Rural communities face a broad range of challenges in the 21st century, from demographic change to access to essential services, to economic hardship. The Center for American Progress’ growing research on rural America aims to build inclusive rural narratives and develop equitable, progressive solutions.
States have several tools available to help relieve rural care shortages and increase health care provider supply during the pandemic and beyond.
A net-zero and equitable economy requires the participation and leadership of rural communities, enabled by foundational rural investments in the Build Back Better Act.
For those in rural communities, especially low-income people and people of color, access to necessary high-quality internet will remain out of reach without government investment.
The diversity and complexity of rural voters were on display in the 2020 election, particularly in states such as Georgia and Arizona.
With the rural-urban divide in the headlines, it is time to address long-standing inequities by building a more comprehensive equity analysis.
The pandemic has ravaged many rural communities, and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act would only further these harms.
The recent spikes in COVID-19 cases in rural America should spur policymakers to provide much-needed relief.
After four years under siege, rural America deserves equitable investment and a meaningful partnership with Washington.
The United States must rethink how it invests in rural communities.
Without clear, consistent action from policymakers, people and businesses will not have enough confidence to return to their jobs and daily activities in the wake of COVID-19.
The story of central Louisiana’s new community college holds lessons on improving opportunity in rural America—lessons that should help guide leaders responding to the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic.
The coronavirus will cause devastation when it hits rural America; policymakers must prepare now to prevent this calamity.
Rural America has a higher proportion of vulnerable populations and more barriers to much-needed resources to keep its communities healthy.
Business growth in rural communities is falling behind that of other communities; this trend must be reversed in order to foster resilience.
Policies to improve soil health and sequester carbon can drive an additional $8 billion annually to rural communities and create close to $22,000 a year in added revenue for the average family farm.
Rural America has yet to recover from the Great Recession, but by leveraging its communities’ unique strengths, it can build a brighter future for everyone.
Workers in highly concentrated labor markets need stronger antitrust enforcement and labor protections.
Rural hospitals struggle financially with lower patient volumes, higher rates of uncompensated care, and physician shortages.
Policymakers must work to combat the many forms of structural racism that continue to disadvantage African Americans in the rural South.
If federal and state polices are instituted to remove immigration and licensing barriers, immigrant doctors will be able to better serve rural communities, reducing physician shortages and improving health care access.
Federal and state agencies need to take action to ensure that all communities are prepared for the next wildfire season.
Federal and state agencies need to ensure that vulnerable communities are able to recover during and after the next wildfire.
The United States must build an inclusive narrative of rural communities.
In order to afford all Americans access to higher education, policymakers must recognize how geography and race affect students’ attainment of postsecondary degrees.
Land conservation and access can help states grow this critical sector.
Improved access to quality child care would support economic security in rural communities, which have unique child care needs.
Through an analysis of two agricultural markets, this report illuminates the concerning trend of corporate consolidation in agriculture—and the damaging impact this trend has on independent family farms.
Inclusive progressive solutions are key to addressing the structural racism of previous U.S. farm policies—something that nearly wiped out black farmers.
The small Nebraskan towns of Lexington and Madison offer encouraging examples of how proactivity and practicality can help communities embrace the nation’s multicultural destiny and emerge stronger for their collective efforts.
Immigrants are playing a key role in reviving and growing many rural communities and with the right policies could play an even bigger role in sustaining them.
Congress has passed a solution to keep wildfires from dominating U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department budgets. Now it should give these agencies the tools to deliver the greatest benefits to public safety and forest health.
These 10 state facts sheets provide comprehensive new information on the number of rural families served by Head Start, including rates of health service delivery.
Rural communities across the country are moving beyond reliance on boom-and-bust extractive industries toward a more prosperous and sustainable future that is rooted in their land, history, and way of life.
Head Start helps fill a critical void in early childhood education and service delivery in rural America.
While all rural workers make less, rural women of color face an especially large wage gap.
The farm bill is America's largest funding source for private lands conservation; its programs can be better leveraged to attract billions of dollars in private investment, increasing the economic and environmental benefits of conservation on working lands.
Author Katherine Gallagher Robbins outlines a progressive plan for ending rural poverty that would ensure that all Americans have access to the opportunities and support they need to thrive.
Many rural and small-town voters supported President Trump—but his agenda will harm families and the economy in their communities.
Small rural and suburban public school districts are a poor fit for President Trump’s proposed private-school voucher system.
The affordable housing challenges facing rural communities demand a careful look at strategies that can boost credit and help rural communities thrive.