Duration: 10/01/2026 to 09/30/2031

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Rural communities face interconnected challenges such as high unemployment, limited healthcare and childcare, unaffordable housing, and young people leaving for cities. Small businesses and farms, which are the backbone of rural economies, struggle to find workers and stay profitable. Farmers and small business owners also experience high levels of stress, financial strain, and mental health issues. These problems reinforce each other and weaken entire communities. This project aims to understand what helps rural households, businesses, and farms thrive. Specifically, the team will: assess how gaps in infrastructure and amenities affect rural wellbeing; explore how small businesses and farms and their owners contribute to community health and prosperity; and analyze how economic development policies impact rural areas. The research benefits rural families, farmers, small business owners, community leaders, Extension professionals, and policymakers. Findings will help farmers and small business owners build community-centered businesses, help communities better support local enterprises, and give policymakers evidence to design more effective rural programs. The team will conduct surveys of households and businesses across the North Central Region, building a comprehensive database. By analyzing this data alongside other sources, we will identify what works—and what doesn’t—for rural prosperity. Results will be shared through publications and webinars. The project’s outputs and findings will improve decision-making, strengthen partnerships across states, and ultimately help rural communities become more resilient.

Statement of Issues and Justification

Most research on rural communities have taken a deficit perspective given the challenges experienced by rural communities (Schmidt et al. 2025). Rural communities have suffered from high unemployment, persistent poverty, substance misuse, and lack of adequate access to both human and physical infrastructure (Dabson, 2018; Lund et al., 2019; Sun and Monnat, 2022; Lichter and Johnson, 2023). These disparities play on one another and when not addressed lead to impoverished households, depressed labor outcomes, slow growth businesses and, thus, decreased community resilience.

Rural communities face particularly acute challenges in the care economy (Henning-Smith and Kozhimannil, 2016). Limited infrastructure, geographic isolation, and demographic trends toward aging populations create conditions where care demands frequently exceed available resources. The economic consequences extend beyond individual rural and farm families to affect entire regional economies, as farm and non-farm businesses struggle to attract and retain workers who lack adequate childcare support (Hofferth and Collins, 2000; Collins et al., 2021). Understanding these spatial disparities is essential for developing place-based policies that can address the unique challenges facing different types of communities.

Rural communities have focused on encouraging young people to return home to benefit to their community from their newly acquired education and experience. Dobson (2018) found that the out-migration of a younger, more educated labor force led to rural communities with an older population without the skills needed in a new economy. In some rural areas, out-migration has led to a labor shortage of working-age adults. Recent research has focused not only on out-migration, but also on staying behavior (Gruber, 2021; Haartsen and Stockdale, 2017; Bednarik and Unay-Gailhard, 2025). Cromartie et al. (2015) found that limited employment opportunities were a barrier for former residents to return to rural areas, but that returnees stated that wanting to help parents with family businesses was a pull to coming back. Bednarik and Unay-Gaihard (2025) found that physical infrastructure such as broadband access played a critical role in the staying behavior of millennials.

Cook et al. (2009) found that housing supply and quality were strong predictors of rural community vitality. However, many rural communities suffer from inadequate housing. Housing is in limited supply and what housing there is, may be of low quality or priced to be unaffordable (Gershenson and Desmond, 2024). Bredthauer et al. (2024) found that rural communities had a higher proportion of cost-burdened households, spending more than 30% of their income on housing (Bredthauer et al., 2024).

Rural areas rely on a higher proportion of self-employed and employment in farms, small businesses and microenterprises (Phillipson et al., 2019). Small businesses account for 54% of employment in rural communities (SBA, 2023), while small family farms account for 86% of farms and operate on 41% of agricultural land (Farrigan, et al., 2024). Rural communities also have a higher proportion of non-employer businesses (Conroy et al., 2025). Small businesses, farms, and microenterprises, in turn, rely on a rural labor force limited by persistent labor obstacles resulting in lower revenues and lower productivity (Lund et al., 2019; Partridge et al., 2010).  In 2024, small business owners reported that revenues were lower than the previous year (Federal Reserve Banks, 2025) and rural small business owners reported double the revenue decline of their urban counterparts in 2025. In fact, they were less likely to report revenue growth in the last three years and more likely to state they would not survive the next two years (PYMNTS Intelligence, 2025).

Rural and farm households in the North Central Region experience challenges such as access to child and elder care, healthcare access, affordable and quality housing, volatile markets, policy shocks, and demographic shifts. For example, farmers and ranchers face one of the highest suicide rates of any occupational group in the United States (McIntosh et al., 2016; Sussell et al., 2021) and these deaths are frequently linked to financial stress, volatile income streams, and lack of accessible mental health care. Thus, these challenges can lead to poor household, business, and community outcomes that decrease the resilience of rural households. 

A systematic theoretical and empirical approach warrants considering simultaneous stressors on the household, business, and community to understand what leads to enhanced household wellbeing, small business survival and rural success. This project examines innovative and evidence-based approaches for enhancing rural household welfare, workforce development, and business owner wellbeing to promote community prosperity.

 

Technical feasibility of the research

The NCR-Stat is a North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) database developed as a platform and incentive for interdisciplinary collaboration across states and across research and Extension. Continuing our research with two additional rounds of baseline surveys  and small business surveys to the NCR-Stat database through team collaboration to meet our new expanded objectives is highly feasible. We will build on the proven infrastructure and methodological expertise already established. The existing NCR-Stat framework provides a solid foundation, with established survey protocols, data collection mechanisms, and public dissemination pathways. The team’s demonstrated ability to coordinate across multiple states, integrate input from complementary research groups (NC1030, NC2172), and maintain data quality standards positions us well for longitudinal data collection.

To address the three objectives, the surveys will need strategic enhancements: expanding disparity measures to capture more granular healthcare access, caregiving burden, and housing affordability data (Objective 1); incorporating questions about business and farm community engagement, local hiring practices, attraction and retention of new residents and businesses, and community investment patterns (Objective 2); and adding modules to assess awareness, utilization, and perceived effectiveness of economic development programs and policies (Objective 3).

The established timeline of biennial data collection will allow for trend analysis over a six-year period, while the existing partnerships with regional experts and the proven webinar dissemination model will facilitate ongoing stakeholder engagement and ensure the expanded survey instruments remain relevant and actionable for rural communities and policymakers.

 

Advantages of doing this work as a multistate effort

The multidisciplinary perspective of the team allows us to address rural challenges in a holistic manner rather than in silos. Members of the team have appointments in research, teaching, and Extension which allows us to maximize knowledge transfer to different audiences such as academics, practitioners, policy makers, and community members. Working across the states and institutions enables identification of trends and solutions that transcend individual state or local boundaries, while still maintaining local contexts. A multistate and multidisciplinary effort allows for a local-to-region-to-local approach to research and Extension.

 

Impacts of the successfully completing the work

Understanding how rural businesses and farms contribute to community wellbeing will help entrepreneurs identify opportunities for community-centered business models and help communities leverage their local businesses more effectively for economic development. The comprehensive, multi-state longitudinal approach could become a template for rural research nationwide, potentially influencing how other regions conduct rural community assessments and how federal agencies fund rural research. Our work could create one of the most comprehensive longitudinal datasets on rural community dynamics, enabling future research on topics like rural resilience, community adaptation, and the long-term effects of policy interventions. This comprehensive evidence-based work could inform national conversations about rural America’s role in economic recovery, healthcare equity, and community sustainability, potentially shaping rural and farm policy.

Related, Current and Previous Work

We developed two surveys, NCR-Stat: Baseline 2022 and Baseline 2024, focused on households and collected data in 2022 and 2024. The data were made publicly available at https://ncrcrd.ag.purdue.edu/data-resources/ncr-stat/. The surveys have questions regarding household demographics, labor force participation, entrepreneurship, food security, caregiving, housing, health status and health care, substance misuse and addiction, quality of life, satisfaction, and wellbeing. We used data from the two NCR-Stat: Baseline surveys to write data snapshots and white papers focused on rural households in the NCR.

We also developed a survey, NCR-Stat: Small Business, focused on small businesses in the NCR. Beyond our group, we collaborated with members of NC1030 and NC2172 to review the survey and provide additional questions. We also sent the survey to other experts across the region. The survey was focused on identifying the strategies used by small rural businesses to maintain and develop a skilled and healthy labor force and assess the effect of workforce wellness programs on firm outcomes, such as employee retention and profitability. The survey had questions regarding entrepreneurship (business owning household and non-business owning households), health status and health care, substance misuse and addiction, quality of life, satisfaction, and wellbeing. Data for the NCR-Stat: Small Business was collected in Spring 2024 and made publicly available in May 2024 at https://purr.purdue.edu/publications/4510/1. We conducted a webinar titled Introducing the New NCR-Stat: Small Business Dataset. The group is currently using these data to work on manuscripts focused on copreneurs, childcare, financial stress, recovery friendly workplaces, and well-being. For example, one publication is focusing on how income, profit, and sector-specific factors interact with mediating constructs such as community trust, locus of control financial stress, and business issues.

The team also worked on a caregiving survey, NCR-Stat: Caregiving, which was led by two NCRCRD fellows from Ohio State University and the National Farm Medicine Center. The survey development team included caregiving exports from across the country. We collaborated with the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development to conduct the survey in both regions. The purpose of the survey was to learn more about individual and families who provide care and how caregiving affects economic development and quality of life in the North Central and Northeast Regions. Data are available at https://ncrcrd.ag.purdue.edu/data-resources/ncr-stat/ and have been used to publish journal artices and outreach publications.

We worked on developing a workplace wellness program for small rural business employees to motivate healthy workplace communication and employee well-being. It was provided to 240 employees in rural counties in Indiana. A publication examined the evaluation of the impact of workplace wellness program on employee well-being. Another paper compared the mental health and well-being of blue-collar and white collar employees in rural communities.

Publications from the team cover a diverse range of topics affecting rural communities in the NCR. Publications focused on health and well-being issues, including mental health during the pandemic, household health status, health insurance and coverage plans, medical bill affordability, substance use disorder treatment program awareness, health disparities and subjective well-being, and caregivers’ health and well-being. Another publication examined the psychological determinants of subjective well-being among small business owners, with particular attention on gender differences in how locus of control and trust shape life satisfaction. Publications have also examined employment and workforce topics, addressing women's unemployment during COVID-19, workforce participation preferences following the pandemic, and perceptions of equal employment opportunities. Publications investigated food security, exploring food sufficiency in households and its impact on health status. The remaining publications addressed social and community life, including happiness levels in the region, the relationship between education and happiness, family household preferences for those with and without children, and the childcare time burden.

The webinars provided educational programming on complementary topics. Three webinars introduced data and research tools, including the NCR-Stat household and small business datasets, as well as other regional data resources like the Nebraska Rural Poll and Ohio Farm Poll. One webinar addressed rural health and well-being through a two-part series on social well-being and maternal and child health. Two webinars focused on food systems, covering support for rural grocery stores and collaboration in local and regional food systems. Five webinars concentrated on economic and community development, discussing healthcare access for self-employed workers, federal programs for rural entrepreneurs, rural workforce development through Extension programs, community development principles, and community leadership development systems. Another webinar explored food security, access, and health outcomes in rural communities. Additionally, one webinar explored resilient couples and communities, examining family relationships in rural communities.

Potential Collaboration with other Multistate Projects

The following multistate projects were found to be potential partners for collaboration based on their stated objectives. NC1100 has collaborated with members of NC1030, NC2172, and W5001 on data collection, research and outreach publications, and webinars.

1. NC1030: Sustainable and Resilient Systems: Transformative Response to Disruptions by Families, Businesses, and Communities. Objectives:
   1. Identify and measure the sources of major change and disruption and the structural barriers that impact the family/household, the business or the community.
   2. Identify and measure transformative responses to the positive and negative impacts of change and disruption on the family/household, the business, or the community.
   3. Determine and inform policy or practice related to the wellbeing of the family, the business, or the community.
2. NC1171 Individual, family, and community factors associated with resilience in diverse, rural, low-income families. Objectives:
   1. Examine rural, low-income family systems functioning and resilience.
   2. Investigate the implications of rural sustainability for family systems functioning and resilience.
   3. Strengthen rural sustainable systems, family functioning, and resilience.
3. NC2172 Behavioral economics and the intersection of healthcare and financial decision making across the lifespan. Objectives:
   1. Understanding family and consumer financial and health decisions under economic uncertainties.
   2. Identifying personal or household characteristics and other contextual factors contributing to household financial and/or health decisions and well-being.
   3. Assessing the role of financial capability, healthcare access, and inequalities on household decision-making and well-being.
   4. Applying the framework of behavioral economics to inform policy making to improve household well-being.
4. W5001 Rural population change and adaptation in the context of health, economic, and environmental shocks and stressors. Objectives:
   1. Describe recent U.S. rural population change and the components of these changes (births, deaths, internal and international migration), and investigate the roles of recent population health, environmental, and policy shocks and stressors in driving these changes.
   2. Describe shifts in rural economic wellbeing (i.e., poverty, livelihood strategies, income, housing, infrastructure) in the context of recent population health, environmental, and policy shocks and stressors and identify linkages between economic wellbeing and population dynamics, policies, and institutional responses.
   3. Describe shifts in rural economic wellbeing (i.e., poverty, livelihood strategies, income, housing, infrastructure) in the context of recent population health, environmental, and policy shocks and stressors and identify linkages between economic wellbeing and population dynamics, policies, and institutional responses.

Objectives

1. Assess the impact of community infrastructure, amenity, and food access disparities on the wellbeing of households, business owning households, and farms in rural communities.
   
2. Explore the role of small businesses and farms, and their owners, in addressing the health, wellbeing, and prosperity of rural and urban residents.
   
3. Analyze the impact of economic development policies and programs on farms and rural economies.
   

Methods

The group will use data from the NCR-Stat Database and other secondary databases such as the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys (MEPS), American Community Surveys (ACS) and Current Population Surveys (CPS). NCR-Stat: Database includes two baseline surveys (2022 and 2024), a caregiving survey (2024), and a small business survey (2024). The surveys cover essential topics related to household, business, and community well-being. The primary aim of the surveys was to gain a better understanding of the conditions, issues, and challenges faced by communities in the North Central Region (NCR).

The group will participate in survey design and data analysis for the new waves of baseline surveys (2026 and 2028). The group will also participate in survey design and data analysis of two farm and small business surveys. The group has experience gathering data on households, farms, businesses, communities and the interaction between them. The baseline surveys provide information on household demographics, income, workforce participation, entrepreneurship, caregiving, housing, broadband, migration and staying behavior, civic engagement, community belonging, health, food security, satisfaction and well-being, and the environment. The farm and business surveys includes data on farmers, small business owners, copreneurs, business benefits, mental health, workforce development, trust and community, adjustment strategies, socioemotional wealth, financials, and owners’ households. To collect the necessary data, we designed an online survey using Qualtrics. Qualtrics® distributed the survey and gathered data based on pre-defined sampling quotas and screening questions. Based on the population characteristics of each NCR state, Qualtrics® applied two different data gathering methods. An online survey was distributed to households in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. A mixed-method approach (online panel and Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing – CATI) was used in Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

The group is multidisciplinary and relies on different theoretical models and data analysis techniques. Analytical and statistical techniques used for projects within each objective will vary based upon the nature of the research questions and the hypothesized relationships being tested. For example, team members have used discrete choice modeling, multivariate regression, and structural equation modeling in previous projects. Along with these methods, to fulfill the new objectives, a decomposition analysis can be used to evaluate differences in subjective well-being between rural and urban residents, male and female business owners, and other groups. Difference-in-differences model will be used to analyze the impacts of economic development policies and programs on rural economies. The group will work collaboratively in subgroups to address the objectives. In most cases, group members work on more than one objective. 

Measurement of Progress and Results

Outputs

• NCR-Stat Database. This is an open access database that is available on the Purdue University Research Repository and linked to Ag Data Commons. Comments: a. Policy guide on collection and use of data b. Survey instrument for dataset c. Dataset
• Scholarly work such as academic publications and Extension publications.
• Dissemination of work to stakeholders through newsletter articles.
• Webinar series focused on rural development issues.

Outcomes or Projected Impacts

• Improved knowledge of the disparities and assets that enhance the resilience of rural households, farmers, businesses, and communities.
• Increased partnerships across the region in both research and extension programs.
• Increased capacity of faculty and staff to enhance rural development through research, Extension, and education.
• Increased research capacity that leads to transformational change for rural communities.
• Improved policy decision-making for rural communities.
• Development of next generation of economic, agricultural, and rural development scientists.

Milestones

(2026):See attachment for detailed timeline and milestones

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Outreach Plan

Findings will be disseminated to rural stakeholders, rural development practitioners, and policy makers. The findings and activities of the project will be disseminated via the NCRCRD website and the Center’s related social media. We will also publish academic articles, Extension publications, curricula, and a quarterly newsletter. A webinar series that reflects the thematic area and work of the region focused on rural development will also be offered. The NCRCRD will facilitate workshops and train-the-trainer opportunities across the region to Extension professionals.

Organization/Governance

The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development will provide coordination services for the multi-state project. Dialogue and consensus modes will be used to form work teams and execute joint projects. The NCRCRD Director serves as Chair of the Committee. The Secretary is elected every two years

Literature Cited

Bednarik, Z., & Unay-Gailhard, İ. (2025). Who Stays in Rural Areas? Understanding Gender Differences in Location Decisions Among Millennials in the United States. Population, Space and Place, 31(6), e70076. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.70076

Bredthauer, J. S., Iqbal, J., & Decker, C. (2024). Disparities in Housing Affordability by Income, Housing Tenure, and Race in US Census-designated Regions.

Collins, C., Ruppanner, L., Landivar, L. C., & Scarborough, W. J. (2021). The gendered consequences of a weak infrastructure of care: School reopening plans and parents’ employment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gender & Society, 35(2), 180–193. https://doi.org/10.1177/08912432211001300

Cook, C. C., Crull, S. R., Bruin, M. J., Yust, B. L., Shelley, M. C., Laux, S., Memken, J., Niemeyer, S., & White, B. J. (2009). Evidence of a Housing Decision Chain in Rural Community Vitality. Rural Sociology, 74(1), 113–137. https://doi.org/10.1526/003601109787524124

Conroy, T., Landini, A., & McDermott, M. (n.d.). Nonemployer Businesses Are Increasing in Number in Rural America.

Cromartie, J.B., C. von Reichert, and R.O. Arthun. 2015. Factors Affecting Former Residents' Returning to Rural Communities. USDA Economic Research Service, Economic Research Report ERR-185.

Dabson, B. 2018. The Rural Dimensions of Workforce Development. In Andreason, S., T. Greene, H. Prince, & C.E. Van Horn (eds.) Investing in America’s Workforce: Improving Outcomes for Workers and Employers, Volume 2: Investing in Work. pp 183-194. Kalamazoo MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

Farrigan, T., Genetin, B., Sanders, A., Pender, J., Thomas, K. L., Winkler, R. L., & Cromartie, J. (2024). Rural America at a Glance: 2024 Edition (Economic Information Bulletin No. 282). Economic Research Service. https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.348093

Federal Reserve Banks. (2025) Report on Employer Firms: Findings from the 2024 Small Business Credit Survey. Small Business Credit Survey, 20250327. https://doi.org/10.55350/sbcs-20250327

Gershenson, C., & Desmond, M. (2024). Eviction and the Rental Housing Crisis in Rural America. Rural Sociology, 89(1), 86–105. https://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.12528

Gruber, E. (2021). Staying and immobility: New concepts in population geography? A literature review. Geographica Helvetica, 76(2), 275–284. https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-76-275-2021

Haartsen, T., & Stockdale, A. (2018). S/elective belonging: How rural newcomer families with children become stayers. Population, Space and Place, 24(4), e2137. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2137

Henning-Smith, C., & Kozhimannil, K. B. (2016). Availability of child care in rural communities: Implications for workforce recruitment and retention. Journal of Community Health, 41(3), 488–493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-015-0120-3

Hofferth, S., & Collins, N. (2000). Child care and employment turnover. Population Research and Policy Review, 19(4), 357–395. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026575709022

Lichter, D. T., & Johnson, K. M. (2023). Urbanization and the Paradox of Rural Population Decline: Racial and Regional Variation. Socius, 9, 23780231221149896. https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231221149896

Lund, S., J. Manyika, L.H. Segel, A. Dua, B. Hancock, S. Rutherford, and B. Macon. 2019. The Future of Work in America: People and Places, Today and Tomorrow. McKinsey Global Institute.

McIntosh, W. L., Spies, E., Stone, D. M., Lokey, C. N., Trudeau, A. T., & Bartholow, B. (2016). Suicide rates by occupational group—17 states. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 65, 641–645. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6525a1

Partridge, M.D., D.S. Rickman, K. Ali, and M.R. Olfert. 2010. The spatial dynamics of factor price differentials: productivity or consumer amenity driven? Regional Science and Urban Economics, 40(6):440-452.

Phillipson, J., P. Tiwasing, M. Gorton, S. Maioli, R. Newbery, and R. Turner. 2019. Shining a spotlight on small rural businesses: How does their performance compare with urban? Journal of Rural Studies, 68:230-239.

PYMNTS. (2025, March 25). Rural Small Businesses Report Double the Sales Decline of Urban Counterparts. PYMNTS.Com. https://www.pymnts.com/smbs/2025/rural-small-businesses-report-double-the-sales-decline-of-urban-counterparts/

Schmidt, D., Conroy, T., & Deller, S. (2025). Pathways to Prosperity: Moving Beyond Growth to Evaluate Change in Community Well-Being. Choices Magazine, 40(Quarter 2). https://www.choicesmagazine.org/UserFiles/file/cmsarticle_974.pdf

Small Business Administration. (2023) Small Business Facts—Small Businesses in Rural Areas, August 2023.

Sun, Y., & Monnat, S. M. (2022). Rural-urban and within-rural differences in COVID-19 vaccination rates. The Journal of Rural Health, 38(4), 916–922. https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12625

Sussell, A., Peterson, C., Li, J., Miniño, A., Scott, K. A., & Stone, D. M. (2023). Suicide rates by industry and occupation—National vital statistics system, United States. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 72, 1346–1350. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7250a2

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

IN, WI

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

Minnesota State University Mankato, Purdue University