Rural Housing

Rural Population

Nonmetropolitan America is home to 49 million people; 9 million are living in frontier counties. The introduction of urban clusters and adjustments to the criteria for an urbanized area resulted in a net increase to the urban population. Without these changes, rural population between 1990 and 2000 would have increased by about 2 million people; instead, the population declined from 62 million to 59 million.

Two other demographic trends influence rural housing. First, the rural population continues to age-in-place. Elderly persons head 26% of all nonmetropolitan households. Approximately 60% of these households are poor or near poor. Nonmetropolitan seniors are more likely to live in inadequate housing than seniors in the nation as a whole. Second, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of Hispanic-headed households, increasing 86% between 1985 and 1997. Nonmetropolitan Hispanic households experience inadequate housing at twice the rate for nonmetropolitan households. Overall, [Page 643]nonmetropolitan areas tend to be less racially and ethnically diverse than in the United States as a whole; however, nine out of 10 nonmetropolitan African American households live in the rural South and about half of the nation's Native American population resides in nonmetropolitan areas.

Housing Availability, Tenure, and Condition

Nearly 22 million occupied housing units (22%) in the United States are located in nonmetropolitan areas. Of all nonmetropolitan households, 42% are located in the South. Within regions, the Midwest has the highest proportion of nonmetropolitan households (29%), while the Northeast has the smallest proportion (13%).

Three out of every four rural homes are owner occupied. Nationwide, the median value of a home is $96,000; in nonmetropolitan areas, the median value is $70,000. Low-income homeowners in non-metropolitan areas occupy homes with a median value of $53,000. While homeownership remains the most preferred and prevalent form of housing, there are still over 5.6 million nonmetropolitan homes that are renter occupied. Rural renters have a higher poverty rate than renters in central cities, 32% compared to 28%, respectively.

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