Rural and Small Town America. The Population of the United States in the 1980s. A Census Monograph Series

Important differences persist between rural and urban America, despite profound economic changes and the notorious homogenizing influence of the media. As Glenn V. Fuguitt, David L. Brown, and Calvin L. Beale show in Rural and Small Town America, the much-heralded disappearance of small town life has not come to pass, and the nonmetropolitan population still constitutes a significant dimension of our nation's social structure. Based on census and other recent survey data, this impressive study provides a detailed and comparative picture of rural America. The authors find that size of place is a critical demographic factor, affecting population composition (rural populations are older and more predominantly male than urban populations), the distribution of poverty (urban poverty tends to be concentrated in neighborhoods; rural poverty may extend over large blocks of counties), and employment opportunities (job quality and income are lower in rural areas, though rural occupational patterns are converging with those of urban areas). In general, rural and small town America still lags behind urban America on many indicators of social well-being. Pointing out that rural life is no longer synonymous with farming, the authors 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. By describing the special characteristics and needs of rural populations as well as the features they share with urban America, this book clearly demonstrates that a more accurate picture of nonmetropolitan life is essential to understanding the larger dynamics of our society. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Census Series A systematic description and evaluation of the socioeconomic conditions of nonmetropolitan United States provides important information for policymakers and researchers in rural education. This book is one of a series aimed at converting the statistics of the 1980 census into an analytical profile of major changes in U.S. life. The volume furnishes a demographic and sociological composite of rural and small-town United States drawn from census figures. The study begins with consideration of recent rural-urban and metropolitan-nonmetropolitan population distribution trends. Chapter 2 summarizes distribution changes from the nonmetropolitan "population turnaround" of the 1960s until post-1980 estimates. Chapter 3 reports on the rural-urban components of rural growth. Chapter 4 considers trends in age, sex, fertility, and mortality. Chapter 5 examines racial and ethnic composition and distribution. Changes in household composition are examined in Chapter 6. Chapter 7 examines the decline in fertility, focusing on subregional, ethnocultural, and rural-urban differences. Distribution changes in employment and social status are discussed in Chapter 8. Chapter 9 considers changes in overall industrial composition of the population by residence since 1960. Chapter 10 gives particular attention to employment, sources of income, and residence of the farming population, examining the decreasing correspondence of these three indicators. Income sources, distributions, and median differentials are considered in Chapter 11, along with a discussion of income and family composition variables. Chapter 12 is a detailed comparison of population and economic characteristics of cities and villages, classified by size. The final chapter offers conclusions regarding convergence, subregional variability, and prospects for the future of rural and nonmetropolitan areas. This book contains numerous tables, charts, bibliographies, a subject index, and a name index. (TES) Cover Title page, Copyright, Foreword, Acknowledgments Contents List of Tables List of Figures 1. Introduction 2. Population Distribution 3. Small Town Growth and Population Dispersal 4. Age-Sex Composition 5. Race and Ethnicity 6. Household Growth and Structure 7. Fertility 8. Labor Force and Employment 9. Industrial Structure and Change 10. The Population Associated with Farming 11. Income and Poverty 12. Characteristics of Cities, Towns, and Rural Areas 13. The Persisting Importance of Residence Bibliography Name Index Subject Index Glenn V. Fuguitt, David L. Brown, Calvin L. Beale ; Assisted By Max J. Pfeffer ... [et Al.] For The National Committee For Research On The 1980 Census. Includes Indexes. Bibliography: P. 439-449.