Pros And Cons Of Rural Iowa And Urban Iowa

The difference between small town, rural Iowa and urban Iowa is staggering. Compared to the big city, ‘everybody knows everybody’ in small towns-- especially with high school graduation classes that can be in the low thirties. But still, it’s hard to say that most rural Iowa natives wouldn’t like to be closer to a shopping mall or movie theater. On the other hand, many cityfolk are charmed by the idea of small town life. No matter how one looks at it, each part of Iowa has negatives and positives, and it’s important to learn these pros and cons before deciding where to live. The easiest way to begin this process is to analyze Iowa’s population data. If one is deciding to move to or from Iowa, they can, if well informed on Iowa’s demographic

For starters, the state’s growth is middle of the road compared to the rest of the U.S. From 2010 to 2016, the state grew 6.8 percent, about 4 percent lower than the the U.S.’s total population growth. This is a pro for Iowa: a big boom in population would be too hard to manage, whereas a slow and steady increase makes problems such as housing and services viable. Another pro for Iowa is an increase in hispanic immigrants. When immigrants move to Iowa, they often move to small towns, which can offset the dwindling population of small-town Iowa, reviving businesses and the economy. However, Iowa’s population trends do have their cons. Iowa’s population, as a whole, is aging as young people 18 to early 30s move away, leaving elderly citizens who consume government and medical services while producing less. Aging workers create a hole in the job market, which means more and more jobs vanish from Iowa. This also creates another disadvantage for Iowa: without young people to have children, the population of small town Iowa will continue to age until those towns disappear completely without the businesses, schools, and people to sustain

One overwhelmingly positive trend is the influx of immigrants. Once they move to Iowa, they sometimes move to rural towns and take factory jobs or start their own businesses there. That can revive towns because the immigrants aren’t usually elderly people, they are usually working age people ready to start families. A negative trend is that after young people graduate college, they usually leave the state, and without college graduates, jobs that require college degrees won’t come to the state. However, there is a positive upside: the young Iowans who leave usually come back to be closer to family and to start their own. In the same manner, since Iowa has lots of entry level jobs but not many high or mid level jobs, middle aged people climbing in their career ladder also leave the