For big city dwellers the answer is yes. Most of the major metropolitan areas in the region grew at a healthy rate between July 2007 and July 2008. Seven of ten major cities (Billings, Bismarck, Casper, Cheyenne, Fargo, Rapid City and Sioux Falls) expanded by an average of 1.9 percent. These growth rates don’t compare to the boom in some parts of the West and the South, but they are significant to a region that has been losing population for such a long time.

Not all metro areas in the region were winners. Grand Forks, Great Falls and Sioux City grew by just under half a percent over the year. These cities have been struggling to hold population throughout this decade. Since 2000, for example, Grand Forks has lost nearly 200 residents. Meanwhile, the metropolitan population of the Sioux City area has been essentially flat for eight years.

But did urban growth rates come at the continuing expense of rural counties and micropolitan communities? Out of 20 “micropolitan” areas (see Census definition) with populations ranging from 15,878 to 70,694, growth rates between 2007 and 2008 were all below the average of the metropolitan areas. Collectively, they grew by an average of just over half a percent. Communities that lost 1 percent or more of their population included Pierre, SD and Wahpeton, ND-MN. Micropolitan areas that gained more than 1 percent included Brookings, SD; Grand Island, NE; Huron, SD; Laramie, WY; Riverton, WY and Sheridan, WY. Thus, with some variation, the micropolitan communities are holding their own within the northern Great Plains region, but they are not growing as fast as the metropolitan areas.

State-to-state variations are significant as well. With its energy resources, eastern Wyoming’s metropolitan and micropolitan areas all have net positive growth in this decade. In North Dakota, however, while the metropolitan areas have shown healthy growth, the micropolitan have, for the most part, lost population since 2000. Meanwhile, in South Dakota and Nebraska, micropolitan areas have experienced more uneven growth with some communities growing by several percentage points since 2000 and others losing population.

What about the rural counties? In all of the counties in easter Montana, Wyoming and the states of North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska, population outside the metropolitan areas has continued to decline. The economic opportunities offered by the Internet and telecommuting have not begun to influence the larger demographic wave of history that has carried people out of these rural communities and into the major towns and cities of the region. The slow growth of some micropolitan regions, and even the slowing of the exodus from some rural communities, may reflect the presence of new pioneers working remotely from the northern Great Plains, but until we get richer data from the 2010 Census, we won’t know for sure.

(An earlier version of this post also appeared on www.dakotaday.com)

(For direct access to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent population estimates, visit U.S. Census)

According to a recently released nationwide survey by the Pew Research Center, nearly half of all Americans say they would prefer to live in a small town or rural area. Of those who haven’t already acted on this dream, most live in cities (as opposed to suburbs) and are over the age of 30.

What keeps these people from moving? For most, it’s the lack of a job. But as more Americans discover opportunities to work remotely, many are likely to seek their ideal communities in rural America. The New Pioneers profiled are already moving to small towns and rural communities in South Dakota and working for employers or clients far away.

The American attraction to small town and rural life is deeply rooted in our culture and history. The Pew survey found that perceptions of a higher quality of life in small town America still color our attitudes about where many of us want to live. Three our of four Americans, for example, say they want to live somewhere where the pace of life is slow rather than fast. By nearly the same percentage, Americans prefer to live in a community where people know one another well — a small town as opposed to a city.

Residents of small towns and rural areas, as well as suburbs, are more likely to be satisfied with their communities. They say crime is not a problem, and well over 80 percent of those surveyed felt that their communities were good places to raise children. Small town and rural residents were bothered less by traffic than their urban or suburban counterparts.

People in small towns and rural areas, as well as suburbs, fell more connected to one another. Compared to city dwellers, a greater percentage of them say they have plenty of friends living nearby. Rural and small town residents also report that they have more family living with an hour’s drive.

But the Pew survey also highlights factors that could present challenges to small towns and rural areas seeking to attract the create workers who drive the knowledge economy. Young people, for example, still prefer to live in cities — although not all of them. A little more than one in four under the age of 30 would rather live in a small town or rural area.

Embracing different races and cultures is also an issue. Although 65 percent of all those surveyed said they preferred to live in a community with a mix of different races, rural and small town residents were more likely to say that they preferred to live with people of their own race. Small towns and rural areas were also more likely to have older and less educated populations, suggesting they would be less open to new ideas.

Overall, the Pew survey suggests that small towns and rural communities interested in revitalizing their economies by attracting more residents can capitalize on the longing of city dwellers for a more leisurely and connected way of life. But to be successful, they will need to prepare their communities to be more accepting of people who may not look or think like everyone else in town. The reward for greater tolerance may be greater prosperity.

To link to the Pew Research Center report: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1096/community-satisfaction-top-cities.

(This entry originally published on www.dakotaday.com)