Taking Stock of Rural America

5 DECADES OF TAKING STOCK IN RURAL AMERICA

RURAL PEOPLE, RURAL PLACES, RURAL HOUSING

First published in 1984, Taking Stock is a decennial research publication of the Housing Assistance Council. The 2023 edition of Taking Stock continues this legacy of presenting social, economic, and housing trends for rural places and rural people.



In the early 1980s, the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) published its initial Taking Stock report. This seminal work was one of the first comprehensive assessments of rural housing and rural poverty conditions in the United States. The first Taking Stock also exposed the plight and housing need of the nation’s high poverty rural areas. HAC’s decennial Taking Stock analysis continued in 1990, 2000, and 2010 and has increasingly expanded to cover a broader scope of social, economic, and housing trends in rural areas. The 2023 edition of Taking Stock continues its legacy of presenting a composite picture of trends and issues important to rural people, places, and housing.

Maria Chavira cooks tortillas, eggs, and beans inside her home

HAC Announces Beneficiaries for Accessible & Universal Design Workshop Series

In rural areas, approximately one in three adults lives with a disability. Rural America also has a higher proportion of older residents than the nation as a whole. There is a pressing need to address the unique housing challenges facing these vulnerable populations. To empower rural communities with the necessary skills and expertise to do just that, we are excited to share that HAC has chosen 30 individuals from 27 organizations to participate in our exclusive Accessible and Universal Design workshop series.

Thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, this workshop series aims to equip participants with the latest tools and best practices tailored to address the unique challenges faced by rural communities. Shonterria Charleston, HAC’s Director of Training and Technical Assistance, emphasized, “rural residents living with disabilities encounter various obstacles. In recognition of Disability Pride Month, HAC is pleased to offer the Accessible and Universal Design Learning Series. This series is designed to highlight essential resources, expand capacity, and enrich expertise that empowers rural communities to implement inclusive housing programs that address the needs of all residents.”

A summary of the selected participants and the list of awarded organizations can be found below.

Workshop Series Summary

The Housing Assistance Council’s (HAC) Accessible and Universal Design workshop series is an opportunity to learn how housing activities can address the accessibility, mobility, and design needs of every client. This series will provide 30 housing professionals with the foundation, skills, and real-world examples needed to design and reimagine housing programs that support the changing needs of clients at every stage of life.

Through the learning series, HAC will guide participants on integrating accessible and universal design principles into their housing design and construction activities. By focusing on factors such as accessibility, mobility, and design flexibility, attendees will gain valuable insights on how to meet the diverse needs of community members.

Selected Organizations

  • Alaska Community Development Corp
  • Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation, Inc.
  • CAC of Fayette County
  • Caroline County Habitat for Humanity
  • City of Excelsior Springs
  • Community Outreach Housing
  • Community Ventures
  • Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (2 participants)
  • Fauquier Habitat for Humanity
  • Habitat for Humanity of Portage County (2 participants)
  • Habitat for Humanity of Wisconsin River Area
  • Impact Educational and Housing Development
  • Kent Attainable Housing, Inc.
  • Lakeway Area Habitat for Humanity
  • Mountain Projects, Inc.
  • MS Delta Housing Program, Inc.
  • PathStone Corporation
  • Penquis CAP
  • Pensacola Habitat for Humanity (2 participants)
  • Project BEE
  • Purple Heart Homes
  • Red Cliff Chippewa Housing Authority
  • RUPCO, Inc
  • Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc., (RurAL CAP)
  • Southside Outreach Group, Inc.
  • TCAC Tennessee’s Community Assistance Corporation
  • Transylvania Habitat for Humanity

Rural Recap – Promoting Prosperity

Rural communities need—and deserve—a coherent, national policy strategy that promotes prosperity. For such a strategy to move the needle, it must end the housing affordability crisis and build the capacity of rural communities to make the most of every opportunity.

Our homes are part of the foundation of thriving families and communities—they are pathways to realizing America’s full potential. With decent, healthy, and affordable homes, kids can succeed at school, seniors can age in place, and families can build wealth. Economics, health, education, and many more components of prosperous communities are all intimately tied to our homes.

The capital needed for a housing market to function is a lot like water: it flows down the path of least resistance, and it pools. For over 50 years—whether intentionally or not—public policy has channeled capital’s flow into sprawling metropolitan regions and allowed it to pool in suburbs and downtown commercial centers. This has deepened inequality and stifled opportunity in the communities that have been left out.

Building rural prosperity will happen one nail and one funding application at a time. Turning those into a national renaissance for rural America will take strategy. If we want investment to flow to a broader set of places and especially to the people and places which need it most, then we need public policy specifically designed to drive resources in their direction. To make the most of that capital, we must also build the capacity of those communities.

HAC builds the capacity of small towns and rural places to create thriving, prosperous communities. If you share our mission, please advocate on behalf of public funds for capacity building programs. We also hope you will consider making a gift to HAC to help us do more in rural America.

Get the Rural Recap in Your Inbox Donate to HAC
HAC in the News

HAC Launches USDA-backed Placemaking Program

Contact: Hillary Presecan, hillary@ruralhome.org
(340) 227-1978

10 communities selected for cohort

Washington, DC, February 10, 2023 –The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) announced the ten communities selected for our Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge (RPIC) cohort. RPIC is a USDA program that funds planning support, technical assistance, and training to encourage placemaking activities in rural communities. The ten communities selected to be part of HAC’s cohort will receive 15 months of capacity building support, connection to a peer cohort, and seed grant funding. In May 2023, the cohort will gather in Newbern, Alabama, for hands-on rural placemaking training hosted by Rural Studio® an off-campus design-build program of Auburn University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture. Rural Studio® is a national leader in creating rural affordable housing along with the vital systems that create strong rural communities.

“Placemaking is a thread that binds so many local efforts to improve rural communities, from affordable housing to broadband to arts and culture,” said Shonterria Charleston, HAC’s Director of Training and Technical Assistance. “Through RPIC, we will assess local needs, create a relevant curriculum, and provide coaching and capacity building as each community takes on a local placemaking challenge.” Charleston noted that building on local assets, even in distressed communities, is a hallmark of placemaking.

A summary of the cohort and highlights from each selected community are below.

Summary

HAC’s Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge (RPIC) cohort is a USDA funded initiative that supports 10 rural and tribal economically distressed communities largely in the southern United States by boosting placemaking capacity and connecting selected communities with peer support, public and private resources, and access to rural placemaking experts while engaging with local broadband providers on improving internet access in their community.

HAC’s RPIC strategy is framed by our 50 years of working in rural America’s poorest communities and rural design and placemaking leadership.

HAC’s RPIC cohort will engage with a curriculum that emphasizes placemaking as a tool for economic development and community cohesion. Community-identified needs will inform the curriculum. In May 2023, the cohort will gather in Newbern, AL, to learn alongside Auburn Rural Studio faculty, students, and partner organizations.

After the gathering at Rural Studio, RPIC communities will continue planning and carrying out their local placemaking challenges into 2024. As the RPIC cycle concludes, HAC case studies featuring RPIC Cohort communities will contribute to a burgeoning national dialogue surrounding rural placemaking and design. HAC will also connect RPIC communities with broadband expertise and resources tailored to local needs throughout the RPIC program.

Selected Communities & Placemaking Challenge

  • Covenant Faith Outreach Ministries | Covenant CD: Tupelo, MS

Covenant Faith Outreach Ministries is taking on housing supply—especially for seniors and broader community engagement strategies via its work with RPIC.

  • Helping One Another, Inc.: Sardis, MS 

Helping One Another, Inc. is working to implement the MiCASiTA model in the community. MiCASiTA gives homeowners design choices in modular homes along with a path to multi-generational wealth.  Helping One Another’s RPIC participation will bolster the organization’s capacity for strategic planning, identifying resources, and related design assistance, including a charrette.

  • Paxico and Beyond Community and Economic Development (TEX): Paxico, KS 

Via RPIC, Paxico and Beyond Community and Economic development seeks to coalesce community involvement toward addressing ongoing transportation, flooding/stormwater, and related issues identified in a recent assessment. RPIC will also work to increase the organization’s grant writing capacity.

  • Mountain T.O.P.: Altamont, TN 

Mountain T.O.P. seeks to boost its cross-sector capacity via RPIC—especially toward addressing single family and multi-family housing needs, including exploration of housing tax credit programs. 

  • Men and Women United for Youth & Families: Delco, NC 

Men and Women United for Youth & Families addresses a wide range of issues from food security to environmental justice and leadership. Via RPIC, the organization will bolster its placemaking capacity in rural portions of its service area.

  • United Communities Assistance Network (UCAN!): Supply, NC 

United Communities Assistance Network (UCAN!) will tap RPIC’s technical assistance and coaching for a strategic planning process. UCAN!’s longer term goals include a resource hub for healthy food access, economic development, and entrepreneurship.

  • City of Hinton: Hinton, WV 

Tourism and economic development are on the upswing in Hinton, WV as the region’s recreation economy, anchored by the New River Gorge National Park, continues to grow. RPIC will help Hinton’s city government navigate affordable housing, historic preservation, and other opportunities—especially the prioritization of community needs.

  • Philippi Grand Theater Project (Woodlands supported): Philippi, WV  

The Grand Theater building once anchored Phillipi’s downtown business district. But the building shuttered in the 1990s. RPIC will bolster ongoing restoration efforts as part of a broader economic development and placemaking strategy.

  • Seminole Arts Council, Inc.: Seminole, OK 

Seminole Arts Council is actively engaged in reuse and preservation efforts for historic buildings and public parks. The organization is also working toward “commUNITY” gathering space to promote local cohesion. RPIC will connect the Council’s work with resource development and placemaking best practices.

  • Prek-12 and Beyond: Tallulah, LA 

Pre-12 and Beyond is a grassroots organization that addresses Tallulah’s broad challenges tied to lumber mill closures—while building on underlying assets.  RPIC participation will connect Pre-12 and Beyond with regional and national best practices tied to quality of life, economic vitality, and broadband access.

HAC to Expand Work with Community Facilities

For fifty years, the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) has helped build homes and communities across rural America. Now, we’re working to expand our footprint by working with more communities to develop and rehabilitate community facilities.

Community facilities—such as parks, libraries, hospitals, and childcare centers—provide public services for everyone, making neighborhoods a better place to call home. They not only cultivate a feeling of belonging; they also provide tangible benefits for residents. As HAC’s Director of Training and Technical Assistance, Shonterria Charleston, puts it, “building rural communities is about more than houses. It’s about building the places where people learn, where they grow, and where they get their healthcare.”

Thanks to two grants from the US Department of Agriculture, HAC will work with small towns, including those affecting by natural disasters, to build and rehab much-needed community facilities. In fact, HAC is hiring a Community Facilities Housing Specialist to help us do this work by providing technical assistance to rural organizations. You can learn more about the position here.

Policy News from Congress

Congressional Hearing Addresses Refinancing for Rural Homeowners

On May 6, 2021 the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture held a virtual hearing on the Biden administration’s plans for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development mission area, which covers housing, community facilities, utilities and business. Broadband internet connection was the subject raised most often by members of the subcommittee.

Justin Maxson, the Deputy Under Secretary for RD, delivered written testimony and a prepared statement based on the FY22 budget “blueprint” released by the administration on April 9, which does not include any specifics on USDA’s housing programs.

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDS

Some details about the $39 million appropriated for USDA’s single-family direct loan programs in the American Rescue Plan Act, the most recent coronavirus relief package, were provided by Chad Parker, Acting Administrator of the Rural Housing Service. He said the funds will be used to refinance loans to existing USDA borrowers who have been under forbearance during the pandemic.

USDA expects to issue guidance to its staff later in May and then to begin accepting applications for these refinances in late May or early June. USDA anticipates the dollar value of these loans will be about $650 million for Section 502 direct mortgages and $18.8 million for Section 504 home repair loans, Parker said. The $39 million figure in the statute refers to budget authority, the amount it will actually cost the government to provide the new loans. The American Rescue Plan Act also appropriated $100 million to provide Section 521 Rental Assistance for tenants who do not already receive it. USDA has already issued guidance for field staff regarding these funds.

RENTAL PRESERVATION AND OTHER HOUSING TOPICS

Responding to a question from Bishop, Parker reported that USDA has 171 shovel-ready projects in line to receive FY21 funding under the Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization Program. In the longer term, he said, it will be important to address the past underfunding of the multifamily programs and to provide Section 521 Rental Assistance for currently unassisted tenants.

Bishop also asked about options for relieving the “subsidy recapture” burden when a homeowner with a Section 502 direct loan sells their home and is then required to repay the subsidy provided through the low-interest USDA mortgage. USDA would welcome a change in that requirement, Parker replied, but it is imposed by statute and would have to be removed by Congress. He noted that the recaptured subsidy is used for the program, so eliminating the recapture requirement would increase the program’s cost.

USDA STAFFING AND LOCAL CAPACITY

Maxson’s testimony emphasized the need to increase Rural Development’s staffing. RD’s “portfolio is currently more than twice as large as it was 10 years ago with a staff that is 30% smaller,” his written statement asserted. In addition, within three years a third of RD’s professional staff will be eligible for retirement.

Bishop noted that local community capacity is also important to ensure full use of USDA’s resources, and Maxson agreed.

Maxson referred several times to what he called the “StrikeForce 2.0” initiative, for example telling Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) that effort would help coordinate among federal agencies in order to meet the needs of the colonias along the U.S.-Mexico border. The budget blueprint describes StrikeForce as “a renewed and expanded initiative to leverage USDA’s extensive network of offices to help people in high poverty communities tap into Federal resources.” The original StrikeForce initiative was launched during the Obama Administration and was used in several states.

Appearing with Maxson and Parker, and responding to questions about their agencies, were Karama Neal, Administrator of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and Christopher McLean, Acting Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service.

Policy News from the Administration

Updated – Infrastructure Proposal Includes Housing, Broadband and a new Rural Partnership Program

UPDATED March 31, 2021, 6:00 pm – The Biden administration released a sweeping infrastructure proposal today that includes both housing and rural economic development. Titled “The American Jobs Plan,” the proposal includes a wide array of subjects.

Rural, tribal and underserved areas are mentioned repeatedly in the White House’s fact sheet summarizing the plan, including in the housing section. HAC supports the inclusion of increased rural housing resources in the infrastructure plan, especially around USDA multifamily preservation and capacity building.

HOUSING

Acknowledging the severe shortage of affordable housing options in the United States, the White House would invest $213 billion to produce, preserve and retrofit affordable homes, including 500,000 for low- and middle-income homebuyers. The summary does not indicate how most of these funds would be divided among existing and new programs, except for $40 billion for public housing capital needs.

The proposal would:

  • “Produce, preserve, and retrofit more than a million affordable, resilient, accessible, energy efficient, and electrified housing units. Through targeted tax credits, formula funding, grants, and project-based rental assistance, President Biden’s plan will extend affordable housing rental opportunities to underserved communities nationwide, including rural and tribal areas.
  • “Build and rehabilitate more than 500,000 homes for low- and middle-income homebuyers. President Biden is calling on Congress to take immediate steps to spur the construction and rehabilitation of homes for underserved communities. Specifically, he is calling on Congress to pass the innovative, bipartisan Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA). Offering $20 billion worth of NHIA tax credits over the next five years will result in approximately 500,000 homes built or rehabilitated, creating a pathway for more families to buy a home and start building wealth.
  • “Eliminate exclusionary zoning and harmful land use policies. For decades, exclusionary zoning laws – like minimum lot sizes, mandatory parking requirements, and prohibitions on multifamily housing – have inflated housing and construction costs and locked families out of areas with more opportunities. President Biden is calling on Congress to enact an innovative, new competitive grant program that awards flexible and attractive funding to jurisdictions that take concrete steps to eliminate such needless barriers to producing affordable housing.
  • “Address longstanding public housing capital needs. Years of disinvestment have left our public housing in disrepair. President Biden is calling on Congress to invest $40 billion to improve the infrastructure of the public housing system in America. This funding will address critical life-safety concerns, mitigate imminent hazards to residents, and undertake energy efficiency measures which will significantly reduce ongoing operating expenses. These improvements will disproportionately benefit women, people of color, and people with disabilities.
  • “Put union building trade workers to work upgrading homes and businesses to save families money. President Biden’s plan will upgrade homes through block grant programs, the Weatherization Assistance Program, and by extending and expanding home and commercial efficiency tax credits. President Biden’s plan also will establish a $27 billion Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to mobilize private investment into distributed energy resources; retrofits of residential, commercial and municipal buildings; and clean transportation. These investments have a particular focus on disadvantaged communities that have not yet benefited from clean energy investments.”
RURAL PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

The administration proposes a new $5 billion Rural Partnership Program “to help rural regions, including Tribal Nations, build on their unique assets and realize their vision for inclusive community and economic development. This program will empower rural regions by supporting locally-led planning and capacity building efforts, and providing flexible funding to meet critical needs.”

BROADBAND

The proposal calls for building high-speed broadband infrastructure to reach everyone in the country. It would prioritize support for broadband networks owned, operated by or affiliated with local governments, nonprofits and co-operatives because those providers feel “less pressure to turn profits and [have] a commitment to serving entire communities.” It would set aside funds for broadband infrastructure on tribal lands and would consult tribal nations in program administration.

RACIAL JUSTICE

The White House summary refers in several places to racial equity and the need to remedy past discrimination. It notes, for example, that low-income people and people of color are more likely than others to be affected by natural disasters and more likely to lack broadband internet access. It “targets 40 percent of the benefits of climate and clean infrastructure investments to disadvantaged communities.”

WATER AND WASTEWATER

The plan intends to “upgrade and modernize America’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, tackle new contaminants, and support clean water infrastructure across rural America. Aging water systems threaten public health in thousands of communities nationwide. President Biden will modernize these systems by scaling up existing, successful programs, including by providing $56 billion in grants and low-cost flexible loans to states, Tribes, territories, and disadvantaged communities across the country. President Biden’s plan also provides $10 billion in funding to monitor and remediate PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking water and to invest in rural small water systems and household well and wastewater systems, including drainage fields.”

Ground Truth from Rural Practitioners Cover

Ground Truth from Rural Practitioners

Ground Truth from Rural Practitioners Cover

Local and regional rural-serving organizations shape and strengthen the fabric of their communities. But what kinds of organizations are these? What is of the range of topics they work on? What expertise do they have—and what expertise do they need? Based on the findings from a survey of over 350 different rural-serving organizations in 45 states, this research brief strives to provide policy makers, funders and other well-meaning folks who want to do right by rural with information on the inner workings of rural-serving organizations. The survey results highlight policy, investments and partnerships that are better tuned to rural realities and the self-identified strengths, expertise and needs of rural-serving organizations. It also demonstrates the resilience and strength of rural organizations despite great odds, while guiding national partners and philanthropy to build on and invest in their success.

Addressing Food Insecurity: Research Note Cover

Addressing Food Insecurity: Research Note

Addressing Food InsecurityFood insecurity negatively affects childhood development and rural areas have higher rates of food insecurity. The Summer Meals program only serves 1 in 7 eligible students, but an increasing number of USDA multi-family properties serve as meal sites for this program. Stronger and continued collaboration between housing facilities and child nutrition programs will reduce rural childhood hunger during the summer months.

Download PDF File

Disconnect in Rural America - Rural Research Brief

Disconnect in Rural America

Disconnect in Rural America - Rural Research NoteDespite mass adoption, greater functionality, and more access points, the internet remains out of reach for many Americans, especially those in rural communities. One of the primary reasons for this disconnect is geography, where long distances between homes raise the cost of installing the infrastructure for broadband in rural areas, leaving rural homes with less access to fast, reliable internet.

As broadband becomes less a luxury and more a daily necessity, this technology gap can leave segments of the rural population technologically behind, causing slow economic growth, and limited access to advancements in areas, such as telemedicine.

More Than One-Quarter of Rural Homes Do Not Have Internet Subscriptions

Overall, 27 percent of all rural households lack any type of broadband subscription, compared to 17.1 percent of metropolitan households. This amounts to more than 4.7 million rural households without a broadband internet subscription – cellular data plan, cable/DSL/fiber optic, or satellite.

In addition, 129,963 rural households with an internet subscription are still using dial-up. This is 1 percent of all rural households with internet subscriptions, while only .04 percent of subscribers in metro areas have dial-up subscriptions.

The digital gap applies to most types of internet access, as measured by subscription data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Broadband subscription rates, at least in part, reflect access to the internet based on existing infrastructure and affordability. For example, rural households are less likely to have a cellular data plan than metropolitan area households, 57 percent to 70 percent. The one exception to this gap is satellite-based service. Nine percent of rural Disparities in Rural Broadband Subscriptions Across Income Levelshouseholds, compared to 6 percent of metropolitan area households use satellite internet services. Greater isolation and more sparse populations in rural areas likely explain the more common use of satellite technology, where cable or fiber optic services are not available.

The broadband gap between rural and metropolitan area households exists at all income levels. For households with incomes less than $20,000 a year, rural broadband subscriptions are 10 percentage points lower than in metropolitan areas. For households with incomes from $20,000 to $75,000 the gap persists albeit slightly smaller at 7 percentage points. Even at higher income levels – $75,000 and above – rural households have lower broadband subscription rates, 91 percent to 95 percent.

The same disparity in connectivity exists at all age ranges as well. Rural residents under 18 years old are less likely to have a broadband subscription compared to their metropolitan counterparts, 84 percent to 89 percent. The trend follows for residents between 18 and 64 years old, 81 percent to 88 percent, and for those 65 years and older, 62 percent to 73 percent.

So, while income and age may exacerbate the disparity in broadband subscriptions, subscription rates in rural areas continue to trail metropolitan areas across the board.

Rural Homes Lack Device Diversity

Rural households also have fewer computing devices than their metropolitan area counterparts. About 83 percent of rural households have at least one computing devices (smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc.), while 90 percent of metropolitan area households do. Furthermore, less than 67 percent of rural households have at least two devices, compared to almost 75 percent of metropolitan households.

Rural households with access to some type of computing device are more often limited, with access to either a smartphone or a desktop computer, rather than having the capability and benefits of both forms of technology. While seemingly a small issue, fewer devices directly impacts rural households’ ability to take advantage of ever increasing technologies. This means that a rural home buyer with only a smartphone may not be able to obtain detailed information on mortgage products, and a veteran without a smartphone cannot get on the road directions to a VA healthcare facility for an appointment.

What the Disconnect Means

While it may not be surprising that rural households have less broadband access and fewer devices, it can be consequential. Less dense areas where there are large physical gaps in infrastructure is where the internet can be the best utilized. Households without broadband subscriptions are unable to access services effectively, such as online banking and shopping, telemedicine, and more reliable communication.

Investing in broadband infrastructure in rural areas can help diminish the disparities in access between rural and metropolitan households. While initial infrastructure investments may not be deemed profitable by traditional providers currently, small and local municipalities may need to consider creative methods of bringing broadband to their rural communities.

“Rural” in this Note refers to population and territory outside of a Metropolitan Area, as designated by the Office of Management and Budget.