MANKATO, Minn. 鈥� An in-migration of new residents is helping slow, and in some cases reverse, population declines in many rural Minnesota counties where death rates continue to outpace birth rates.
And while earnings per capita in rural areas still fall well behind urban areas of the state, the rate of wage growth in rural areas is going up.
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These are among the highlights of an annual produced by the , based in Mankato, and released during a webinar Feb. 6. The center puts a 鈥渞ural lens鈥� to research data and offers an annual assessment of trends it sees for rural areas of the state, according to Julie Tesch, president and CEO.
The researchers behind the annual report 鈥� Kelly Asche and Marnie Werner 鈥� also used the webinar to highlight two significant concerns for rural counties. The number of skilled nursing beds in Minnesota has declined by one-third since 2005 as the population of elderly grows, especially in rural areas.
On the other side of the age equation, the number of youth needing mental health care is growing. In rural areas, accessing mental health care is more difficult due to a workforce shortage, long drives to care, job conflicts, and concerns about anonymity.
The population gains occurring due to in-migration 鈥渃ontinues to surprise us,鈥� said Asche, a senior researcher with the center. Most rural counties had been seeing more out-migration than in-migration, but that trend flipped for many counties in 2017-18 and has continued.
The in-migration is helping rural counties overcome the natural changes due to an aging population and decades-long trend of higher death rates than birth rates, according to Asche.
In 2019, 46 rural counties had lower populations in 2019 than in 2010. Now, only 21 counties have lower populations than they did in 2020, thanks to in-migration.
The in-migration is attributed to people moving into the counties from outside the region and country for jobs, as well as what terms the rural 鈥渂rain gain.鈥� Rural counties are seeing a trend of people in the 30- to 49-year-old age bracket move from urban to rural areas, Asche explained.
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As the in-migration continues, rural counties are seeing growth in diversity. Rural counties are becoming home to more people of color.
A concern for Asche is how rural counties will meet the needs of an aging population as the supply of skilled nursing beds decline. Minnesota saw skilled nursing bed numbers decline from roughly 38,000 to 25,000 from 2005 to 2024.
In rural counties, many of those beds have been lost due to the closing of smaller skilled nursing facilities. That makes it far more difficult to replace those lost beds than it is to replace them at larger facilities that may have decreased the number of beds but remain in operation, he pointed out.
Werner, the vice president of research and operations for the center, expressed concerns about the rising number of emergency room visits by youth for mental health services, a trend being seen across the country, and how to meet those needs in rural areas.
The number of emergency room visits has grown largely due to increasing numbers of youth experiencing mental health issues, including anxiety, conduct disorders and depression. Suicidal ideation has grown significantly, especially among girls.
The , has been examining the challenges. Werner said she is working with the center at the university to look at the issues and possible solutions.
The challenge of recruiting professionals to rural areas to replace a retiring workforce of mental health care workers is among the concerns she cited. The 鈥減ipeline鈥� for recruiting someone into a mental health career is four to eight years, she noted.
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Werner urged rural parents to do more to educate themselves on adolescent mental health needs, to intervene earlier when there are concerns, and to avail themselves of the assistance of their primary care physicians and staff in schools.
The Trust Project
