Recent trends in nonmetropolitan migration: toward a new turnaround?

An attempt is made to review migration trends in the United States over the past 30 years. The emphasis is on changes in migration patterns between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. "Annual net migration estimates are examined, considering the changing metropolitan-nonmetropolitan differential, and differences across geographic and functional county types in nonmetropolitan areas. Some differences stand out across the 24-year period, but the most notable finding is the widespread nature of the turnaround, the reversal, and the current recovery. There are differences between the present and the 1970s, but a trend toward greater retention and/or acquisition of people in rural and small town areas is clear."