Opportunity Youth: Disenfranchised Young People

2/9/2018 Disconnected Youth: Out of School and Out of Work in Rural America
Behind the Numbers
The disconnected rate reflects both education and employment, and the two factors have evolved
differently in rural and urban areas. In 2000, disconnected rates were lower in rural areas than in
urban areas. But since then, fortunes have reversed, according to a separate Stateline analysis of
data from the U.S. Census Bureau provided by ipums.org at the University of Minnesota.
(The definition of rural areas in this data — counties that are not in areas near sizeable cities — is
broader than that used by Measure of America, and includes about 13 percent of the nation’s
population, compared to 6 percent under the Measure of America definition.)
In 2000, 11 percent of young people in rural areas were disconnected, compared to 15 percent in
urban areas, according to the Stateline analysis. But since 2013, the rural rate has been at least 3
percentage points higher than the urban rate. In 2016, 17 percent of young people in rural areas
were disconnected, compared to 13 percent in urban areas.
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2017/04/27/disconnected-youth-out-of-school-and-out-of-work-in-rural-america 4/7