Rural and small town America

This study conducted for the National Committee for Research on the 1980 Census is one in a series presenting analyses of data from the 1980 U.S. census. This volume provides a detailed picture of rural America and includes chapters on population distribution; small-town growth and population dispersal; age and sex composition; race and ethnicity; household growth and structure; fertility; labor force and employment; industrial structure and change; the farm population; income and poverty; characteristics of cities towns and rural areas; and the persisting importance of residence. The authors find that size of place is a critical demographic factor affecting population composition... the distribution of poverty... and employment opportunities....Pointing out that rural life is no longer synonymous with farming they explore variations among nonmetropolitan populations. They also trace the impact of major national trends--the nonmetropolitan growth spurt of the 1970s and its current reversal for example or changing fertility rates--on rural life and on the relationship between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan communities. (EXCERPT)