ERS Reports Rising Rural Mortality Rates

Yesterday, the Economic Research Service (ERS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a report indicating worsening health for working-age adults in rural areas in the U.S.  Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers found that the gap in mortality rates between rural and urban areas grew from a rural lead over urban areas of 6 percent in 1999 to a rural lead of 43 percent in 2019.