What Unites and Divides Urban, Suburban, and Rural Communities
2018
This report from the Pew Research Center explores demographic shifts that are impacting urban, suburban, and rural communities in the U.S., surfacing views on key social and political issues in the process. According to the report, nonwhites represent the majority of the population in urban counties, while the opposite is true in suburban and rural areas. In addition, urban and suburban counties are gaining population—primarily due to immigration and domestic migration—while the population in rural counties only increased minimally since 2000. All three communities are experiencing the impact of aging populations, though suburban communities are experiencing this effect more strongly. Beyond the demographic shifts, the report highlights how the urban-suburban-rural divide extends to political affiliations, economic wellbeing, and the value of racial and ethnic diversity. The report also explores similarities across communities: Urban and rural residents articulate that drug addiction is a critical problem for their communities, and few residents across urban, suburban, and rural contexts feel attached to their communities. An interactive tool accompanying the report allows users to compare demographic shifts in their county with others in the U.S.
What Unites and Divides Urban, Suburban, and Rural Communities
Source:
Parker K et al. What Unites and Divides Urban, Suburban, and Rural Communities. Pew Research Center 2018. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2018/05/22/what-unites-and-divides-urban-suburban-and-rural-communities.