitan employment percent change by State, 2019–22

 

Note: Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan designations are based on the 2013 definition of metropolitan counties as determined by 

the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Washington, DC have no nonmetropolitan 

counties and are therefore omitted from the analysis.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area 

Unemployment Statistics program (May 3, 2023, release).

Employment levels for rural areas of the United States had nearly returned to prepandemic levels by the 

beginning of 2023, but the rural recovery varied regionally. The rural portion of Idaho had the largest increase 

in employment from 2019 to 2023, with an increase of 7.3 percent, while employment levels in the rural 

portions of Maryland and Illinois decreased by more than 5 percent. Four of the 5 States with the highest 

rural employment growth (Idaho, Utah, Montana, and Oregon) were also in the top 10 States with the most 

prime-working-age rural population growth during the period. The other State in the top five in employment 

growth, Alaska, had the largest decrease in rural unemployment rates during the period.
| 2023 Edition 17

Clean Energy Jobs Are 1 Percent of Rural Employment

Recent Federal legislation (most notably the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022) provides funding and tax 

benefits to promote the development and expansion of a domestic clean energy industry within the United 

States. Before this legislation, however, clean energy had already grown into a large industry, creating millions 

of jobs and comprising about 40 percent of all 

energy jobs (U.S. Department of Energy, 2022). 

This section analyzes the prevalence of these jobs in 

rural America. 

This report uses the definition of net-zero aligned 

jobs (referred to here as “clean energy jobs”) from 

the U.S. Department of Energy’s U.S. Energy and 

Employment Report (USEER). This definition includes jobs in “renewable energy; grid technologies 

and storage; traditional transmission and distribution; nuclear energy; a subset of energy efficiency; 

biofuels; and plug-in hybrid, fully electric, and 

hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and components.” Due 

to the limited availability of county-level data, 

however, information related to several notable 

industries is excluded from this report, including 

various aspects of energy efficiency, geothermal 

and nuclear electricity generation, traditional 

transmission, distribution, and storage in renewable energy, and plug-in hybrid and fully electric 

vehicles. Therefore, the numbers presented in this 

report underestimate the total number of clean 

energy jobs in rural America, including data only 

on renewable energy, biofuels, and select efficiency 

and transmission and storage technologies.

In 2021, there were more than 243,000 clean energy jobs in nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) counties.8 9

 This 

number represented more than 1 percent of jobs in rural America. Clean energy jobs in rural areas were well 

distributed across all States and regions. The rate of rural clean energy employment reached a high of 26 jobs 

per 1,000 total jobs in Vermont—with Hawaii, North Dakota, Iowa, and Nevada rounding out the top 5. 

Conversely, Arizona has the lowest rate of clean energy employment in rural counties, with less than 5 jobs 

per 1,000 total jobs—followed by Arkansas, New Mexico, Virginia, and Mississippi. Considering the number of jobs rather than the employment rate, Texas led all States with more than 15,000 clean energy jobs in 

nonmetropolitan counties. 

8

 USEER reports “<10” jobs in counties when applicable. The U.S. Department of Energy aggregated nonmetropolitan jobs at the State and 

national level to avoid measurement error using the 2013 OMB definition of metropolitan/nonmetropolitan status based on the 2010 Census. 9As discussed, the 243,000 clean energy jobs figure is an underestimate of the total number of clean energy jobs due to some omitted industries. 

USEER county-level data include an “Other Fuels” industry, which includes (among others) nuclear and geothermal energy. The authors estimate 

that there are approximately 24,000 jobs in rural America in this industry, although this category would include other energy sources that are not 

considered clean energy.
18 Rural America at a Glance

Figure 11

Clean energy employment per 1,000 jobs in nonmetropolitan counties, 2021

 

Note: Clean energy jobs include those from wind, solar, and hydroelectric electric power generation; corn ethanol, woody biomass, 

and other clean fuels; electricity storage; microgrid, smart grid, and other grid modifications; ENERGY STAR efficient lighting; 

high-efficiency heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); and advanced insulation materials. Due to data limitations, jobs are 

omitted from other clean energy industries, such as geothermal, nuclear energy, traditional transportation, distribution, and storage 

for clean energy electric vehicles. Rural jobs are defined using the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definitions for 

nonmetropolitan counties based on data from the 2010 Census. Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Washington, DC have no 

nonmetropolitan counties and are therefore omitted from the analysis.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2022 U.S. Energy and Employment 

Report (USEER) and total employment information from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

Clean energy job growth in nonmetropolitan counties differed significantly by industry. Solar jobs grew by 

almost 10,000 between 2017 and 2018 but declined the following year. In 2021, the solar industry had 

29,400 jobs, below its peak of 34,200 in 2018 but a slight increase from 2020. Conversely, corn ethanol jobs 

remained relatively stable until 2020, when the industry experienced a steep decline due to the COVID-19 

pandemic. However, by 2021, corn ethanol jobs rebounded and attained a 5-year high of more than 19,500 

jobs. Wind energy employment experienced little change in rural areas through 2020, staying consistently 

near 11,000 jobs before increasing to 13,000 jobs in 2021.
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Figure 12

Trends in solar, wind, and ethanol in nonmetropolitan counties, 2017–21

 

Note: Solar and wind include the total of electric power generation (EPG) jobs in all nonmetropolitan counties in each respective 

industry. Corn ethanol includes all jobs in nonmetropolitan counties attributed to corn ethanol fuels. Nonmetropolitan jobs are defined 

using the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definitions for nonmetropolitan counties based on data from the 2010 Census.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the 2021 and 2022 U.S. Department of Energy’s U.S. Energy and 

Employment Report (USEER) and county-level data from the 2018, 2019, and 2020 BW Research Partnership’s U.S. Energy and 

Employment Report.

Figure 13 shows how the share of clean energy jobs located in rural areas was similar to the rural share of total 

employment: 11.3 percent of all clean energy jobs in 2021 were in nonmetropolitan counties, compared with 

11.7 percent of total jobs. Most clean energy industries employ a similar share of workers in rural counties. 

For example, 11.2 percent of wind energy jobs and 10.8 percent of transmission, distribution, and storage jobs 

were in nonmetro counties. The solar energy industry skews slightly more toward urban areas, with just 8.8 

percent of jobs located in nonmetro counties. Two industries that skew disproportionately toward rural areas 

are hydroelectric power (where rural counties employed approximately 16.9 percent of the industry) and corn 

ethanol (where 36.1 percent of jobs were in nonmetropolitan counties). 

The proportion of clean energy jobs in nonmetro counties, although aligning closely with total employment, 

still lagged behind the share of traditional fossil fuel extraction and generation jobs in nonmetro counties. 

For example, about 40 percent of coal jobs were in nonmetro counties. Similarly, rural counties employed 23 

percent of petroleum fuel and 25 percent of natural gas jobs in 2021. The scale of nonmetro clean energy jobs 

is of a similar order of magnitude to those from traditional fossil fuel extraction for the industries included in 

the USEER—with more than 243,000 in clean energy jobs compared with about 239,000 jobs in coal, petroleum, and natural gas extraction and power generation. 
20 Rural America at a Glance

Figure 13

Percent of energy jobs in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties, 2021 

 

TDS = Transmission, distribution, and storage.

Note: The horizontal black dotted line represents the total percent of jobs in nonmetropolitan counties in 2021 (roughly 11.68 percent). Clean energy jobs include those from wind, solar, and hydroelectric electric power generation; corn ethanol, woody biomass, 

and other clean fuels; electricity storage; microgrid, smart grid, and other grid modifications; ENERGY STAR efficient lighting; 

high-efficiency heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); and advanced insulation materials. Due to data limitations, jobs are 

omitted from other clean energy industries, such as geothermal, nuclear energy, traditional transportation, distribution, and storage 

for clean energy electric vehicles. Fossil fuel jobs include fuel extraction “fuel” jobs and electric power generation, as defined by the 

U.S. Department of Energy. Traditional TDS jobs (attributable to renewable and fossil fuel generation) are also excluded. Nonmetropolitan jobs are defined using the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definitions for nonmetropolitan counties based on 

data from the 2010 Census.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2022 U.S. Energy and Employment 

Report (USEER) and total employment information from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
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Conclusion

Changes in rural America’s population, poverty, and employment over the last few years reveal three main 

findings. First, the rural population is growing again following a decade of negative or near zero growth rates. 

This growth has been driven by domestic migration into rural areas. Second, rural poverty has declined over 

the last 15 years in most rural counties, but not all, and the declines have been modest. Housing insecurity is an 

issue for low-income renters, a particularly acute problem for American Indian or Alaska Native and Hispanic 

households. Finally, rural employment has almost fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and has 

returned to modest annual growth rates similar to prepandemic levels. This report also found that 1 percent of 

nonmetropolitan employment is in clean energy jobs. Overall, recent results show positive developments in the 

rural economy. 
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