Why rural college graduates go home

Stephanie Sowl wrote in The Conversation yesterday.  Sowl reports that the rural brain drain trend is reversing and provides these details 

To find out what might be prompting some college graduates to return to their rural hometowns later in life, we conducted a study using national data on the well-being of adolescents into adulthood to look at why people who grew up in rural places decided to return. Specifically, we took a look at whether their middle and high school experiences had any connection to their decision to return home in their late 30s or early 40s. We considered only those individuals who had gone at least 50 miles away to complete a bachelor’s degree. We found three factors that contributed to college graduates coming back home.

1. Tight-knit school communities

We found that the more students enjoyed school and felt as if they belonged, the more likely these college-educated adults from rural areas returned home. Even after considering demographic, neighborhood and college characteristics, positive middle and high school experiences remained significant. This demonstrates the lasting value of supportive teacher-student and peer relationships.

This is consistent with other research that has found college graduates who return had roots that made them feel grounded in their rural hometowns.

2. Fewer people and more land

College-educated people from smaller towns or open, undeveloped land were twice as likely to return home as people who grew up in slightly larger rural towns.

3. Contributing to their communities

College graduates who grew up in rural communities where relatively few people went to college were more likely to return home than those from communities with more college-educated adults.

Read the entire essay here.