Between 2010 and 2020, more than two-thirds of U.S. rural communities experienced sustained population loss, driven by outmigration, declining birth rates, and corporate land and resource grabs that prioritize profit over community needs. This decline fuels a vicious cycle: as young people leave, rural areas lose workforce, businesses, services, and tax revenue, further eroding schools, infrastructure, and public programs. Without strong opportunities or reliable services, disinvestment deepens, and communities struggle to sustain themselves.
These facts are true, but too often this is solely how outsiders see rural communities: in terms of what they lack.
Rural communities are also complex and diverse; rich in natural resources and natural beauty; reliant on each other and always ready to lend a hand; connected to the land and water; and deeply proud of where we’re from.
As the US has urbanized, the majority of the population and elected officials are far removed from rural concerns. Rural interests are misunderstood, and rural people have been marginalized, stereotyped, and demonized. Meanwhile, powerful interests have spent years exploiting the very real frustration rural communities have felt seeing our resources extracted and our neighbors move away, and they have sowed extremist ideologies and fear of government and outsiders.
But as everyday people point fingers at each other across lines of supposed difference, the billionaire class further solidifies its control and its support of authoritarianism.
To change this we need to organize and build policy differently, building bridges across supposed divides and asking a bold and practical question: What do rural people want for their communities – to make them exceptional places to live, work, and raise families – and what policies will get us there? Or simply put, how do we design rural livability policies?
The question offers a powerful non-prescriptive frame for community-based reimagining of rural vitality that centers rural people and builds long-term, inclusive power in our state houses.
Key policy dimensions of a rural livability framework include building community and civic power through an equitable lens. Policies developed through co-governance practices that strengthen rural self-governance, civic engagement, and partnerships—so residents have a voice in shaping policies that affect them—will ensure they are responsive to the needs of rural residents across race, class, gender, immigration status, and tribal sovereignty.
Framing policy through rural livability can unite rural, urban and suburban priorities across health care, education, climate, food systems, and democracy, helping to build thriving rural spaces that strengthen all communities while building a broader democratic movement.
Rural livability offers not only a concept for building vibrant rural communities, but a roadmap for state-based and local policy that addresses systemic disparities and invests in the long-term vitality of rural regions.
These types of policies could address:
Support for Farmers, Regenerative Agriculture, Climate Resilience
Support for independent farmers and ranchers, regenerative and environmentally-sustainable agriculture practices and policies that balance economic growth with conservation, climate resilience, and sustainable land use. An example of this type of policy is a bill in Wisconsin (2023 WI SB 619) which would have created a transition to grass pilot program to support livestock producers who are implementing grass-based managed grazing systems.
Increased Access to Essential Services
Expanding rural healthcare, education, childcare, broadband, and emergency response through public investment and equitable funding formulas. An example of this type of policy is Michigan (2021 MI HB 5037) which would have proposed adding “construction, improvement, and maintenance of communications infrastructure, including broadband and high-speed internet” to the list of local improvement projects that a township board can fund through a bond issuance and a special property tax assessment.
Vibrant Economic & Workforce Development
Supporting local businesses, farms and food processing, renewable energy, and workforce training to ensure healthy rural economies. An example of this type of policy is Nebraska (2021 NE LB 324) which amended the Nebraska Meat & Poultry Inspection Law to allow animal share arrangements — under which consumers may acquire ownership interest in livestock or herds via written contract (with bill of sale and boarding/processing provisions), and receive meat from such animals. The law exempts certain meat acquired via those animal shares from licensing and inspection requirements, provided other conditions are met (e.g. warning label, proof of livestock health & processing standards, resident registration, reporting, and limits on number of animals per year).
Durable Infrastructure & Access to Housing
Securing federal and state funding for transportation, affordable housing, water systems, and broadband as foundational pillars of livability. An example of this type of policy is Minnesota (2021 MN HF 4), an enacted housing omnibus bill with reforms in titling for manufactured homes by allowing owners to title their property as real property instead of personal property in a cooperative or nonprofit-owned community. The bill also expanded eligibility for an existing rehabilitation loan program for low-income homeowners to owners of manufactured homes and appropriated new funding to support the redevelopment of manufactured home communities.
Expansion of Health Equity
Addressing rural health disparities through expanded access to preventive care, maternal health, mental health services, and healthy food systems. An example of this type of policy is Minnesota (2021 MN SF 37/HF 33) that expanded eligibility for the state’s Health Professional Education Loan Forgiveness Program to include alcohol and drug counselors who agree to practice in designated rural areas or underserved urban communities.
Fight Corporate Monopolies
Addressing the consolidation in every sector of the economy that gives independent businesses, farmers, and many others an uneven playing field. An example of this type of policy is Michigan (2023 MI HB 4673) which proposed an Agricultural Equipment Repair Act to specifically address agriculture right to repair issues.
For more example policies rooted in rural livability check out the SiX Blueprint for Rural Policy.