Where you live matters: Financial differences between rural and urban Americans

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When describing any large group it’s important to understand and explain nuances that may show how different people might react to different situations. Simply saying “Americans” these days does not necessarily mean one monolith of people. The same is true for “investors.” There are long-term investors, and conservative investors and savvy investors and so on. Drill down even deeper and one can see the different types of investors depending on where they live.

Rural and urban investors naturally see things differently on many issues and investing is one of them. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s report “Understanding the Finances of Rural vs. Urban Americans,” 80% of Americans ages 25 or older lived in urban areas in 2000, while 13.8% lived in rural areas. The remainder lived in unidentifiable areas. These numbers are derived using estimates based on the 2020 Survey of Income and Program Participation from the U.S. Census Bureau.