Rural America’s “brain drain”: How student debt is emptying small towns

Adults with student loans are less likely to remain in rural areas than those without it, and adults with the highest student loan balances are the most likely to migrate to cities, according to new research from the Federal Reserve. Nevertheless, the trend is notable: About half of rural residents who took out student loans remained in those areas six years later, compared with two-thirds of rural residents who didn’t take out loans. Not surprisingly, college grads with student debt had better financial outcomes than those who stayed in rural areas, the Fed found. Dunne, who credits his own lack of student loans with allowing him to return to Vermont to begin his career, said he made a proposal in the state’s last legislative session to create a program that would forgive up to $20,000 of student debt over two years for college grads who bought houses in rural parts of the state.

Source: www.cbsnews.com