Population Brief – Trends in the 13 Western U.S.

The first step in advancing an effective rural development program is to carefully assess baseline conditions. In response, the Western Rural Development Center (WRDC) is providing a set of population briefs that provide some of this baseline information.

Each population brief will assess one of the components of rural development that include:

1. Good jobs that provide individuals and families the opportunity to earn and maintain a livable income;

2. A chance to complete an education and have lifelong opportunities to learn and improve one’s circumstances;

3. And the opportunity to live a reasonably long and healthy life.

Communities that effectively meet these conditions are likely to retain existing residents and attract new residents and thus experience population growth.

The series includes five regional overviews and one brief for each of the 13 western states in the WRDC’s region.

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

Full Story: http://wrdc.usu.edu/htm/rural_resources/population